Remembrance Day Commemorative Address

Delivered by Chief of Personnel, Lieutenant General Natasha Fox, AO, CSC

Your Excellencies, the Honourable Mr Albanese Prime Minister of Australia, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, and to the many veterans and families who are here today. 

I too would like to acknowledge the traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather; the Ngunnawal people and other people and families with connection to land in the ACT region. I pay my respect to their Elders past and present and thank them for the care of the land, waterways and stories of the stars, from which the Australian Defence Force deploys on and from. 

On this day 30 years ago, our nation came together united in silence to mourn the loss of an Australian who none of us knew. We did not know his identity then, but as we know now, it was a moment in time that means so much, to so many. 

He was Australia’s Unknown Soldier – a son, perhaps a brother, a husband and father. He represented a nation – our nation, he represented Australia. 

He was an Australian soldier who proudly served his country alongside thousands of others, and he was among the fallen in the final year of the First World War. 

He was one of Australia’s 60,000 war dead from that conflict, along with some 16 million other combatants and civilians from across the globe.

While the guns fell silent on the 11th of November in 1918, regrettably, they have not remained silent since.    
    
The names of more than 103,000 Australian service people that appear on the bronze panels at the heart of this national institution, along with the many who are remembered elsewhere by their families, attest to this. 

The entrance to the Unknown Soldier memorial says, ‘While we do not know his name, he is all of them, and he is one of us’. And, as Australia watched 30 years ago, and as we reflect now – he has come here to rest in a place that represents home, among us.  

When you go to the solemn tomb of the Unknown Soldier and pause to reflect in the silence, you find yourself surrounded by virtues reflecting the passage of time, and also the continuity of human ideals. 

You can feel the serenity wrap around you, and in this moment you may find solace and peace. With the eyes of the stained glass representations of service people watching over our Unknown Soldier, there is a feeling of an enduring respect for service. 

The act of commemoration is a poignant reminder that despite its ever-changing character, war ultimately remains a human endeavour. It is people who suffer from war, and we have borne witness to this across the globe, over the many years since 1918.

This year marks a number of significant anniversaries and periods of service:

• It has been 70 years since the end of the Korean War, and 50 years since the end of Australia’s commitment to the war in Vietnam. 
• It has been 30 years since the start of Australian Defence Force operations in Somalia, and 
• 20 years since the commitment of Australian Forces to the war in Iraq, as well as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.

While these are contemporary anniversaries, they share a link back to the First World War, and that link is service. 

More than two million Australians have made the conscious decision to undertake service for our country. This has enabled our nation, our character, the beliefs and ideals, our ability to choose how we want to live and to have choice, and our ability to participate in democracy.

Service means and feels differently to all of us – it is about the greater good; putting others, your nation and your community before yourself; it is more than a job, it is about supporting and lifting others, it is about providing hope.   

We know that service may come at a heavy cost; physically, mentally or spiritually, and the memory of conflict or operations remains firmly imprinted on the minds and in the hearts of our families.  

As a serving member, the partner of a serving member, a mother, and the daughter of a veteran, I know the impact on families, friends and communities and the sacrifices they all make to enable service.

The consequences of, and sacrifices for, service are the legacy of war. They are the enduring burden experienced by our people. It is the loss of life, the grief endured, the absences experienced and the loss of time together, that impacts us all. 

And this is why we must always ensure we come together, to take a moment in time to pause in our busy lives, to observe the minute of silence, and to remember the service and sacrifices.

To remember and be grateful for the legacy that has been left by the many Australians who have served, to remember the consequences of war and conflict, and importantly, to remember so that we want, work for, and do what we can, to preserve peace.  

Lest we forget.