That was a key message of the guest speaker at the Wodonga Anzac Day memorial service at Woodland Grove on Monday morning.

Retired Colonel David Rye told the large crowd that Anzac Day went well  beyond the anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli in 1915.

“The spirit of Anzac with its qualities of courage, mateship, perseverance against adversity, fairness, compassion and sacrifice continues to have a meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity,” he said.

Colonel Rye said this continued today.

“These qualities are Australian values because after all, our men and women in uniform are drawn from the Australian community and reflects what our society holds true,” he said.

“We gather, as we shall always gather, not to glorify war but to remind ourselves of who we are and the freedoms we possess and to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of those who contributed so much in shaping the identify of this proud nation and those that continue to serve.

“It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service.”

Colonel Rye then drew the crowd’s attention to the banners above High Street bearing the photo of Wodonga’s Percy George Stott.

Stott was 19 when he was killed in France on November 6, 1916.

“Today we not only remember Percy Stott,” he said.

“It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service.”

Colonel Rye said he doubted he original Anzacs “could have imagined the legacy they would have created for both our countries”.

That, he said, helped forge a distinctive Australian identity.

“It’s one that recognises the importance of sticking by your mates, overcoming great adversity and getting the job done.”