WORDS and pictures can’t really describe the experience our group had when we visited the Gallipoli battlefields.
We witnessed the harshness of the terrain that the Anzac troops were faced with as they approached Anzac Cove in 1915.
Under fire from the Turkish troops, their task appeared to have been impossible.
From Walkers Ridge Cemetery (the Nek) we looked down Monash Gully in awe at the inhospitable cliffs that were scaled by these young men, the youngest only 15 years old.
From our perspective as young Australians, we could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for our soldiers to have to “dig in” to survive.
As we visited several cemeteries, the reality of the devastation was overwhelming.
We also visited the Turkish memorial and became aware that we were not the only ones who had suffered such devastating loss.
Ms Leanne Cook, the St Mary MacKillop College history teacher, had researched all the local Swan Hill and district Anzacs buried along the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Each pair of students and adults on the trip had been designated one soldier to commemorate with a poppy and recitation of the ode at each cemetery.
As the flag was held behind these pairs, the aura became extremely emotional, making links across the century since these young men had been buried there.
We also visited the Turkish memorial and became aware that we were not the only ones who had suffered such devastating loss.
The words of Ataturk became meaningful because we could see that “After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well”.
