When I think back about that day I will remember amongst other things, the old people sitting in front from Perth - blocking our view in their chairs, the curious Turkish onlookers who were treated like brothers, the service starting well before dawn at 4:27 exactly, the time that the diggers stormed the beach, walking along the stony beach where so many died, going to the Australian service at Lone Pine and never before feeling so patriotic with so many other Aussies, seeing the girls in VB shirts having their photo taken with Turkish soldiers, watching the game of two-up being played by Aussie soldiers and backpackers and of course reading those immortal words said by Ataturk.
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives....
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours....
You, the mothers
Who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
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