The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s bloods cries out to me from the ground. Genesis 4:10 (NIV)

ANZAC Day is the Australasian equivalent of Remembrance Day. On 25 April, every year, citizens of Australia and New Zealand observe a public holiday. Many attend dawn services for the war veterans of their countries. Shops close for part of the day.

Australia and New Zealand are close allies, partly because of their geographic proximity. Both countries were English colonies and, therefore, fought in wars where English interests reigned supreme. Over the decades, both nations separated themselves, to a certain extent, from England. Part of the reason, despite close ties to that country, was that they, like other nations ruled by England, wanted autonomy.

One theatre of war, where ANZAC troops fought, was at El-Alamein in Egypt. Several battles occurred, from 1 to 27 July; and 23 October to 11 November 1942. Australians and New Zealanders, together with Indians, South Africans, and the British, fought against German and Italian forces.

It was Rommel against Montgomery, and with England’s superior air power, Montgomery won. It was a victory.

However, when one visits the El-Alamein Cemetery and War Museum, the graves of the young men tell a different story. They are still there – the bodies of the fallen. Many of the men who died were in their twenties. (New Zealand’s fallen appear relatively old as they were in their late twenties or thirties.)

It is quiet. It feels as if time has stopped, and the battle that led up to those deaths, still rages. When Cain killed Abel, the Torah records that he destroyed the “bloods” (plural) of his murdered brother. While there is a great deal of debate about the meaning of the additional letter, what many scholars think it means, is that murder destroys all a person’s descendants. It is a sobering thought.

As you walk through that cemetery, you feel it. The inner chatter of your brain goes silent. Dead silent. The sacrifice is not simply that of one young man in war. It is all his blood descendants, throughout time. The sacrifice for his country is, therefore, enormous.

Now, multiply it.

The enormity is overwhelming. Many visitors come to find relatives. Some are curious. But everyone in the cemetery finally slows down. Some cry openly. Others just stop.

Respect is fitting. And it is why, all over the world, different nations remember their fallen.

Perhaps, at this point in history, with wars, and threat of wars, it is as important to remember, lest we forget.

Above: El-Alamein Cemetery and War Museum (Photo © SJ Hague.)

Unknown New Zealand soldier El-Alamein Cemetery and War Museum, Egypt.

(Photo © SJ Hague.)