ANZAC Day is a day of great significance for all Australians but for World War II veteran, 95-year-old Sandy Concannon, it’s also a day of quiet reflection.
The Mercy Place Rice Village resident was a pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Through the conflict, he made 35 flights over enemy territory to protect the lives of many and safeguard the freedom of on-going generations.
Despite the decades that have passed, D-Day is still a special day for Mr Concannon. On 6 June 1944, he and 24 others in his squadron flew across the English Channel to bomb the Normandy coastline as 150,000 members of the allied forces commenced their invasion of Europe.
“You didn’t really think about it too much to be honest,” Mr Concannon said. “We all had a job to do and were all focused on hanging in there for a victory”.
Mr Concannon kept his AAF log book documenting his service in the war, which earnt him a Distinguished Flying Cross medal for valour, courage and devotion.
“We never thought about an enemy victory – it wasn’t even an option for us.”
In the last year of the war Mr Concannon trained pilots before returning home to Meredith, halfway between Geelong and Ballarat, where he ran a farm for more than three decades.
Mr Concannon became a resident in the Geelong aged care home, Mercy Place Rice Village in February 2017. Each year he proudly wears his medals to the home’s ANZAC Day service, laying a wreath alongside other ex-servicemen and women.
Mercy Place Rice Village Service Manager Bernadette Bartok said ANZAC Day is important for our residents. They enjoy the comradery and ability to reminisce of wartime, sharing stories with other residents, family and friends.
“We have a number of residents who served for Australia or our allies in the war. Almost all of our residents have friends or family that were a part of the military,” Ms Bartok said.
Mercy Place Rice Village is holding its annual ANZAC Day service at 10am on 24 April.
