Family of veterans unite for ‘special’ march
FOR one Gold Coast family the Anzac spirit is about more than just a day, it is a family legacy.
Helensvale local Ash Hurley will for the first time be marching alongside three generations of family members who have served in the armed forces.
Mr Hurley, who served as an army gunner in both East Timor and Malaysia, will today join his grandfather Ray Wheeler, uncle Keith Wheeler, and his two siblings Ray Hurley and Sarah at the Southport dawn service.
The event is a once-in-alifetime opportunity for the family who have often consecutively served or lived in separate bases.
“It is going to be pretty special,” Ash Hurley told the Bulletin.
“My sister (the only one still serving in the RAAF) is normally down in Canberra, we have never been able to march together before, now we are a family as a whole.”
Like his siblings Ash felt the tug of the service while a cadet in high school.
“We all just honed into it, Ray and Sarah went to the air force and I went to the army.”
Ash’s older brother Ray served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Flight Lieutenant, Keith worked as a Flight Sergeant and grandfather Ray, who served for 23 years, was a sergeant engine fitter.
Grandfather Ray will also be wearing his father’s World War I medals, which he received for his time in France.