Photo Friday (vol. LXXXII) [ceremonial edition]

[I may not be around in the morning so I am posting this a bit early]

Back when I was in the US Navy, my ship made several port calls in Australia.  One of the things I remember vividly is the sense of gratitude some of the older generation of Australians still felt to the American Navy for their role in the Battle of the Coral Sea.  Many firmly believe that if the US Navy had not stopped the Japanese, Australia would have been invaded.  On more than one occasion I found people buying me beers that I was sure I didn't deserve.

It wasn't until moving here and learning about some of the local history that I began to have a sense of what it means to feel a deep sense of indebtedness and gratitude to members of another country's military... generations after the battlefields have fallen silent.

October 31st marked the 89th anniversary of the Battle of Beer Sheva. 

I've written in detail in the past about this WWI battle and noted without exaggeration that, but for the bravery of 800 Australian Light Horsemen who charged across about 6 kilometers of open ground directly at the heavily defended Turkish fortifications in Beer Sheva, there might not be a State of Israel today.

Whenever a new group of Aussie soldiers arrive in the region with the Multi-National Forces in Sinai I enjoy showing them the historic sites in and around Beer Sheva.   Each time a group of these soldiers comes to visit (today, as back in 1917, all of them volunteers) I am struck by what open, engaging and friendly people the Aussies are... and I understand just a little bit better the mindset behind the reasons I couldn't pay for a beer in Australia. 

I was pleased and proud to be invited to the memorial ceremony at the WWI cemetery in Beer Sheva on the 31st.

The ceremony was attended by many of the local and foreign diplomatic community in the region.  Ambassadors, Consuls, Secretaries and Military attaches from Australia, New Zealand, England, Turkey, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Fiji as well as representatives of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, all gathered to pay their respects to the fallen soldiers.  An honor guard of British and ANZAC soldiers stood proudly around the monument throughout the ceremony.

Afterwords I joined some of the soldiers for lunch, followed by a tour of the battlefield and trenches.  But not before posing for a photo with the Aussie contingent that I will value among my most prized possessions:

So, next time you run into an Aussie here in Israel... don't forget to say thank you for what we enjoy today.  Oh, and maybe buy them a beer.  :-)

Shabbat Shalom.