In Honor of [American] Veterans Day...

...I decided to google the term "australian wars" to see how this seemingly peaceful Aussie nation/state/continent has fared in world conflict.

To my surprise, Australia has been involved in a good many wars and lost a good many men and women. A brief overview of Australian military history: Sudan in 1885, Boer War, Boxer Rebellion, World War I, and World War II; the Occupation of Japan, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, and the Indonesian Confrontation; the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War. More than you might expect from such a little continent with such a small population, eh? Moreover, when you think about it, Australia is quite young in comparison to most other places in the world; that's a lot of fighting for just a couple hundred years.

Nevertheless, I also discovered that Australia--and New Zealand for that matter--celebrate a Veterans Day of their very own. It's called "Anzac Day," Anzac for its celebration of the "Anzac spirit," which famous Australian historian Charles Bean coined as "reckless valor in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat."

Anzac Day is celebrated on April 25th by both Australia and New Zealand in commemoration of those who have died in battle.