PORT VILA, Vanuatu – Sailors attached to Destroyer Squadron 23 (DESRON 23) embarked aboard HMNZS Canterbury took part in an Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) Day ceremony in Port Villa, Vanuatu April 25.
“It is truly an honor to lead the first group of U.S. Navy Sailors ever to participate here in Port Vila, Vanuatu for today’s 96th anniversary ANZAC Day ceremony. Standing next to our Australian and New Zealand partners for the dawn ceremony with our ni-Vanuatu hosts will be a treasured memory of mine,” said Capt. Jesse A. Wilson, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2011 and commander of Destroyer Squadron 23.
Over the past five years, Pacific Partnership has provided medical, dental, educational, and preventive medicine services to more than 210,000 people and completed more than 130 engineering projects in 13 countries. This is the first year Vanuatu has served as a host-nation for Pacific Partnership.
Last week, Wilson moved his pennant flag and several U.S. Sailors to the New Zealand ship HMNZS Canterbury for the transit to Port Vila. The pennant shift to a New Zealand vessel was a first for the U.S. Navy and underscores the interoperability that the mission of Pacific Partnership is all about.
The ceremony was punctuated by the raising of partner flags and the laying of memorial wreaths and service members at full attention in dress uniforms from the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), the New Zealand, Australian, French and United States armed forces and many proud local veterans.
“It was an honor to participate in the ceremony and raise the American flag. I even met a U.S. sailor captain for the first time and he gave me a special coin from Pacific Partnership and thanked me. It was a great day, one I won’t forget,” said David Amos, a junior member of the VMF.
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| Royal New Zealand Navy render a gun salute during an Australian New Zealand Army Core (ANZAC) day celebration. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher Farrington) |
“It’s great to see different cultures come together to honor those who have given their lives in the line of service,” said Leading Marine Technician Logan McRae, a member of the Canterbury crew. “Although we are from different nations, we all share the fact that we have chosen to serve and put our lives on the line every day.”
“Coming together and sharing the United States’ support for our partner nations’ culture and history is what Pacific Partnership is all about,” Wilson said. “Today was another in a series of firsts for our visit to Vanuatu.” In Espiritu Santo, Lt. Cmdr Casey Mahon, Pacific Partnership advance echelon officer in charge in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste, led the U.S. contingent in observing ANZAC Day for the first time there.
ANZAC day is an annual obserevance dedicated to those who have given their lives in the line of duty. Ceremonies are held the whole day throughout New Zealand and Australia. Contingents of members from each service also go to the original battle site of WWI in Gallipoli, Turkey and other places where ANZACS have fought.
Canterbury is currently participating in Pacific Partnership 2011, U.S. Pacific Fleet's annual deployment designed to improve interoperability with partner and host nations for humanitarian aid and disaster relief which has recently completed its mission in Tonga and will visit Vanuatu, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Federated States of Micronesia. The Pacific Partnership team will be in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu April 28 – May 10 working on several infrastructure projects including new schools, water catchment projects and medical clinics.
“As Pacific Partnership 2011 strengthens relationships and builds new ones, this mission demonstrates the United States’ commitment to the Pacific region, and we are eager to arrive in Espiritu Santo to complete the sustainability projects with the support of our ni-Vanuatu partners,” Wilson said.
US Pacific Fleet