Margie Maccoll
Grey skies and gusty conditions did not deter the thousands who turned out on Anzac Day to honour the Anzac legend born on the shores of Gallipoli in 1915 and all service men and women.
At Tewantin, school children, emergency services workers and community representatives joined veterans in a parade that snaked along Poinciana Avenue to the 9am service in the town square.
MC Bob Upham told the crowd it was a day to pay homage to veterans of many wars, those who had been injured, those who had lost their lives and to their families and friends.
“The truth is all veterans pay with their lives. Some pay all at once, others pay over a lifetime,“ he said.
Mayor Clare Stewart said the day was an acknowledgement those in service who protected us and our way of life.
She said the war in Ukraine recognises the extent to which freedom and courage is prized and the images show us the devastation of war which servicemen have experienced.
Guest speaker, former navy logistics officer Madelaine Damiris, defined service as being much broader than the infantrymen on the battlefield or fighter pilots in the skies.
She acknowledged land forces, war nurses, First Nations soldiers and all the members of a defence force team who work together toward a common goal.
The service ended with the release of white doves to signify world peace.
