April 25 is Anzac Day, the day Australia and New Zealand remember their veterans. I have no real ties to either country, but three years ago I visited Australia and happened to be there over Anzac Day. I served six years in the US Army National Guard, and while my contribution was minor, I haven't forgotten the good people I served with. So when I found myself awake at 4 AM anyway, due to jet lag, I got dressed and went to the dawn service in Sydney.

It ended up being one of the more moving ceremonies I've attended. In the United States I was used to Memorial Day or Veterans Day ceremonies attended by vets in their 80s and bored high school kids, but this was a wide range of people who genuinely wanted to be there to show their respects.

Less than a year after my trip to Sydney, an Australian veteran named Paul McKay went to Saranac Lake, New York, a small village in Adirondack Park. Paul had been suffering from PTSD from his service in Afghanistan. He set out into a bitterly cold day and died from hypothermia. His death was ruled a suicide.

Saranac Lake held Anzac Day services that year, even though Paul had only been to the village for a day and had only talked to three or four people. I think they held services last year, and they're holding them again this year. While I'm not from the area, I find it beautiful. And I find it moving that people with such a small connection take the time to remember a soldier and those like him.

I don't know how many Aussie and Kiwi folks there are on Hubski, but you and your contributions are remembered.