As a teenager I was an Air Force cadet and every Anzac Day we would be at local RSL dawn services, forming a sleepy but proud cenotaph guard around sandstone memorials.

We radiated respect towards the slow moving old diggers in their woolen suits and polished shoes who laid out floral wreaths in the cool pre-dawn air. 

Back in the mid 90s when I took part in these parades, there were still many WW1 and WW2 veterans who took great pride in marching.

But with the passing of time that job has now been left to the families of these staunch men and women who played their integral role in shaping our national identity. 

What greater ideal could there be for a new nation, than that of mateship? 

When I went to Turkey in 2014, I learned about the mateship between the Aussies and New Zealanders.

I also learned about the mateship between the ANZACs and the young Turkish soldiers who were doing their job for their country. 

Stripped of all rank and file, all just young men far from home. 

As Trump and Putin and Kim Jong-un keep us up at night anxious about an impending WW3, it’s timely to stop and pause to pay tribute to our current and former service men and women, and remember that spirit of mateship.

Unified, we are better. 

Last year my Anzac Day started at Coledale RSL, and ended with two-up at Wisemans Park Bowlo.

Tomorrow will be much the same, and I’d encourage everyone to set those early alarms to pay tribute to our current and former service men and women.

*Fairlie Hamilton is a presenter for i98FM and Mercury columnist.