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Relatives reflect on war spirit

Some carried sleeping bags, some carried flags, some wore backpacks and others used walking sticks.

Many proudly wore rows of medals earned by fathers, grandfathers, uncles or great-uncles.

They had made their way from all over Australia to be at the services to commemorate the centenary of the landings at Gallipoli.

Some had never been to Gallipoli before, and for them it was awe-inspiring to see for themselves the now so familiar landforms that rise up from the shores around Anzac Cove.

For others it was a return to the place where the original Anzacs reserved for themselves a unique place in history by their courage, perseverance and sacrifice.

For all it was a moment they will always remember.

They were part of a select group, for the limitations imposed by the site meant just 10,500, including 8160 Australians, were able to attend by putting their name in a national ballot.

And many had very close and direct links to the landings 100 years ago.

ANZAC DAY
HONOURED THROUGH THE YEARS
VILLERS-BRETONNEUX REMEMBERS
ANZACS WERE 'AUSTRALIANS AT OUR BEST'
CROWDS HONOUR ANZACS AT WA PARADES

After the dawn service at the commemorative site, thousands trekked about 3km along the road and then up a steep dirt track to a second service at Lone Pine.

It was here the links between the crowd and the first Anzacs were made very clear.

The event's Master of Ceremonies asked those who were commemorating a father to raise a hand, and many went up. He then asked those whose father had landed on April 25, 1915 to keep their hand in the air. Many stayed up.

Among those with close links was John Newton, 80, of East Fremantle, whose father Isaac Newton, of the 16th Battalion, had fought at Gallipoli and then the Western Front.

Mr Newton was full of praise for commemoration organisers and said it had been an emotional experience.

"Just being here, thinking how my dad was here," he said. "We could have been walking where he walked."

Also there was Bill Grayden, 94, a World War II veteran and State and Federal MP of 43 years, whose father Len Ives had fought and was severely wounded at Gallipoli as a member of the 16th Battalion.

Mr Grayden said the dawn service had been very moving.

And then there was Jo Beavis, from Yanchep, who accompanied her mother Gaelene Gore, from Tasmania.

Mrs Gore's father Charlie Stevens had served on the Western Front and her great-uncle had fought at Gallipoli and lost an arm.

Ms Beavis said it was "an amazing place" and being there to see it for herself brought home just how hard a task the Anzacs had faced.

Laith Reynolds, of Goose- berry Hill, said his father Alfred was a member of the 3rd Field Ambulance, landed on April 25 and served through the entire war.

The dawn service had been a wonderful experience, he said.

Although much of the emphasis of the commemorations was on remembering the past, a few themes providing an optimistic view looking forward emerged.

Many of the messages left on cards or little crosses at headstones at many cemeteries were written in a child's hand.

The insights they will have gained are an optimistic pointer to the future.

And then there was the role of the Turkish hosts.

In his address at the Lone Pine service, Prime Minister Tony Abbott noted the great care that had been taken of the cemetery, reflected on how the Turks had been "a noble adversary" and thanked Turkey for "accepting our sons with theirs".

Others noted during the week how forgiving the Turkish people were, given their casualties in 1915 as they defended their homeland vastly outnumbered the Anzac losses.

And so it was heartening also to be among the thousands walking from the Anzac commemorative site to Lone Pine after the dawn service.

Turkish soldiers lined the road and track to Lone Pine at regular intervals, which was comforting in a time of heightened security concerns.

A number of the walkers made a point of saying a simple "thank you" to the young Turkish men who stood guard along the route.

Once foes, now friends.

Thinking how my dad was here. We could have been walking where he walked."John Newton