Hundreds paid tribute to our diggers at the Anzac Day dawn ceremony of remembrance hosted by the Brighton-Le-Sands Sub-branch in Bay Street.
Young and old gathered by the memorial outside the Brighton RSL Club to honour the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers.
Among them was 18-year-old Jascenta Kreskay who symbolised a new generation who are determined to keep the Anzac spirit alive.
Jascenta was the recipient of a scholarship from the Brighton RSL Club which enabled her to walk the Kokoda Track last year.
Jascenta, who is a member of the Australian Air Force Cadets 302 Squadron Rockdale and a Moorefield Girls High student, took part in the Kokoda Youth Leadership Challenge in Papua New Guinea last September.
The trek allowed her to retrace the Kokoda Trail campaign between Japanese and Australian forces during World War II.
She told how the arduous 10-day trek where she slept on a mat in a tent, bathed in rivers and walked up to 22km a day had brought home the reality and horrors of war.
By day 3, and three hours into that day’s trek, her body had had enough.
“I was physically exhausted I didn’t want to give up but my body was telling me to,” Jascenta said.
“That day I could understand how our diggers would’ve physically felt.”
Day 4 was the longest of the trek and by day’s end she had walked 21.5km and was feeling fatigued and homesick.
“I had broken down slightly and could understand how the soldiers would’ve felt not knowing if they were ever going to see home again or hold their loved ones,” Jascenta said.
Towards the end of Day 8 the trekkers stopped at Surgeon’s Rock where two Australian brothers had died – one from a gun shot wound and the other suicide.
Let us never forget and always respect the courage of those who have fought in wars past and present and let you all keep the Anzac spirit alive
- Jascenta Kreskay
“The eldest was shot in the stomach and as he was dying his brother held him in his arms and sang Danny Boy,” Jascenta said.
“Then afterwards his brother took his own life as he could not bear the loss of his brother or the horror of war.
“Our trek leader sang Danny Boy to us after he had told us this story. Not one of us had a dry eye.
“The majority of the soldiers were no older than me. The average was 18 years of age.”
In total Jascenta and her group walked 140 kilometres finishing their journey with a visit to a Port Moresby cemetery where more than 3000 soldiers were buried
“It was a very emotional and moving experience for us all as we had family who had fought in wars and many of us had family lying in that grave,” Jascenta told the dawn service gathering.
“This trek took me on a physical, mental and historical journey and it was an adventure that can never be forgotten.
“To be able to walk the same trail that our diggers did was an honourable experience and the conditions they did it in can not be compared to the conditions I did it in.
“Kokoda challenged me in all aspects as it challenged our soldiers. The trail taught me to never give up and gave me a deeper understanding of Australian war history.
“It is important to never forget and I will always honour those who have fallen for our freedom and those who live with the trauma of war.
“Let us never forget and always respect the courage of those who have fought in wars past and present and let you all keep the Anzac spirit alive.”
2018 is the centenary of the end of World War I, or the Great War, and the size of the turnout at Brighton this morning seemed to reflect the significance of the milestone.
“We’re thankful for those first Anzacs who’s actions established the traditions we as a nation hold so dear today,” a Sub-branch member told the gathering.
“They were the men and women willing to believe in something greater than themselves.”
Wreaths were placed at the memorial by representatives from the Brighton RSL CLub, Bayside Council, Brighton-Le-Sands Public School, Moorefield Girls High, St Thomas More School, Vietnam Veterans, Brighton Baths Athletic Club, St Thomas More Church and Guardian Funerals.
