Carve Their Names: An ANZAC Short Story Page 2
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It is said by some cultures that the events of a single day are remembered by the land upon which it happened and retold by the wind for hundreds of generations to come. The events of April 25, 1915, will be remembered by the land, the breeze will whisper the story and the epitaph of that day will be etched into eternity as the sun sinks in the western sky.
The ANZACs remained at Gallipoli for 8 months before they withdrew. In this time Australia lost more than 8,000 soldiers KIA, whilst more than 2,000 New Zealand soldiers died. The ANZACs were then sent into France, namely The Somme. They lost more than 5,000 soldiers on the first night.
“Those heroes that shed their blood
And lost their lives ...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace,
There is no difference between the johnnies and the
Mehmets to us where they lie side by side
Here in this country of ours ...
You, the mothers,
Who sent their sons from far away countries,
Wipe away your tears;
Your sons are now lying in our bosom
And are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land
They have become our sons as well.”
– Ataturk, 1934
Author’s note: The character of 2Lt Kelly is based on a real soldier, 2Lt George Edward Eccleston Kelly who died at Anzac Cover on April 25, 1915.
Novels by Keith McArdle
The Reckoning: The Day Australia Fell
Australia has been invaded.
While the outnumbered Australian Defence Force fights on the ground, in the air and at sea, this quickly becomes a war involving ordinary people.
Ben, an IT consultant has never fought a day in his life. Will he survive?
Grant, a security guard at Sydney's International Airport, finds himself captured and living in the filth and squalor of one of the concentration camps dotted around Australia. Knowing death awaits him if he stays, he plans a daring escape.
This is a dark day in Australia's history. This is terror, loneliness, starvation and adrenaline all mixed together in a sour cocktail.
This is the day Australia fell.
The Forgotten Land
Sergeant Steve Golburn, an Australian Special Air Service veteran, is tasked with a dangerous mission in Iraq, deep behind enemy lines. When Steve’s five man SAS patrol inadvertently spark a time portal, they find themselves in 10th century Viking Denmark. A place far more dangerous and lawless than modern Iraq.
Join the SAS patrol on this action adventure into the depths of not only a hostile land, far away from the support of the Allied front line, but into another world…another time.
Assassin
Vyder Ironstone is an assassin with a troubled past. At the order of his king, Vyder must undertake his most dangerous mission yet. A mission from which he may never return. If he is successful, it might just be enough to alleviate war tearing the kingdom apart. The prospect of failure is not worth considering.
(Please note, Assassin is a (free) novelette, introducing the main character of a new trilogy, the first book of which will be out 2015.)
Carve Their Names: An ANZAC Short Story
Keith McArdle
Copyright © Keith McArdle 2014
ISBN: 9781310280948
Keith McArdle asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it, are the work of the author’s imagination.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
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