AMID the flag waving and cheers, the speeches and prayers, it was a shy little girl clutching a rabbit that said the most about Anzac spirit in Griffith on Wednesday.
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With her dad, Christopher Potroz, half a world away in Afghanistan, seven-year-old Maddison had to make do with her special army bunny and a photo for comfort during the Anzac Day service in Memorial Gardens.
It will be another three months before he completes his six-month deployment, but in the meantime if Maddison needs a reassuring word she only needs to squeeze her bunny to hear a recording of him saying “I love you Maddie, I’ll see you soon”.
“I call him daddy but his real name is Fuzzy,” she said.
“Dad and I made him and we put the speaker in before he went to Afghanistan.
“I get sad sometimes when daddy is away.”
Maddison was presented a recognition medallion at Griffith East Public School on Tuesday during their early Anzac Day commemoration.
The medallion, which she proudly wore to Griffith’s Anzac Day service, has “For perseverance on the home front during your parent’s deployment” inscribed on the back.
Maddison’s aunt Samantha Potroz, whose partner Nathan McMaster is also serving in Afghanistan, accompanied her to the service.
With two loved ones to worry about she admits it can be hard.
“It can be stressful having my brother and partner in Afghanistan. The medallion they presented to Maddison was a big surprise for her. We are pretty lucky because she gets to speak to him on the phone a bit and she has the rabbit, which helps,” she said.
