FROM ABOVE

"So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve, to mourn, and to pity

But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

And so now every April, I sit on me porch
And I watch the parades pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reviving old dreams of past glories

And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "what are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday no one will march there at all"

Its words like these that make Eric Bogle a great song writer http://youtu.be/WG48Ftsr3OI

Pete

BTW.

I was not speaking out of turn, about Dad, with the RISK he would read it.

Because Dad passed away in 2018.

Here's Dad being interviewed on 22 April 2002 http://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/667-henry-john-coates

Peter Coates
http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/

Every time I hear "The Last Post" being played
I get goosebumps. Here's a link that may be of
interest from the Australian War Memorial:

http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/customs-and-ceremony/last-post

Dear Pete,

Thank You for starting this discussion and for all the
links and poems. I'm sure your dad would be proud of
you.

Take care.

Hi Pete,

Here's two more links that are worth reading:

http://www.anzacday.org.au/not-a-hero

http://www.org.au/were-all-australians-now

Sorry for my mistake here it is again:

http://www.anzacday.org.au/were-all-australians-now