Post by Ambulance Victoria

This ANZAC Day, Frankston graduate paramedic Matthew Purdon and Warragul paramedic Ken Genat are reflecting on their time in the Australian Defence Force and what ANZAC Day means to them. Matthew has spent the past 20 years as part of the Australian Army, starting as a truck driver in Queensland before becoming a nurse. He now holds the title of Nursing Officer Captain for 2nd Surgical Company. “My grandfathers served in WWI and WWII and my father was in Iraq, so I always felt it was something I wanted to do to give back to my country. “While I’ve had a very different experience in the Army so far, compared to my grandfathers, it’s nice knowing we were all part of something bigger than yourself. “It’s nice having a day where the whole country has eyes on our past and present ADF personnel.” When Ken was 20, he joined the Australian Army as a combat engineer, which saw him become a jack-of-all trades. While he spent most of his career posted in Townsville, Ken was deployed overseas on multiple occasions, including a few trips to Papua New Guinea and deployment to Afghanistan for about eight months from 2011 to 2012. “Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was join the Army, so it was the best time. It was a sense of being in something bigger than yourself. “You feel like you make a real impact and you have all these friends that you know would do anything for you and you’d do anything for them.” Read their stories here: https://bit.ly/4cCKzbv Lest we forget. #ANZACDay