WELL before he hears the familiar words of The Ode to the fallen of World War One on Sunday, Luke DeVere will understand the significance of Anzac Day as strongly as anyone.
Close family history has underlined for the Wellington Phoenix defender the sacrifices made by those caught up in warfare, and the importance of renewing that message more than 100 years after Anzac Day was originally devised.
The ceremony to mark the day itself that precedes Wellington’s home game with Adelaide on Sunday will be one of a number across the A-League this weekend, with the clubs acutely aware of their role in reinforcing awareness of the history involved.
DeVere’s grandfather, Ray DeVere, served for almost 30 years in the Australian Army, and led an armoured cavalry unit under fire in one of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Binh Ba.
Stark details of the two days of conflict, and numerous casualties on both sides, are contained in a variety of archive histories – and now in Ray DeVere’s book, Three Zero Alpha, which was published last year and read avidly by his own grandson.
“For me and for other members of my family that have read it, the book is quite eye-opening and reveals what those involved sacrifice and give up of themselves,” Luke said.
“I’m still quite close to him. He’s not necessarily someone who talks a lot about his experiences in any great depth, especially over in Vietnam. In the book there’s a lot of things that even knowing him my whole life, I’d never really understood, never quite grasped the depth of what goes on in those situations.
“For me, the book is very much about his experience with his troop. He’s still quite close with the troop he commanded over there and various personnel he came into contact with.
“I was chatting with my sister recently about this, it’s amazing to think that those guys spent a year in close quarters, going through those experiences, but they’ve made life-long friendships.
“They are well into their sixties and seventies now, they’re still friends to this day and catch up. The mateship that’s formed is the remarkable thing to come out of it for me, the one positive if you are to find one.”
Ray DeVere was awarded the Military Cross for his service in Vietnam, and later the Order of Australia Medal after more than a decade of service in the Returned Services League and various other veterans bodies. Just a few months ago, the army asked him to address the current generation of troops on the lessons he learned in Vietnam.
“He served in a number of positions with the RSL, so it was something through our childhood and as we grew up was always at the forefront and around us,” said Luke. “It made us a bit more aware of the importance of events like Anzac Day for our society, and the importance of respecting those days.
“People take it for granted today, and don’t know what a lot of these guys went through – and in some cases still do, the sacrifices they have made and continue to make for our country and for a way of life.
“Anything that a football club can do, to raise awareness of all that and bring it to the forefront, is a great thing.”
