ANZAC Day, a day to remember those who fought for our country

Those who fought for our country, for our way of life deserve to be remembered. Regardless of how their ideals may have been betrayed by politicians. Support our veterans and service men and women. Not war. People get hurt in war.

ANZAC, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, did not exist before Gallipoli. Gallipoli, planned and miss executed by Churchill. The way the men fought and died, for a lost cause, created the ANZAC legend.

Australians have volunteered and fought in many wars. As well as peace keeping and peace making operations.


Maori Wars 1860 - 1866 ( for England )
2500 served
20 died


Sudan 1885 ( for the Empire )
770 served
6 died


The Third Anglo-Burmese War 1885 - 1886 ( for the Empire )
1 served


Chitral 1895 ( for the Empire )
1 served


Boer War 1899 - 1902 ( for the Empire )
16,175 served
606 died


Boxer Rebellion 1900 - 1901 ( for the Empire )
556 served
6 died


WWI 1914 - 1918 ( for the Empire )
331,781 served
61,919 died


North Russia Relief Force 1919 ( for the Empire )
120 served


Native uprising in the British Solomon Islands 1927 ( for the Empire )


WWII 1939 - 1945 ( for the Empire )
557,799 served
39,366 died

Project Kingfisher a 1944 - 45 plan for Australian paratroops to rescue some 1,800 Australian prisoners of war held in Sandakan. It was planned and fully resourced by Australia except for the troop carrying aircraft. MacArthur refused to release the aircraft, despite the fact that aircraft were available and idle. Only one of the 1,800 or so Australian prisoners of war survived and returned home.


Korea 1950 - 1953 ( for the UN )
18,059 served
339 died

The first war that the Australian Regular Army fought in.

Operation Commando, the battle of Maryang San. 3 RAR dislodged an enemy, twice it's strength, from entrenched defensive positions, seized that ground and held it. 39 decorations were awarded for actions during this battle.


Malayan Emergency 1950 - 1960 ( for the Empire )
36 died


Vietnam 1962 - 1973 ( US request )
50,190 served
520 died

Long Tan. 11 platoon D company 6 RAR was ambushed by a company. It escalated and A, D and part of B companies 6 RAR forced the Viet Cong 275th Main Force Regiment plus and the D445 Local Force battalion to retreat. Some 230 members of 6 RAR defeated some 2,500 of the enemy, yes about 10:1. The Vietnamese left behind 245 bodies, total Australian casualties 18 dead and 24 wounded. Records later revealed the enemy lost 500 with 750 more wounded.



Indonesian Confrontation 1963 - 1966 ( for the Empire )
16 died


Fiji coup 1979
B Company 1 RAR was deployed aboard HMAS Success, HMAS Tobruk, HMAS Sydney & HMAS Parramatta off the Fijian shore.


The Gulf 1990 - 1991 ( US led )
959 served

RAN ships are still deployed in the Gulf.


1991 One SASR squadron ( 110 men ) joined some NZ SAS to form the ANZAC SAS Squadron in Kuwait for search & rescue.


Somalia 1992-1994 ( for the UN )
( Operation Solace 1993 ) 1 RAR, B Squadron 3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment, logistic support & HMAS Tobruk were deployed.
937 served
1 died


Rwanda 1994-1995 - ( Operation Tamar )( for the UN )


1998 110 members of 2nd SAS Squadron and NZ SAS were deployed to the Gulf for combat search & rescue - ( Operation Desert Thunder )
( ANZAC Special Operations Force detachment on Operation Pollard in Kuwait )


East Timor 1999 - ( Operation Citadel )( Australian initiative )
over 5570 served.

Aidabasalala. A 6 man SASR patrol was ambushed by more than 20 militiamen. The militia being beaten off with 3 killed and 3 wounded. No Australian casualties.


Afghanistan " The war against terror " 2001 - ( US led )
10 died, plus other casualties

The SASR has been praised for the success of it's reconnaissances patrols.

US Major General Frank Hagenback, Commander of Coalition Task Force Mountain stated "You won't find a more professional group than the Australians that have served here with us"


Invasion and occupation of Iraq 2003 ( Operation Bastille & Operation Catalyst )( US bullied )
some 2,600+
1 died

Australia had 1370 troops in Iraq ( 8-8-5 )

Weapons of mass destruction have not been found in Iraq. Despite the fact that Colin Powell pointed to air photographs of Iraq and said there were weapons of mass destruction in those specific places. The US has now admitted that there weren't any. And the reason for the invasion has been changed, it was now because of the way Sadam treated his people.

The US and UK do have weapons of mass destruction! Seems like a double standard to me. In fact the US has plans to produce 125 new nuclear bombs per year! http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/us-blueprint-for-125-nuclear-bombs-a-year/2006/04/06/1143916656000.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1



The US invaded Afghanistan to capture bin Laden, who they accuse of planning the ' September 11 ' hijackings. That's right, they invaded a whole country to capture one man after the Taliban refused or were unable to hand him over. But have so far been unsuccessful. And don't forget that the Taliban was the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

And the US has been critical of Israel's battle against terrorists.


Fiji coup 2006
Deployed off the Fijian shore.




As well as the above operations Australian service personnel are constantly involved in peace keeping / peace making operations and always on exchange with the forces of other nations, eg UK, US & NZ. Where they may become involved in operations of their host country eg KFOR.

In November 2005 there was about 1600 Australian defence personnel serving at different trouble spots around the world.

" The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has approximately 3,000 members deployed to twelve overseas operations.  " The Defence web site at: http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/index.htm. 24-4-9


Our service personnel past and present serve us by protecting us and our country. They also carry out tasks allocated to them by our government. Even though you may not agree with some of the tasks they carryout, they deserve your respect. Especially those who have served in time of war.



http://www.diggerhistory.info/

http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/index.htm

http://www.defence.gov.au/raaf/

http://www.defence.gov.au/

http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/

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Easter - Its Pagan origins

Origins of the name "Easter":

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." ₁ Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:
-Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
-Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
-Astarté from ancient Greece
-Demeter from Mycenae
-Hathor from ancient Egypt
-Ishtar from Assyria
-Kali, from India
-Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

An alternative explanation has been suggested. The name given by the Frankish church to Jesus' resurrection festival included the Latin word "alba" which means "white." (This was a reference to the white robes that were worn during the festival.) "Alba" also has a second meaning: "sunrise." When the name of the festival was translated into German, the "sunrise" meaning was selected in error. This became "ostern" in German. Ostern has been proposed as the origin of the word "Easter". ₂
There are two popular beliefs about the origin of the English word "Sunday."
-It is derived from the name of the Scandinavian sun Goddess Sunna (a.k.a. Sunne, Frau Sonne). _5,6
-It is derived from "Sol," the Roman God of the Sun." Their phrase "Dies Solis" means "day of the Sun." The Christian saint Jerome (d. 420) commented "If it is called the day of the sun by the pagans, we willingly accept this name, for on this day the Light of the world arose, on this day the Sun of Justice shone forth." ₇

Pagan origins of Easter:

Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." ₃

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Others suggest that many of the events in Jesus' life that were recorded in the gospels were lifted from the life of Krishna, the second person of the Hindu Trinity. Ancient Christians had an alternative explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. ₄ Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.

References used in the above essay:

1. Larry Boemler "Asherah and Easter," Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 18, Number 3, 1992-May/June reprinted at: http://www.worldmissions.org/Clipper/Holidays/EasterAndAsherah.htm
2. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Q & A Set 15, "Why do we celebrate a festival called Easter?" at: http://www.wels.net/sab/text/qa/qa15.html
3. Gerald L. Berry, "Religions of the World," Barns & Noble, (1956).
4. J Farrar & S. Farrar, "Eight Sabbats for Witches," Phoenix, Custer, WA, (1988).
5. "Sunna," TeenWitch at: http://www.teenwitch.com
6. "Dies Solis and other Latin Names for the Days of the Week," Logo Files, at:
7.   http://www.logofiles.com/
8. "Sunday Observance," Latin Mass News, at:  http://www.unavoceca.org/

Copyright 1999 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2007-APR-11
Author: B.A. Robinson


http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm


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