Across the country, Australians have paused this morning to remember and mark the 104th anniversary of the landing of Anzac troops at Gallipoli and the bloody combat that followed.
Hundreds of thousands braved the chill morning to attend Anzac Day services across Australia.
As Australians gathered to pay tribute to the nation's servicemen and women on Anzac Day, one in particular was on Scott Morrison's mind.
The prime minister told a group of Australian troops and Darwin-based US Marines that he'll be thinking of the stretcher-bearer of whom he has a statue in his office.
"I'll be remembering Leslie 'Bull' Allen, in particular, because of what it means for our relationship between Australia and the United States," he said on Wednesday.
Under heavy Japanese fire in July 1943, the corporal from Queensland carried a dozen wounded Americans to safety down the slopes of New Guinea's Mount Tambu.
He was awarded the US Silver Star for his heroism.
Mr Morrison says life wasn't easy for the corporal before World War II, when he experienced violence as a child.
Nor was it easy when he returned, serving as a reminder of the tough time servicemen and women can experience once they're home.
"They're still fighting the battles that have left the battlefield long ago," the prime minister said.
"We'll remember our duty to our veterans and we'll say thank you for their service, and as a government, we'll continue to say thank you for their service by honouring them with the services we must extend to them."
Mr Morrison attended a dawn service in Townsville, where he met with the veterans and their families.
"Our heroes don't just belong to the past; they live with us today," he said.
"They are a generation who also deserve to be remembered and honoured here today.
"The call of the original Anzacs echoes on their chests today."
In Darwin, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten reflected on the Japanese bombing campaign of WWII as he attended an Anzac Day service.
"Seventy-seven years ago, bare metres from here and in the waters behind us ... Japanese bombs brought war to Australia," Mr Shorten told the thousands gathered by the waterside.
Acknowledging the sacrifice of the first Anzacs - allied Australian and New Zealand troops deployed shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time during the Gallipoli campaign - the Labor leader also paid tribute to those who followed in their footsteps.
"The peace we live, the democracy we vote in, the fact we can gather here today with family and friends to share a meal and raise a glass under the beautiful territory sky," he said.
"We can live our lives because of Australians who gave theirs, and because of those who serve us still, in the uniform of our nation."
Sydney remembers
More than 5,000 people from Sydney and beyond crammed into Martin Place for the Anzac Day dawn service.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Governor David Hurley and the Army's second highest official Major General Greg Bilton were among those addressing the 93rd annual service at The Cenotaph.
"I used to come here years ago and it'd be a couple hundred people but now it's thousands," Terrance Coffey, the son of a World War II veteran, told AAP on Thursday.
"It's my way of remembering Dad. Anzac Day was the way he got together with all his mates from the war."
Young and old at Brisbane's dawn service
Veterans, families and locals gathered before dawn in the Brisbane CBD to commemorate Anzac Day, the first at the refurbished Shrine of Remembrance in Anzac Square.
In the lead up to the service, RSL Queensland president Tony Ferris said it was vital that the significance of Anzac Day was shared with future generations because there was just a handful of surviving World War Two veterans.
Among those future generations to arrive on the cool morning was 15-year-old Will Purcell who said he felt it was important to pay remember the Anzacs, and his great grandfather who fought in WWII.
Crowds flock to Melbourne dawn service
Thousands of people are arriving at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance for the city's Anzac Day dawn service, including an Afghanistan veteran.
Since serving in Afghanistan, Damien McGee comes to Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service to remember the little things.
He's one of thousands of people pouring into the city's Shrine of Remembrance for Thursday's early morning commemorations.
After serving in the infantry in Afghanistan, Mr McGee says he comes year after year to remember "the small things that we have here in Australia that we generally take for granted".
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews urged Australians to "remember those who served and came home... remember all who carry the wounds of battle and who, long after the healing, still battle the demons of conflict".
"Perhaps above all, remember that in everything we do, it is for us, each and every one of us, to prove worthy of their service and sacrifice," he said.
VC hero addresses Canberra crowd
VC recipient Mark Donaldson has addressed the large crowd gathered in front of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Thousands have descended on the war memorial to pay tribute to the nation's servicemen and women 104 years after the Gallipoli landing.
Corporal Donaldson, VC, who a decade ago became the first recipient of Australia's highest military honour for bravery in more than 40 years, provided the ceremony's address.
That honour came a few months after he rescued a coalition forces interpreter from heavy fire in Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan.
But today in Canberra, it was the sacrifices of others of which he spoke.
Those included the actions of oldest living Victoria Cross recipient, Keith Payne, aged 85.
He received the honour for rescuing fellow soldiers while under enemy fire and suffering his own injuries during the Battle of Ben Het in 1969.
Corporal Donaldson said all Austrians had an obligation to such people.
"We honour their sacrifice by living a good life in support of others, respecting the freedoms given us and inspiring others to build a better Australia and a stronger Anzac spirit," he told the crowd of thousands of people.
"We should strive to be worthy of these sacrifices made for us."
Following Corporal Donaldson's address, junior Legatee Miss Diana Marschall read an extract from the poem In Flanders Fields, written by John McCrae while serving in Belgium. McCrae died during the First World War on the Western Front.
Thousands gather in Perth for Anzac Day
More than 20,000 people have gathered at Kings Park State War Memorial in Perth for the Anzac Day dawn service.
Among the dignitaries attending are West Australian Governor Kim Beazley, while Premier Mark McGowan will deliver the address.
The service will also be viewed on six large screens surrounding the commemorative site where there appears to be a boosted security presence.
Afterwards, there will be a Haka for Life performance at Kings Park and a gunfire breakfast at Government House Gardens preceding the annual city march.
'Innocence stolen'
In the shadow of iconic Elephant Rock, on the Gold Coast, a crowd of more than 20,000 gathered to pay tribute to our servicemen and women for Anzac Day.
The rock glowed, bathed in the red light, reminiscent of the soaring cliffs of Gallipoli.
A crowd of more than 20,000 crammed on to the beach and lined the streets, breaking their silence only to applaud the arrival of a host of veterans.
The service, one of the biggest regional services in Queensland, began with a lone piper from the top of the rock where Australian and New Zealand flags flew at half-mast on Thursday.
Currumbin RSL president Michael Humphreys said war stole the innocence of a nation.
Afghanistan veteran Andy Cullen said Anzac Day was difficult for many veterans.
"It is a sad reminder of friends lost and sacrifices made and wounds that may not heal," he said.
He said more than 33,000 Australians had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving 41 dead and 261 wounded.
"No one can underestimate the price that has been paid by individuals and families .... because there are hundreds, if not thousands, who are carrying the physical and psychological injuries and will do for years to come."
He said from 2001 to 2016 there were 373 recorded suicides in the ADF community.
"We must do more to help the individuals and families who suffer."
The service will conclude with an emotional burial at sea where the ashes of 33 servicemen will be scattered on the waves by local rowers from surf lifesaving clubs.
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