KY McCRACKEN sat proudly in the vintage Jeep for yesterday’s Anzac Day march to honour of his late great grandfather and World War II veteran Cyril Blackmore.
It is his first Anzac Day without Cyril, who was only 18 years old when he enlisted in the army and was later deployed to Bougainville in Papau New Guinea.
He died at the age of 93 last September, just months after receiving his RSL Life Membership badge for 73 years of service to the organisation.
Just seven months on from Cyril’s passing, Ky vowed to remember his great grandfather’s legacy on Anzac Day for generations to come.
“I was not really expecting to be sitting in the Jeep where he would have been if he was here, so I was pretty excited when I was given the opportunity to honour him in this way,” Ky said.
“It makes me think really deeply about what he did, how important it was and how much respect he got for what he did.”
Ky participated in the march alongside his father Sam, who spoke of the emotion involved with the yesterday’s proceedings, due to Cyril’s recent passing.
“We pay our respects to all the fallen and returned soldiers today, but it is very raw for us, given my grandfather’s passing last year,” Sam said.
“It is a very special day and there’s no doubting it probably means a little bit more this year.”
A proud World War II veteran, Cyril often spoke of his time serving his country in various theatres of the campaigns throughout the islands around Bougainville.
Despite receiving gunshot wounds towards the end of the war in 1945, Cyril survived, returning home to the Mount Gambier district and settling into his community.
“His achievements through the war and after that in the community are well-documented,” Sam said.
“He spoke to me a lot about it in his later years and it gave me a better understanding of what they went through.
“We do what we can to honour him.”
A popular identity in the Mount Gambier community, Sam said people were drawn to Cyril because of his “zest for life”.
“He loved life – he was the first to arrive at most places and the last to leave, he was just the life of the party,” Sam said.
“Everyone just loved his personality.”
