Each year, Australia and New Zealand celebrate Australia-New Zealand Army (ANZAC) Day, marking the anniversary of the first major military action fought by the two countries forces during World War I. In Hawaii, the U.S. Marines provide military support for the ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Here, the Honorable Paul Robilliard, Australian Consul-General in Hawaii; Cmdr. Jeff Rhodes, USN, Deputy Chaplain, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific; and Mr. Peter Lewis, Honorary New Zealand Consul, stand for the opening ceremony with the U.S. Marine Honor Guard in the background.

“The long-standing, strong relationship between the Australian Army and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) extends from World War II when the two countries’ forces fought together defending Australia and New Zealand to today, as Australian Army and U.S. Marine forces serve side by side in Southwest Asia. The two forces train together regularly, both in the United States and in Australia, during exercises such as CROCODILE and Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). They also share a successful officer exchange program.

Australian Army Lt. Col. Mark Probert salutes after placing a wreath.

Even before World War II, the Australia-New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) helped shape the USMC’s 20th century history. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Marines carefully studied the ANZAC’s World War I battle for Gallipoli – the only major amphibious assault of that war. That study influenced the USMC’s amphibious doctrine, which the Marines successfully applied in the island-hopping Pacific campaigns of World War II. U.S. Marines still study the battle for Gallipoli at the USMC’s Expeditionary Warfare School.

One of the more visible reminders of the special bond between the two nations is the support that HQ U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC) provides for the annual ANZAC ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaii. Because few Australian and New Zealand military personnel are in Hawaii, the Australian Consul-General requested USMC support for this annual event in 1973, and the Marines have honored that request every year since. This year marks the 32nd time MARFORPAC has provided military support for this ceremony.

“The participation of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific has ensured for more than 20 years the ceremony in Honolulu is one of the most memorable ANZAC Day celebrations anywhere,” said the Honorable Paul Robilliard, Australian Consul-General in Honolulu, in his commemorative address during the 25 April 2004 ANZAC celebration in Honolulu. “The [MARFORPAC] contribution is a reflection of the close relationship our countries have enjoyed for the past 100 years, including the outstanding record of service our forces have shared with the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II; in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, the first Gulf War and, most recently, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our military and the Marines train together and fight together, and we are honored that the Marines join us, as we mark a campaign that began with one of the most famous amphibious assaults in military history.”

Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, Commanding General, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, salutes after presenting a wreath.