The following is the text of an address given during the Annual Pilgrimage of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, alongside the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion Memorial tree in the grounds of the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance on Sunday 15th June 2003, by Lorraine Richards, whose Great Uncle was a member of the Battalion.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to begin by thanking the committee members for asking the younger generation to be involved in today's ceremony. I feel truly honoured to be standing here before you.

I thought I would share my thoughts with you as a member of the younger generation. My grandfather's only brother and sibling was George Robert Hooper, who was a member of the 2/2nd Pioneers in "D Company". Sadly George never made it home. At the age of 26 years and 6 months he became a victim of the Burma railway. Like so many of these wonderful men who went away to serve he ended up becoming a POW. He walked with death as a companion through hell. I know we will never understand the horror of war as you men knew it, but when I look around and see the mateship you all share it is a bond, and the younger generation cannot begin to scratch the surface.

I wanted to become involved like so many of us here now so that you men know that in the years to come we will keep the tradition and memories going. You are our connection with a past that we could never imagine. I have read that the Pioneer's is one of the most active (associations) in Australia, whose members share familiarity due to combat and captivity which has strengthened into life long friendships.

I'm sure there is not a day that doesn't go by that you men don't think of the ones left behind who did not know of a world past World War Two. Being in your company I see that none of you think of yourselves as heroes only that you served in a battalion of heroes. I feel proud that generations before I came along, there were men who were prepared to go to war, to conjure up the courage to fight knowing you might not survive, or grow old with children and see grandchildren, to lose over three years of freedom in a POW camp and to suffer the life long effects of this.

I feel it is our duty as "the younger generation of Australians" to fight to keep the spirit alive. We need to honour the soldier's sacrifices and savour the liberty they bequeathed us as their service is our heritage. This is said to all who survived and came home to grow old and those who are forever young.

On a personal note I would like to end by thanking Ted Hansen for inviting me to speak. Ted and his wife Dot have become a special part of my life in the last twelve months which has filled a huge void left from the passing of my grandfather in January 2002."

HONOURING THE 2/2 PIONEER BATTALION

The following is the text of an address given at the Annual Pilgrimage of the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, during the ceremony inside the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance on Sunday 15th June 2003, by Frances McKay, whose father, Tom O'Loughlin was a member of the Battalion.

"Thank you for giving me this time to say a few words. It is indeed an honour to be given the opportunity to be involved in carrying on the work and the traditions of the 2/2 Pioneer Battalion Association.

A very high standard and example has been set and be assured I will do my upmost to preserve this legacy and see it as a duty and responsibility to pass on to future generations.

As we commemorate the day when the Battalion first went into action at Fort Merdjayoun and especially remember those members who died in battle and other circumstances throughout the war, and those who have died since, I want to say thank you for putting your lives on the line not only in this battle but those that followed so that we could have the freedom, values, beliefs and lifestyle that we have today. We are forever in your debt.

It is only in recent very graphic war movies that we are given a glimpse into the reality and the horror of the battlefield and the feelings and emotions of those involved. And so this is why I believe one of the reasons so many young Australians are travelling overseas to places like Gallipoli, New Guinea and the Thai-Burma railway to get as close as they can to experience a feel for the surrounding and an insight into what happened there. They have returned to honour the fallen and reflect upon the spirit of this nation that was born and grew in these places. A spirit of not giving in, being the battler who comes through in the end, with the help of those around them.

This Aussie spirit is typified in the 2/2 Pioneer Battalion.

In closing I would like to read you a poem about the Battle of Merdjayoun. Many of you will have heard it before, but it is sometimes good to hear and ponder something we haven't heard for a while, and is the reason that has brought us here for this annual pilgrimage."

THE BATTLE OF MERDJAYOUN

Oh Syria land of mountains,
Whose ruggedness I'll ne'er forget,
When I leave you far behind
I'll leave you with regret.

I'll never forget that morning,
The seventeenth of June,
When the Pioneers were sent
To capture Merdjayoun;

You all were really mired,
You badly needed rest,
But you never grumbled,
I know you did your best.

Yes, you were outnumbered,
You only had a few,
But you went in like heroes,
You had a job to do.

Your courage was Australia's,
Your pluck we all admired,
But you never had a chance
Against that deadly fire.

Yet, you had to take it,
2nd Pioneers one and all,
Lying on that stony ridge,
Or crouched behind that wall.

I'll always think of you, pals,
As I write such words as these,
How you returned from that fort
In ones and twos and threes.

For those of you who did return
To God we offer thanks;
I know you'll never forget
The legionnaires and the tanks.

Goodbye my pioneer comrades,
You did not die in vain,
We will tell the story
When we reach home again.