#AnzacDay march

The medals of Douglas Ian Dewhirst


Today my husband Kym marched for his late father Doug.  Kym marched at the back of the contingent with the next of kin.  He said he found it far more moving than he anticipated.  Many in the crowd whom cheered them on were crying. Kym found this touching. Despite the fact that he felt he didn't deserve the cheers nor tears, he was moved.  There was a beautiful poignancy to the fact that the South Australian Governor, Hieu Van Le, a refugee from the Vietnam War, was officiating and taking the salute from those who marched.

Doug's medals were for: Minesweeping 1945-51, Korea, PNG and Korea, the Australian General Service Medal 1945-1975, The Australian General Service Medal Korea, and the Australian Defence Medal.

And coincidentally when we opened The Advertiser today there was a two page article on Kym's great grandfather, Thomas Henry Cooper and his 8 brothers who all signed up for World War 1.  Only one of the brothers, Francis Cooper, didn't return alive.   Here's a link to the article -
http://adelaideadvertiser.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx?key=080a0a7d-3af9-4236-985f-986188fac208&target=AdelaideNow