31 May 2009 in Speeches
Speech to the Goolwa RSL's Blessing and Dedication of the Garden of Honour Ceremony, Sunday 31 May 2009
President of the Goolwa RSL sub branch, Mr Bob Plummer
President of the State RSL, Mr Jock Statton
Mr Adrian Pederick, the Member for Hammond
Mr Kym McHugh, the Mayor of Alexandrina Council
Representatives of the armed services in South Australia, Group Captain Reg Carruthers and Commander Craig Pritchard.
Honoured members of the Goolwa RSL sub branch
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In preparing for today’s remarks I was reminded of those immortal words, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Indeed 30 young men from Goolwa have paid the highest price for our liberty.
You see we dedicate sites such as these not to celebrate war but to mourn, remember and honour.
We mourn for those young Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Indeed we are in their debt and we service that debt by honouring their sacrifice at monuments such as these.
We remember them today as their mates did when they fell.
We build these monuments and tell their stories so our future generation never forget the debt we all owe.
We honour their legacy by acknowledging their service and their sacrifice.
Because of these great Australians who sacrificed so much we live in freedom.
I sit in that great symbol of freedom in Canberra, representing this wonderful part of our country because so many of my forefathers and indeed my contemporises were willing to pay the price of freedom.
Freedom is never free.
It wasn’t free for the Australians who gave birth to the ANZAC legend on the shores of a far away land nearly 100 years ago, nor is it for the young men and women who fight today for our freedom in Afghanistan.
This site, like so many around our great country, honours not only those who did not return, but those who did.
We owe it to all Australians who serve to acknowledge that commitment.
Because the truth is, there is no good or bad service.
The truth is, the service of those who jumped from the muddy trenches in Flanders Field in 1917 is no different to that of those who fought so hard for our country in Vietnam.
The service of my wife’s grand father, who was shot down over France in 1944, is no different to the brave seaman who petrol the Persian Gulf today.
So while our freedom gives us all the ability to express our view on the decision to commit troops, we should not confuse that freedom, with honouring those who served.
There is no such thing as good or bad service.
It was an unfortunate mistake of a previous generation to allow politics to get in the way of honouring those who fought under our flag.
One battle is no nobler than another.
It is our obligation to honour them all.
To paraphrase probably the greatest speech ever delivered by Abraham Lincoln dedicating the ground at Gettysburg, I stand here dedicating this monument in the knowledge that what we say here today will be shortly forgotten.
But what this monument honours and what it represents - shall stand the test of time.
Whether it be the grandness of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra or the simple brick structures that dot our towns and villages through this brown land – the purpose is the same – mourn, remember, honour.
It is the bricks and mortar that hold this structure together - but it is what it represents that makes it so special.
So it is a great privilege to unveil and dedicate this monument this morning.
And in doing so I will finish with these haunting words from the poem, For the Fallen.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
We will remember them.
Thank you.