Salvos to support Unknown Veteran’s Anzac journey

Red Shield Defence Services Chief Commissioner Vaughan Agnew. Image: File

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE

The Salvation Army is supporting a 300km march to celebrate mateship, engagement and the enduring spirit of the Anzacs.

The Enduring Spirit of the Anzacs: March of the Unknown Veteran is an initiative of Eyes Front, a charity dedicated to supporting defence veterans and first responders, as well as other vulnerable community members, and Advocates Online, a veteran advocacy group.

The event, which will begin at the Holsworthy Barracks in south-west Sydney on Wednesday 15 April and conclude on Friday 24 April at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, will feature the ‘Unknown Veteran’, who has invited others to join him as they can along the route. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the work of The Salvation Army Sallyman and Sallyma’am program.

Red Shield Defence Services (RSDS) Chief Commissioner Vaughan Agnew said he will join the march at various points along the way, and former Sallyman Gerald Mitchell will be driving a Sallyman truck in front of the Unknown Veteran for the entire length of the march. He will provide refreshments to those who come out to participate in the event at each stop.

Vaughan said it was important to fundraise and uphold the work of the Sallyman and Sallyma’am in this way, as it was crucial for servicemen and women to have someone outside the chain of command who was intentional about making space for social and emotional needs.

He said even though what the Sallyman and Sallyma’am offered was simple – cordial, tea and coffee, biscuits and lollies – there was power in being present and available to everyone, no matter who they were, over such a long history of 127 years of The Salvation Army’s presence in the Defence Forces.

Supporting The Salvation Army Red Shield Defence Services.

“We rock up, be available, have a listening ear [and] be a safe, friendly space for soldiers to be able to connect and just vent if they need to,” he said. “I think it’s just that ability and the honour that we have to be able to walk into that space.”

To find out more about the march, see the poster on the right for details or visit the Advocates Online page here.

You are invited to pray for the success of the walk, walk with the unknown veteran or support the fundraising by clicking here.

Salvation Army Anzac Day resources can be found on MySalvos here.