They shall grow not old, as we that are left, grow old: Age shall not weary them, not the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We Will remember them.

That is the message from the President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau as we mark Remembrance Day and honour our fallen heroes today who gave their lives for our freedom.

The President said Fiji veterans have served in great numbers in both World Wars and in the many theatres of conflicts since those wars, testifying to their ever ready willingness to answer the call to service that is a true quality of our people, and to the huge sacrifice, which a small but proud nation like Fiji, had made to freedom and peace in the world.

Ratu Epeli recalled that all the tours of duty, except one, were brutally marked by the loss of many young lives in the execution of their duties.

He said but they never flinched and stuck steadfastly to their mission and today, we pause and stand in dignified silence as they are all commemorated and remembered.

Ratu Epeli said it is our duty as a nation to always remember all these veterans in our prayers.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Commodore Vorege Bainimarama in his Remembrance Day message to the nation said that it is in honour of their sacrifices and dedication to duty that the country takes time today to remember them.

He said every year on November 11th the people convene as a nation to reflect on and recognize those who have exemplified for Fiji the highest ideals of duty, sacrifice, selflessness, courage and loyalty.
 
Bainimarama said that it is a time to honor those veterans who remain with us as with each passing year, their numbers dwindle.

The Prime Minister said that through their deeds, Fiji's servicemen have not only ensured Fiji's freedom and the values that we treasure remain intact, but they have also helped to restore peace in many nations plagued by conflict and civil unrest.

Bainimarama remembered the veterans who have served in the Solomons, the Malayan campaign and on peacekeeping missions.

He stressed that those servicemen should not be forgotten who in recent times were taken from us, as a result of acts which threatened Fiji's own security, unity and nation as a whole.

He said these people's sacrifice including the scarifies of those who participated in World War I, World War II and as peacekeepers in Lebanon, Sinai, East Timor, Namibia, Iraq and Kosovo shall not have been in vain.

The Prime Minister said that even today, the servicemen and women of Fiji continue to serve the cause of peace in the troubled spots of the world including the missions in Iraq and the Sinai Peninsula and continue to lay their lives on the line in the hope of bringing peace to war torn parts of the world.

He said the government will ensure that the National War Memorial that is being developed at Battery Road, adjacent to Parliament complex in Suva serves as a permanent reminder of Fiji's servicemen's scarifies, patriotism and selfless deeds for the country.



Story by: Roneel Lal and Sneh Chaudhry