There are graves that lie forgotten at Griffith General Cemetery 364 days of the year, but last Thursday was not one of those days.
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Schoolchildren from all around town came to lay a flower on the graves of forgotten ex-servicemen, many of whom were buried unceremoniously in unmarked graves with nobody to care for them.
It's something that broke the heart of Margaret Tucker, who started the tradition of laying flowers on the graves of ex-servicemen one day a year before ANZAC day with the help of schoolchildren.
For many of the schoolchildren it was a chance to meet their dead relatives for the first time; Mrs Tucker spent much of Thursday morning showing them where their ancestors were buried.
There are none in Griffith who can match Mrs Tuckers' knowledge of the graves at Griffith's cemetery, and over the years she's built up quite the comprehensive database.
That database allowed Griffith North Public student Kaeli Chapman to see her grandparent's graves for the first time in her life.
"My parents still talk about them a lot," Kaeli said.
Sophie Webb also got to see her granddad's grave for the very first time.
"I don't know much about him, but I know he fought in the war," Sophie said.
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Many of the graves were visited by children that day, but there were other ex-servicemen with no family members to visit their gravesite.
Mrs Tucker can rattle off some of their tragic stories: broken men who returned from war as a shell of their former selves.
Many of them died homeless, friendless, and suffering a host of mental illnesses stemming from their post traumatic stress.
It was enough to make Mrs Tucker weep when she read their stories, and it was those stories that inspired her to start the tradition of laying flowers on their graves.
With the help of local schoolchildren, she has been able to keep that tradition going strong for the past nine years.
She wanted to make sure that for at least one day of the year their memories would be honoured and their graves decorated with beautiful flowers.
"They served our country and they should never be forgotten," she said.
"I will not forget them."
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
