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World War II veteran Nevin Phillips, 96, who served on-board HMAS Kanimbla in the Pacific, was devastated when last year’s Anzac Day celebrations were called off at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The proud navy man, who survived the Battle of Leyte Gulf — the biggest navy battle of the war — signed up for service at just 18 years old out of a belief in service. “My job was taking soldiers from ship to shore,” he said. “We would go all the way up the island all the way from New Guinea. We would do a landing and go back to Australia, pick up some more troops and take them to another place.
“I lost my hearing when a cannon fired right above my head.”
The grandfather, who lives in Doncaster in Melbourne’s east, has marched almost every year in memory of his fallen mates and his father Herbert, who had his horse shot out from under him during the Battle of Beersheba.
Granddaughter Lauren, 25, said the whole family would go to watch him march every year with pride and this year may be his generation’s last chance.
“He’s 96 and if he doesn’t get the opportunity to march this year, there is no guarantee if he will make it to 97,” she said.
In Victoria, The Australian understands veterans were briefed about plans for a pared-back Anzac Day march — with 5000 servicemen and women — in a closed-door meeting with army personnel last week. Older veterans would be ferried to the event via car and family members would not be permitted to march with their relatives.
The Victorian government is yet to sign off on the proposal.
“RSL Victoria continues discussions with the Victorian government and other stakeholders to allow Anzac Day activities across the state to take place while observing all related COVID-19 restrictions,” chief executive Jamie Twidale said.
Celebrations will go ahead without number restrictions in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, while Tasmania will have a scaled-back march.
Mr Elliott said RSL NSW had been too conservative in its initial plans for the Sydney march.
“It was quite clear the civilian community and the veterans community wanted to commemorate Anzac Day as close to normality as possible,” he said.
“The restriction that the RSL placed on themselves were a bit unfair. So I called in the RSL, the Office for Veterans Affairs, the police and the Department of Health. We thrashed out a plan to see more than 5000 veterans being able to march.”
The NSW RSL so far has received less than 200 registrations from veterans in the ticket ballot for the Sydney CBD March.
In 2019, 12,000 veterans and descendants marched on Anzac Day in the Sydney CBD.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan confirmed the commemorations would go ahead as usual in the state, with plans to allow crowds up to 10,000 for the dawn service.
An SA Government spokeswoman said there would be no restrictions on this year’s Anzac Day march or Dawn Services.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/this-year-well-march-on-anzac-day-to-remember-them/news-story/0eaeeb06f6b9441c9cbc0cab1dcff713