Speech by the RSA President, Afioga Faamausili Moli
Malietoa , Thursday 25 April 2002
Distinguished Guests , Ladies and Gentleman,
It is my privilege to extend each of you a warm welcome to our remembrance service for ANZAC Day. We gather today, as we have done in years past, to remember , to Honor and to continue to bear testament, to the courage and spirit of the first ANZACs on that famed beach Gallipoli some 87 years ago. We remember also Samoan servicemen and women who were part of the ANZAC effort in the Second World War, the Vietnam and Korean Wars, Desert Storm and who are part of the continuing crises in Afghanistan. We remember ANZAC Peacekeepers around the world and we remember our own Samoan Police Contingent who honorably serve the cause of peace in East Timor.
This morning it is my privilege to join with you ANZACs around the world in remembering , in ensuring , that the spirit in which the brave sacrifices made in places such as Gallipoli, Olympus , El - Alamein , the Sangro, Monte Cassino and Chunuk Bair (Pr. Cha-nook Bare) is not forgotten- To bring my own individual memories of military service to this fellowship of hearts and souls and remember with you the millions upon millions of lives lost - some 26,000 ANZACs lost at the seige on Gallipoli , over 55 million military and civilian lives lost in World War II , 1.7 million dead in the killing fields of Vietnam - all, in the pursuit of peace in our world.
This morning I urge each of you present to take this time , this day , to look deep into your hearts , into the core of the person you are and ask whether you do honor to the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom , justice and peace - those who died, those who lived , and those who live with the physical and emotional toll of war. Then I challenge you make a conscious effort each day to do one thing , and one thing, only to bring your honor to a sacrifice for peace. Let us actively commit ourselves on a daily basis to peace and bring honor to the ANZACs we remember today
Finally, I would like to close with the ANZAC dedication for the fallen:
They shall not grow old
As we that are left to 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