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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-5573
Deputy Prime Minister Donald McKinnon of New Zealand will
join Department of Labor officials at a flag raising and wreath laying ceremony
in the department's Veterans'Park on Thursday, April 25, marking the agency's
third annual recognition of ANZAC Day. The Labor Department is the only federal
agency to recognize ANZAC Day.
Organized by the department's Veterans' Employment and
Training Service, in cooperation with the embassies of Australia and New
Zealand, ANZAC Day commemorates the 1915 landing by troops of the Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, during
World War I.
The amphibious operation was designed to relieve pressure
on the Allied armies on the Western Front and take Turkey, an ally of Germany
and Austria-Hungary, out of the war. Even though the operation did not achieve
its objectives, the dignity and heroism displayed by the troops has evolved
into a source of national pride. April 25 has become the official day of
remembrance in which the two nations honor their dead in all wars.
Also participating in the ceremonies will be Preston M.
Taylor, Jr., assistant secretary of labor for veterans employment and training;
John McCarthy, ambassador of Australia; and John Wood, ambassador of New
Zealand. Senior defense and military attaches from Australia and New Zealand,
representatives from American veterans' service organizations and departmental
staff will attend.
The 45-minute ceremony, beginning at 6:15 a.m. in
Veterans' Park at the east entrance of the Labor Department, will consist of
raising the American flag and presenting the flags of Australia and New
Zealand, a brief welcome by department officials and responses by the deputy
prime minister and the ambassadors, laying wreaths, and a benediction. A bugler
will play "Last Post" at the conclusion of the ceremony.
The ceremony is open to the public. Veterans' Park is
located near the east entrance of the Labor Department off 2nd Street NW.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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