To the bigots among us, Japan is our ally, having carried themselves now for 75+ years in the utmost dignity and peace, and see more below. To the hippies among us, sometimes war comes knocking on your door, and those who value their hides, survive. For better or for worse, our past has had an influence on our present day. We do not glorify war, neither do we ignore the past or ignore words just because they have been (or still are) associated with an obnoxious ideology, but we take stock of ourselves and our present circumstances and make a better future as best we can. Peace muh fellow Souls, ----- Forwarded message from Andrew Hastie <andrew@andrewhastie.com.au> ----- From: Andrew Hastie <andrew@andrewhastie.com.au> To: Zenaan Harkness <zenandrwhst@freedbms.net> Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2020 09:21:17 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Lest We Forget Dear Zenaan, “Fellow citizens, the war is over. The Japanese Government has accepted the terms of surrender imposed by the Allied Nations and hostilities will now cease. The reply by the Japanese Government to the Note sent by Britain, the United States, the USSR and China, has been received and accepted by the Allied Nations. At this moment let us offer thanks to God. Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may look forward to a peace which they have won for us. Let us remember those whose thoughts, with proud sorrow, turn towards gallant, loved ones who will not come back." These words were broadcast to the nation by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on 15 August 1945. Seventy-five years later, we honour and remember the 1 million Australians who served in the defence of liberty.  As a boy, I often visited my grandfather in eastern Sydney, himself a decorated veteran of the Pacific War. We’d drive past the Rose Bay RSL and I’d reflect on the words mounted on the brick wall: ‘The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance’.  As history shows us, peace is fragile and easily lost. Only twenty years after the end of the Pacific War, Australian troops were fighting in the humid jungles of Vietnam. This week we also remembered the courage and sacrifice of Australia's Vietnam veterans, on the 54th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. South Vietnamese veterans joined us in Mandurah for the ceremony. They are grateful to those Australians who fought and died alongside them in their homeland. Australia will always have an interest in defending freedom in the Indo-Pacific. History teaches us that we must be prepared, if necessary, to defend it with arms. For as the writer Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘I have seen much war in my lifetime and I hate it profoundly. But there are worse things than war, and all of them come with defeat.’ Best, Andrew Hastie MP

From top, then left to right:

1. Pte Inglis and Pte Pie of C Company, 2/8 Infantry Battalion in the Wewak area of New Guinea, 27 March 1945. 2. Flt Lt Edward Manton Christensen, leading a flight of Beaufort Bomber aircraft of No. 100 Squadron RAAF in for a bombing run over the Wewak area, 20 January 1945. Flt Lt Christensen—originally a grocery store manager of Northam, WA—was lost on operations three days later. 3. Two Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force Auxflight mechanics checking aircraft engine components at No. 7 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Station Tocumwal, NSW. C. 1944. 4. Sailors aboard HMAS Perth. HMAS Perth served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific theatres during WW2. She was sunk fighting superior forces in the Battle of Sunda Strait on 1 March 1942. Former Prime Minister Ben Chifley. Chifley announced the end of the war on Radio on 15 August 1945. Read or listen to Prime Minister Chifley's speech here <https://www.andrewhastie.com.au/r?u=lHfTqlaDqpL0-NBcgSv3lJTQ0xi5qZF3K2NXxn610FCZSAEnQ82y8qcfmb-UtpLpQZijDiKJ1727GpGwSFPaeg&e=5d794473386a71d6b95b8df008dbef9b&utm_source=andrewhastie&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklyupdate26&n=2&test_email=1>.

From top, then left to right clockwise:

1. A reconstruction of the Battle of Long Tan, 18-19 August 1966, between 'D' Company and Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces. Several events that happened at intervals during the battle are shown here happening simultaneously. 2. Silent homage by three men of the Special Air Service Regiment at a memorial service for the eighteen Australians who died in the battle of Long Tan. The service was held on the former battlefield, in the middle of a rubber plantation, where a simple concrete cross marks the site. 18 August 1970. 3. Three soldiers from D company, 6th battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), take a break as they gather Australian weapons left on the battlefield of Long Tan after the action of the previous night. Left to right: Pte Hodder of Ayr, QLD, Pte Burstall of Ballarat, VIC, and Pte Dettman of Tingha, NSW. 19 August 1966. Vietnam Veteran's Day, 18 August 2020, at the Mandurah War Memorial.  -=-=- Andrew Hastie MP - Australia This email was sent to zenandrwhst@freedbms.net. To stop receiving emails: https://www.andrewhastie.com.au/unsubscribe Authorised by Andrew Hastie MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Mandurah WA -=-=- ----- End forwarded message -----