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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-5573
The ambassadors of New Zealand and Australia will join Department of
Labor officials at a flag raising and wreath laying ceremony in the
department's Veterans' Park on Friday, April 25, marking the agency's fourth
annual recognition of ANZAC Day. The Labor Department is the only federal
agency to hold a formal ceremony recognizing 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 16,000 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.
Participating in the ceremonies will be Preston M. Taylor, Jr.,
assistant secretary of labor for veterans employment and training; Mr. L. John
Wood, ambassador of New Zealand; and Mr. Andrew Peacock, ambassador of
Australia. 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 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information may be out of date.
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