Missionaries Participate In ANZAC Day Dawn Service

Full-time missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang songs of praise and gratitude at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on the early morning of 25 April 2018.  As is tradition, the Dawn Service was held just before dawn at the Bomana War Cemetary, concluding as the sun rose.

Elder Shaun Lister of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, had a special experience as his grandfather, a Native American, served in World War II in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. "Being part of ANZAC Day was special and heart warming. My grandfather served in the U.S. military here in Papua New Guinea. He doesn't talk much about it. But now I can understand him more. My grandfather helped and there were other people to help, such as the Fuzzy Wuzzy."

Elder Davian Laufiso of New Zeland has been attending ANZAC Day every year. "I felt privileged, honoured and trusted to be there. It was as if I was standing with those {military soldiers] who have passed, but I was there as part of God's army."

Soldliers fought along side each other in April, 1915, a spirit of mateship at Gallipoli, Turkey against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The traditional early morning start time for ANZAC Day dawn services all across Australia, New Zealand and other countries is symbolic and represents the early morning hour on 25 April 1915 when the ANZAC troops first made their landing on the beaches of Gallipoli.  

In the intervening years since its inception, ANZAC Day has grown to be a vitally important and widely-revered national day of celebration and appreciation throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the neighbouring Pacific Islands, including Papua New Guinea.  During the intervening years since 1915, ANZAC Day, celebrated on 25 April each year, has evolved into a hallowed holiday to commemorate the efforts of all who have served in the military, particularly those who died, in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.