My fellow Australians, there are many privileges come the way of a Prime Minister of this country but none over the past nine years has been greater for me than the opportunity to meet the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. To be warmed by them, to be encouraged by them, to be reassured by them. And so it was that early in February this year, when visiting the province of Aceh I had the opportunity of meeting some of the young men and women whose lives we honour today.
To be reminded of just what wonderful people we have in our defence forces. Everything about them was so beautifully Australian. They were direct, they were friendly, they were tough, they were courageous but they were also compassionate. They were doing something in our name for the poor people of Indonesia. They were doing good deeds in the name of Australia and that of course what is so heartbreaking about the event that we mark today.
And as we gather to give thanks to their lives, as we gather so inadequately to offer words of consolation and hope to their loved ones, I thought of that day, I thought of a pilot on the C-130 going to Aceh and I said to him: "It's a great day for flying." He turned to me, he says: "Mate, everyday is a beautiful day for flying.'' And he smiled at me very warmly and benignly. And it summed up to me, the great love of service life that these young men and women, all of them, have.
And as we reflect on their lives and we give thanks for them, I hope their loved ones can draw consolation from the fact that they died doing something that they wanted to do. They believed in it, they thrived on it, they did it well and they did us proud as they did it. And I also hope that as a nation, and we gather in this Great Hall of our National Parliament, we reflect on our national life.
We might also take a resonant message from their lives. Sometimes people reflect negatively on modern life. The example of these young men and women is the most reassuring message and resonance that we can have, that the soul and the character of modern Australia is good and decent.
They epitomised everything about our way of life that we believe in and we treasure, their commitment, their decency, their love, their compassion, their cheekiness, their cheerfulness, all of those things that are so beautifully Australian. And so as we gather in the shadow of the greatest national commemoration that we Australians mark, that is ANZAC Day, we give thanks to their lives. We offer our love, and our support, and our compassion to those that have been left behind. We thank them for what they have done in our name and we give thanks for their representation of the virtues and the values of the country we love so dearly, and the country they loved so dearly, and the country they died in the service of and in the service of all humanity.