By Mikayla van Loon
Private Bill Morris, 97, a surviving World War II veteran, was last year honoured with an Anzac Day service at Mercy Place Montrose thinking there was a slim chance he would see another.
But surprising his family, friends and carers, Mr Morris did make it to another Anzac Day and it seemed only fitting to host the service once more at the aged care home.
Although in poor health and currently in hospital, Mr Morris was granted a day of leave to attend the service on Monday 25 April and did so with the biggest smile on his face.
With a crowd of people, fellow residents and veterans and members of the CFA and police, Mr Morris sat at the front of the line to pay tribute to the fallen and the men and women who served alongside him.
Sitting directly beside him were two of his counterparts, Private Eric Philpot who served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953 and Major Colin Bowater who served in the Army Reserves from 1968 to 1990.
These men were both presented with custom quilts from Aussie Hero Quilters to recognise their service and thank them for their sacrifice.
Major Gary Bergman, a representative of the Armed Forces from Canberra, said while Anzac Day marked the 107th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, it has become far more than just honouring the original diggers.
“At first Anzac Day gave us an opportunity to honour the original Anzacs but after numerous wars and operations Anzac Day has evolved to allow us to reflect on the service of more than 100,000 members of the Australian armed forces who have lost their lives during or as a result of war like service and peacetime operations,” he said.
“So today, we commemorate and honour all that have put on our country’s uniform.”
Mercy Place’s June Murrowood said bringing the Anzac Day service to these men and women in the home meant more than they could ever describe.
“It means a lot to them. People think you are at the end of the line when you come into aged care and you don’t continue to be involved in all these things that happen in the community and it’s true, they can’t all go out there. So we try to bring all these community events to them,” she said.
“It’s pretty important to them and it’s important to all of us to acknowledge what they did. You don’t realise how many conflicts Australia has been involved in.”
Families of the residents said for their loved ones, being able to experience normal life connects them to the outside world, allowing them to feel a part of something.
At the moment, Ms Murrowood said six veterans reside at Mercy Place, all who took part in different wars, as well as the wives of many men who fought in various conflicts.
For veterans like Mr Morris, Ms Murrowood said the Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services Mercy Place has started hosting has given the residents something to look forward to.
“The joy that it brings the residents and the fact that we can publicly say thank you because I don’t think they get enough and some of them can’t go to the community functions anymore. So over the last few years they might never have been one.”
The organisers of the Anzac Day service at Mercy Place would like to see it become a yearly tradition, something Major Bergman said he would support wholeheartedly.
“This is such a unique event. While I talked about the broader campaigns, I talked about the specific service of the individuals here and so I’m setting a precedent because this hasn’t been done before except in the Last Post Ceremony held at the Australian War Memorial,” he said.
“We feel a natural bond. Regardless of our service, we just feel this natural bond. So it’s nice to be associated with people that share similar values.”
