It's one reason why I recommend Ozzies to visit the Sir John Monash centre ----
to see and hear the voices of actual Ozzies who were there ----------- those voices still ring out across the land and across the world
and so does the respect for them in that part of the world -- one would be very stupid to voice one's dislike of Victorians if one were anywhere near Villers-Bretonneux where you find things written like ''A British general later called the Australian attack “perhaps the greatest individual feat of the war”.
And signs in classrooms saying 'Never forget the Australians' and 'France and Australia together forever'
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The recommended visit to Verdun is a little different - but again, one of the reasons is to hear the voices of soldiers - this time, French and German -- they are still soldiers though ----------- all of them - French, German, Aussie, English, Kiwi - all share many similarities - and Verdun is a very good example of that because you see where the Forts etc were held by both sides at times and both left writings and messages
With Verdun especially - one gets the 'scale' of it - at least a little - one sees the size of the cemetery and a visit to the Ossuary IMO is an absolute must for any student of humanity and war
