A crowd gathered together at the Cobram and District War Memorial, with respectful silence in the cold and dark to remember the fallen.
Bagpipes and horns sounded, echoes of soldiers’ calls in remembrance of their service and sacrifice.
The group had turned out at the memorial for the traditional Anzac Day Dawn Service which included veterans, current service members, guests of honour and the public; all there to remember.
Special guest Lieutenant Colonel Julian West said the day was for reflection on past sacrifices and the legacies they left behind.
‘’Part of our history is to learn about what we did in 1915 for the original Anzacs who helped forge Australian spirit, and for us to learn about that so we can move forward,’’ he said.
“Because to move forward, you need to look to the past and understand what people have done for us.
“I think it’s an excellent time of reflection to think about those men and women who served and died fighting for our country and we should never, ever forget their sacrifice.”
Younger people featured prominently in both services and the march, displaying the spirit of remembrance and commemoration that echoes through the generations.
And with the population of veterans getting older, it is the younger people who will be continuing the memory of those who fought, those who served, and those who supported.
Special guest Captain Ashley Papp CSC RAN, who grew up in Cobram and was a paper boy delivering the Courier, said he used the opportunity to remember not only those who died, but also those who served.
‘’There are more survivors than those that died of course and each one of those survivors bears a scar and so do their families,’’ he said.
“I do think that it’s important to remember where we’ve come from as individuals, as families, as communities and as a nation, those Anzac values, we see that not just in the military, we see that every day.
“(Commemoration) is about serving something bigger than yourself, being part of a nation and giving something of yourself to others and, in return, that satisfaction of serving others, trust and mateship.”