On ANZAC DAY 1986 the Vietnam veterans took part in ANZAC Day in large numbers for the very first time. As an officer in the Salvation Army I was tasked with leading them on that march down the streets of Brisbane. As we formed up the emotion was palpable for these not so old returned soldiers. Unlike their predecessors from other wars they received no warm welcome home, they knew about the protests against the Vietnam war and were devastated by the lack of support. When they came home people avoided them.
Battered minds and bodies stood tall and marched with purpose and assurance, yet I knew inside each one was a 19 year old boy who had experienced the deep sense of loss, not just of mates killed in war, but the loss of a sense of belonging to a country who was proud of him. Yes they might be cheering this day, but they didn’t when it counted.
After the march and we stood around chatting I asked one digger what it felt like and his reply has chilled me ever since, “Good mate, but too bloody late!’
And it's not just Vietnam Vets who are affected by the war they fought. I have spent a lot of time with sailors and soldiers who have participated in recent theatres of war and those who simply have seen tragic events in so called peace times. The effects of the experiences stay with them long after the battle or the event.
As we get ready for ANZAC Day let us remember clearly who and what we are commemorating. We are commemorating the ordinary young men and women trying to stay alive in horrendous conditions as a result of others decisions. We are commemorating the heroic acts that they participated in, and still do. We do not commemorate war and the horror embedded within it.
They deserve to be honoured by our memory and our efforts to avoid war at all costs. That is now our duty.
PS
At the school ANZAC Day service the legend of ANZAC was evident. A group of students who are also Army and Air Force Cadets participated. They had no CO to marshall them, so one young man took on the role. He took the cadets, some of whom had only be in uniform since the end of last term, and turned them into a competent and confident troop. The slow march was a credit to them. It was something special in itself. The ANZAC Spirit lives on.
Showing posts with label men's health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label men's health. Show all posts
Friday, 23 April 2010
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Men's Group - The Movie
As discussed at the last Bloke's Breakfast we are organising an outing to see the movie 'Men's Group'.
Men’s group is the story of six very different men; Paul, Freddy, Cecil, Lucas, Moses and Alex . They meet once a week at Paul’s home to talk. When they begin they are complete strangers.
They soon discover that they have something in common, being male. As trust grows between them they gradually begin to share as they learn to listen to each other. They discover that they are not quite so alone in their fears as they had presumed.
It takes a tragedy for the men to finally understand that they must take responsibilities for their own lives and those of their loved ones.
It begins screening 13th so we can either go Saturday 15th in the afternoon or some time the next week, perhaps Wednesday 19th.
Think about it and we will arrange a time on Saturday at the big Degustation Breakfast.
Men’s group is the story of six very different men; Paul, Freddy, Cecil, Lucas, Moses and Alex . They meet once a week at Paul’s home to talk. When they begin they are complete strangers.
They soon discover that they have something in common, being male. As trust grows between them they gradually begin to share as they learn to listen to each other. They discover that they are not quite so alone in their fears as they had presumed.
It takes a tragedy for the men to finally understand that they must take responsibilities for their own lives and those of their loved ones.
It begins screening 13th so we can either go Saturday 15th in the afternoon or some time the next week, perhaps Wednesday 19th.
Think about it and we will arrange a time on Saturday at the big Degustation Breakfast.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Staying Allive to Live
Since I last posted I have spent a couple of days in hospital as a result of some heart (yes I do have one!) pain which I endured while buying Bibles at the Bible Society Bookshop. God does have a sense of humour!
Not to be deterred I reacted as a fairly typical male and walked back to my car in Clarence Street, drove back to Randwick, went up to my office and deposited the Bibles, sent my assignment off by email so I wouldn't be late, rang the doctor and walked the killometre to her surgery. It was she who organised the ambulance for the 200metres to POW!
What's wrong with this story?
Not to put too fine a point on it - blokes.
Laying in bed at Hotel POW I reflected on a number of issues which may, just may have brought me to this point. They include:
Working two jobs
Getting involved in very stressful negotiations on behalf of others
Taking on two subjects of study
Anxiety about maintaining my Deacons lecence after December 2008
Anxiety about family health issues
No exercise or time out
Carrying the load without sharing it.
Sound familiar anybody?
It's what we men are good at - matrydom in pursuit of the impossible - slaying dragons when the dragonss aren't causing any one any grief.
Put it bluntly men die because we simply overload and rarely unload, support others with little support for ourselves, fulfilling the expectations of others (who ever they are) and have no idea about what to expect of ourselves. We set our selves up for failure and when we de we often fail to reflect and restructure but fall back intothe default position which means we cycle back to the same place some time in the future, often sooner than later.
My mother always said I was a slow learner but in this case I keep hearing Jesus words in John 5 to the man healed at the Sheep Gate, "See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
Diligence and consientious effort is not a sin, but to overwork, over commit and to ignore your wellbeing and subsequently the wellbeing of others around you simply because you let it happen, is. It is a sin not to love yourself so that you can love others, not to say no when to say yes fails to fulfil the essence of the Two Great Commandments. And it is a sin we (in this case me) are called to identify and eradicate.
It is not a sin to have limits, to spend time with your family, friends, playing sport and just vegeing out no matter how much the world screams for you to save it from its self.
I guess this is a personal blog but it is also for all those who have ears to hear.
Not to be deterred I reacted as a fairly typical male and walked back to my car in Clarence Street, drove back to Randwick, went up to my office and deposited the Bibles, sent my assignment off by email so I wouldn't be late, rang the doctor and walked the killometre to her surgery. It was she who organised the ambulance for the 200metres to POW!
What's wrong with this story?
Not to put too fine a point on it - blokes.
Laying in bed at Hotel POW I reflected on a number of issues which may, just may have brought me to this point. They include:
Working two jobs
Getting involved in very stressful negotiations on behalf of others
Taking on two subjects of study
Anxiety about maintaining my Deacons lecence after December 2008
Anxiety about family health issues
No exercise or time out
Carrying the load without sharing it.
Sound familiar anybody?
It's what we men are good at - matrydom in pursuit of the impossible - slaying dragons when the dragonss aren't causing any one any grief.
Put it bluntly men die because we simply overload and rarely unload, support others with little support for ourselves, fulfilling the expectations of others (who ever they are) and have no idea about what to expect of ourselves. We set our selves up for failure and when we de we often fail to reflect and restructure but fall back intothe default position which means we cycle back to the same place some time in the future, often sooner than later.
My mother always said I was a slow learner but in this case I keep hearing Jesus words in John 5 to the man healed at the Sheep Gate, "See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
Diligence and consientious effort is not a sin, but to overwork, over commit and to ignore your wellbeing and subsequently the wellbeing of others around you simply because you let it happen, is. It is a sin not to love yourself so that you can love others, not to say no when to say yes fails to fulfil the essence of the Two Great Commandments. And it is a sin we (in this case me) are called to identify and eradicate.
It is not a sin to have limits, to spend time with your family, friends, playing sport and just vegeing out no matter how much the world screams for you to save it from its self.
I guess this is a personal blog but it is also for all those who have ears to hear.
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