Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00408:front:0:p299
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00408
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Character Range: 915763–918522

and women who have served' and, following advocacy by the Air Force Association, a plaque to the service personnel was added in 1993.  In 2002 a granite backdrop with images of airforce operations and people from World War I to the present was added (NCA 2009, 'Anzac Parade Walking Tour Podcast', www.nationalcapital.gov.au/, accessed 2011, not accessible 4 August 2022).  Today the memorial reflects both the grace and power of flight combined with images of those who served.

Ian Crawford, Chair of the Australian National Korean War Memorial played a founding role in the establishment of this memorial.  Describing the complex process of achieving the design, he explained that he particularly admired the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial because it 'told the story' and was not 'overly symbolic' – in his view memorials are designed for the ordinary soldier, sailor or airman who wants to see what they experienced.  The design of the Korean war memorial occurred through a design competition, and the selected design had great architectural and sculptural beauty in his eyes, but it 'didn't tell the story for ordinary servicemen like me'.  The idea of figures within the field of poles was mooted.  Asked why the need for figures, he responded 'because the war was fought by soldiers, sailors and airmen'.

Dedication ceremonies
Each memorial has its own community of people who feel connected to that service, conflict or those they served with, and the dedication services for each seem to evoke strong feelings.

A personal account of the dedication of the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial in 1999 by Pat Johnson ('Una Voce', 4 December 1999) described the response of some of the service nurses present as they looked at the glass panels depicting 'typical' places where nurses have served, and the feelings of connection these images evoked,

    'Although not of any specifically recognisable place, some of the nurses visiting appeared to recognise several of the scenes depicted.  Likewise myself, the tropical scene depicting Pacific areas caused me to remark "I know where that place is", it was a small peaked mountain with a harbour below... For my part, I had to have a photo of that section.'

Later after the dedication, she recalls,

    'We returned to the Nurses Memorial again.  Now that we knew something of the conceptual ideas, we wanted to take it all in again slowly and read the inscriptions as well as viewing the Memorial in sunlight.  We sat in the contemplative area, casting our eyes down the panels and listening to the soft tinkling of the waterfall.  We walked along the front reading the cards on the wreaths.  Yes, this Memorial is certainly different and unique.  Later that evening we attended a function