Anzac Day is like no other on our national calendar.

A sacred day of deep sincerity.

A day to honour all Australians who have served, suffered, and sacrificed in wars and military operations on behalf of our nation. At dawn – and into the day – Australians will gather at memorials across the country.

Some small and modest; others large and prominent. Yet all stand as a tribute to the valour of the fallen – and as a testament to the tragedy that befell our soldiers, sailors and airmen – and their families.

One of the 103,000 Australians worthy of our commemoration is Private Francis John McDonald who served in the First World War.

Francis’ family – like mine – were locals of Nimmitabel in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales.

His mum and dad ran local hotels.

After finishing school, Franics went to Goulburn to work with the Railway Department. He started his career as an engine cleaner – and aspired to be a locomotive driver.

One foggy Friday night, two trains collided close to Exeter, killing 14 people and injuring many more.

Francis was part of the relief party sent to remove the bodies from the wreckage.

That ghastly scene was an ominous prelude to the horrors he would see on the Western Front.

Francis enlisted in 1915.

The following year, he found himself in Egypt, training with the veterans of Gallipoli.

Then in March 1916, he reached France with the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion.

In July, Francis and his band of brothers were readying to join the Battle of the Somme and relieve the British forces.

The Official Histories note:

“The Australian brigades which marched through the last of the green country towards the open waste of their first great battlefield in France were, on the whole, well rested and in high spirits.”

But their mood soon changed.

As the Australians moved into the frontlines, the evidence of recent fighting was all around, with saps choked with dead bodies.

The Australians’ job was to take the village of Pozières.

Francis was regarded as a “fine athlete” – and seen as a “splendid man.”

There was no doubt he was raring to go – to play his part in the major Australian offensive on 23 July 1916.

Yet, just two days before the Australian push, Private McDonald was killed in action.

He was just 26 years old.

Francis was one of the first to fall in what would become one of Australia’s bloodiest encounters of the Great War.

In just six weeks of fighting in and around Pozières, the Australians suffered 23,000 casualties, with 6,800 men killed.

Historian, Bill Gammage, wrote that the Australian servicemen would never forget the “thousand scenes of horror and heroism, nor the ceaseless, merciless, murdering guns.”

Private McDonald would not be forgotten too – either by our nation, or by those dearest to him.

The Goulburn Evening Penny Post printed the touching words of Francis’ grieving father:

“From the cradle stage until his departure for the front, Frank never gave his mother, or myself, a back answer – nor did he ever meet us with a cloud on his face.”

Today, Private McDonald lies at rest in the Pozières British Cemetery.

His name is listed on the honour board at Sydney’s Central Station.

He is among the many Australian workers of the railway who became Anzac soldiers of war.

In Nimmitabel too, there is a memorial to Francis.

A reminder of a family’s tragedy – and a town’s loss – in the greater tragedy and loss of the First World War.

On Anzac Day, our act of remembrance is much more than an expression of respect and gratitude.

In remembering our fallen – in reaching into the past – we remind ourselves of who we are as Australians.

We recall the best qualities that define us – and the standards we strive towards.

To serve, not to take.

To stand together, not apart.

To remain courageous in adversity, not despairing.

On Anzac Day, our act of remembrance is not to forget the truth of who we are as Australians.

Lest we forget.

‍