Crowds flock to Murgon War Memorial for 2022 Anzac Day service

From marching around the war memorial as a student to donning the Army uniform for the first-time back home, a Murgon-raised soldier said he was honoured to walk among the town’s heroes. See all the photos here:

As a little boy growing up in Murgon, Samuel Kemp recalls marching alongside his classmates to commemorate Anzac Day, which brings the tight knit community together in impressive numbers every year.

Now Lance Corporal Kemp has proudly returned to his hometown in uniform for the first time since joining 1st Military Police Battalion’s Delta Company at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane nearly four years ago.

“It was the best feeling watching the Murgon State School children marching around. I remember doing that all those years ago, but now I’m back doing it again in uniform,” he said.

“It’s a surreal feeling being here as part of the organisation that you’re commemorating and having the chance to sit down with the veterans and hear their incredible stories.”

“It’s been an honour to come back and represent this uniform.”

Even as a high school student, Lance Corporal Kemp said he’d been interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement before joining the military police.

The job brought him home to the South Burnett region last month, as he supported Major General Jake Ellwood touring flood-affected areas in his role as Queensland’s state recovery coordinator.

“We’ve travelled from Oakey to the Gold Coast and Gladstone to Gympie, and Cherbourg was one of them,” Lance Corporal Kemp said.

“Major General Ellwood is going around and finding out all the issues from the towns and the individuals living there, and then formulating a plan to future-proof Queensland as much as possible in terms of floods.”

Lance Corporal Kemp said it was a moving experience to meet the Queenslanders who had shown unbelievable resilience and selflessness amid disaster.

“A met a mother in Deception Bay, she’s raising a child with a disability, and her house was flooded,” he said.

“Most people just want to sell and move on, but she says she can’t because she doesn’t want another family to move in and go through what she’s been through.”

After two years of Covid wreaking havoc on Anzac Day services, the Murgon community flocked to the war memorial to commemorate the brave servicemen and women.

Murgon RSL Sub-Branch president Kevin Gill said he was thrilled by the turnout, as community members lined up to embellish the marble digger in nearly 40 wreaths.

See all the photos from the Murgon Service below:

Murgon Anzac Day Service 2022

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Originally published as Crowds flock to Murgon War Memorial for 2022 Anzac Day service