Australia commemorates war dead with few COVID restrictions

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australians are paying tribute to their war dead on Anzac Day largely free of pandemic restrictions for the first time since 2019. Australia and New Zealand commemorate Anzac Day every April 25, the date in 1915 when the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed in Turkey in an ill-fated campaign that was the soldiers’ first combat of World War I. Monday was the first commemoration of casualties of all wars since both nations withdrew troops from Afghanistan last year. The service in Auckland, New Zealand, drew a smaller-than-usual crowd due to pandemic restrictions. There were no restrictions on numbers attending most Australian services.