Stephen Barton: Sacrifices can’t be forgotten on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II

Friday will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and yet it will pass with barely a nod by our country, in a fog of cultural amnesia. In 1998, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War I, a medal for the surviving veterans was approved by the Queen, Diggers travelled to France and two new memorials were dedicated there. On November 11, there was a service at the Australian War Memorial, with the last men from the Great War there in attendance. It was an occasion of national significance. And yet, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, the signature event will be a Last Post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. To be fair, geographically at least, the 80th anniversary of the Great War was easier. In France, the Australian Imperial Force engaged the main enemy, in the main theatre of battle and played a key role in the Hundred Days that brought the war to an end. WWII was far flung, across oceans and continents. Nevertheless, the way these two events are being commemorated tells us something of how our country has changed. We’ve become careless and cavalier with our history. And consider too what it means for the service and ex-service community: if this significant anniversary creeps by without fanfare, who will recognise your service in the years to come? WWII is the biggest event in human history, it also transformed Australia, economically, socially and politically. For many Australians, this was the war of our grandparents or parents. These were the special people in our lives, who, when they were young, had been caught up in the greatest of cataclysms. Almost one million Australian men and women served under arms, with nearly half serving overseas. There were 61,500 West Australians enlisted for service in either the 2nd Australian Imperial Force or the Militia, the highest enlistment rate of any State. Australians served on all the great oceans and seas of the world, on land in North Africa, the Levant, Greece, the South West Pacific and Asia, and in the skies of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Pacific. Nearly 40,000 Australians died on operational service. We went to war only 21 years after the end of the Great War. Thousands of Diggers from the Great War were still outpatients at repatriation hospitals. The major political parties irresponsibly ignored defence spending in 1930s, some conservatives vainly hoped appeasement would work, and the Labor Party was divided between pacifists and those who thought events in Europe had nothing to do with us. And yet in September 1939, we joined the United Kingdom and the other dominions in declaring war on Nazi Germany. It endures as one of the most courageous and moral decisions ever made by this country. Australia played its role in the “finest hour” when all that stood between Nazi Germany and victory was the Commonwealth and Empire, fighting alone. It helped save the world. The second occurred in the dark days of 1942 when Imperial Japan appeared invincible. For the first time, the Australian mainland was attacked. Contrary to myth, there was no plan to invade Australia. Instead the Japanese sought to isolate us, cutting off vital shipping lanes. Only the emerging power of the United States and the redeployment of Australian forces saved us from that grim fate. And yet for all this, there will almost be a national shrug of the shoulders, despite the significance of the anniversary and the fact we have surviving veterans of that war still among us. In moments of the greatest peril, our country and its people, committed acts of great courage, stoicism and endurance in defence of the values of liberal democracy. If we do not remember that, how then do we appreciate the virtue and fragility of what we have, or what it might cost for us to keep it? This is cause for reflection, because we may soon find ourselves in a world where this is not an abstract question. But for now, the Returned Services League of WA is determined to do what it can to mark the occasion. We will be holding a commemorative service at the State War Memorial on 15 August, with at least 20 of WA’s surviving WWII veterans. We welcome you to attend and commemorate the service and sacrifice of that mighty generation. Stephen Barton is the chief executive of RSL WA