Before McCarthy Catholic College captain Maeve Galvin gave her moving address at Monday's commemoration service for the Sandakan death marches, she did some reading, care of her dad.
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"I was just horrified, mum called me out for dinner and I was like I don't think I can eat after reading this," she said.
She said remembering tragedy helps prevent repeating it.
It was a solemn and serious occasion, but Tamworth's RSL Sub-Branch President said she was "delighted".
Monday's Sandakan Commemoration Service was the first Tamworth RSL commemoration since the start of the pandemic over a year ago, Jayne McCarthy said.
The city has one of just 11 memorials in Australia to the enormously deadly and tragic 1945 death marches, with claimed the lives of 2,434 prisoners of war of the Japanese.
Just six Australians survived, all of them after escaping. It's often considered the worst single war crime of the Second World War against Australians.
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The horrific war crime claimed an entire generation of farmers, Mrs McCarthy said.
"[The memorial] has to be a constant reminder of the cost of war. It has to be," she said.
"This is only one of 11 memorials in Australia.
"This service has lots of different meanings for lots of different people. But we lost 2,500 Australians in one march. If we let that go, who are we?"
McCarthy Catholic College captain Maeve Galvin gave a moving address at the commemorative event.
She told the Leader it was "always important to remember these events not only because of the sacrifices that were made in them but also because of what we can apply to the 21st century.
"I think there's a real importance in remembering why the occurred. So that when we look at our everyday society and we see what we have we remember why we have it and we remember the importance of fighting to keep it.
"So we don't end up in a predicament like that again."
Ms Galvin had spent time reading her dad's Peter FitzSimons books in advance of the speech, she said.
"I was just horrified, mum called me out for dinner and I was like I don't think I can eat after reading this," she said.
More than 150 men of the New England and Northern Tablelands region died at Sandakan.
Andrew Messenger
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
