Turkish International Service. Turkish Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey

The land on which we stand today is a place of extraordinary significance.

We meet here each year to honour the memories of the thousands of young men whose deeds 94 years ago did so much to forge our nations.

We honour their courage in the face of terrors we cannot begin to imagine.

We honour their commitment to each other and their commitment to the nations they served so well.

We pay tribute to their sacrifice and, with great sadness, we mourn their loss.

Ninety-four years ago Gallipoli was a place of enormous suffering and tragedy.

In remembering the horrors of battle, however, our nations also reflect on the ideals that were borne out by conduct of our troops.

Australians remember and reaffirm each year the spirit of the Anzacs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the courage and the mateship, as well as the lost innocence and new sense of nationhood.

Gallipoli has become an enduring and powerful symbol for our nations.

We are inspired by defiance in the face of overwhelming adversity and the camaraderie and mateship they summoned in the face of certain death.

We come together each year, in cities and small towns across the world, to give thanks and to reflect and remember each year that another, precious friendship was forged on this peninsula.

It is a friendship that the Turkish people strengthen each year as they again welcome us into the heart of their nation and their people.

We honour the tremendous loss the Turkish people suffered here and convey our deep respect for the proud nation they have built out of the great suffering and the sacrifice of a generation.

Just as the remains of our fallen now lie together, so are we united today in the friendship that has grown from the shared sacrifice of our nations which we know will endure and prosper in shared peace.

As nations that owe so much to the past sacrifices of our people, we renew our commitment that we will never forget all that was lost and all that was ultimately gained on this land 94 years ago.

Lest We Forget.

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