Leeton's Salvatore Aloisi shares his Anzac Day tribute in 2020

With Anzac Day commemorations unable to go ahead in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, Salvatore has decided to share his thoughts with The Irrigator and the wider community about the day and why it's so important we continue to honour the fallen and those who continue to serve.

One cannot even begin to articulate the debt we owe the Anzacs.

These brave, young individuals said farewell to their loved ones and beloved home, all to fight for not only the rights and freedoms of those they left behind, but that of people who they had never met, and very well would never get the opportunity to do so.

What pushed them to fight, we may never fully comprehend.

Whether it was for accolades, honour, prestige, recognition, justice or love, they nonetheless endured a great deal, their efforts realised in the warm bask of the rising sun you and I are able to enjoy today.

Some of them would have certainly been afraid, whether it was of injury, failure, or the death of their comrades, let alone themselves.

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But here we stand today, the hundreds of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders and their spirit the pride of our nation. So what is the essence of this ANZAC spirit.

One cannot simply surmise it as a willingness to fight.

Rather, the ANZAC spirit bestowed to us by the generations of the past embodies perseverance in the face of hardships, all so they could lend a hand to the less fortunate, those who couldn't defend themselves or found themselves downtrodden.

It is this innate desire to help others which defines the Anzac spirit, and it is this desire which enabled all those brave men to go off and fight, not for bloodshed, but for a future which embodied peace and freedom of all.

One would do well to note that the impact of the Anzac spirit extends beyond the overcoming of fears.

For it was this spirit which united so many, the likes of which would have most definitely consisted of the divided and incompatible.

It managed to do what words simply could not, rallying them under a common banner, despite what past grievances they may have had with one another.

The result, was a demonstration of camaraderie none could fathom.

People of a variety of nationalities and demographics came together almost seemingly overnight.

Why? Perhaps it was because they took one look at the essence of the Anzac spirit and witnessed something truly beautiful, something that made the plethora of barriers we had erected amongst ourselves, such as those of race, or past transgressions we refused to let slide, seem so trivial.

Today, we stand upon the soil of a free nation, but this soil has not come without a cost.

The camaraderie and perseverance of the Anzacs has earned our peace, however superficial some may argue it is.

What isn't superficial is the cost those brave, poor souls payed.

With over 212,000 Anzac casualties over the duration of WWI, and nearly 60,000 casualties in WWII, it is apparent that not only the Anzacs, but those near and dear to them paid, whether it was emotional, physical or financial.

The repercussions of their quest for peace would have most definitely followed many to the grave.

In spite of this, many continued moving towards what they deemed to be a righteous and hope-filled future, even if they couldn't enjoy it themselves.

While I have explored what I perceive as possible motives for the selfless actions of these servicemen, I like to believe that what those Anzacs bore witness to when they gazed upon the Anzac spirit was a fundamental truth.

A truth that we all share the same fate as humans.

To me, such a truth justifies the great lengths and ordeals our Anzacs endured for a nation filled with many strangers to them, and that is what enabled them to pay that price.

So how can we repay this grand debt owed to our Anzacs.

While it seems impossible, we can begin by refusing to forget them and their sacrifices, as well as their dream which they suffered for.

This can be realised by continuing to carry on the ANZAC spirit they left us with.

The world we live in is a far cry from peaceful, with armed conflicts still gripping many regions around the globe and instilling just as much suffering and heartache as it has done so in the past.

Furthermore, we are raging wars of a different sort, wars against the injustices and inequalities of the world from racism, sexual inequality, disease and famine. It may appear daunting, and it most certainly is, but to carry on the Anzac spirit we can start by simply extending a hand to those in need.

Whether it be lending a shoulder to those afflicted by the consequences of the droughts and bushfires of rural Australia, to the financial contributions of disaster victims abroad, simply offering that token gesture of compassion is the first step on a life lived in this Anzac spirit.

In my opinion, a world in which the dream of the Anzacs is realised, is one in which all of us have rallied together, not to slay another people, but the evils which prey upon us all, both in this land and abroad.

That is how we can show our appreciation of the sacrifices of the Anzacs.

Yes, like the rising and setting of the sun the Anzac spirit is all around.

We just need to want to be part of it and share it.

That is how we can repay the debt we owe.