Around 170 members of the Kalangadoo and wider community gathered on Sunday morning to honour the fallen as well as those who served.
The late World War II veteran Private Henry Mules was honoured at the 6.30am ceremony at the Kalangadoo Cemetery along with his Vietnam War veteran son Peter Mules who is also deceased.
Members of the Mules family from the local area and Adelaide were there in droves to pay their respects.
For almost 15 years, the Kalangadoo Remembers committee has arranged a public commemorative ceremony on the Sunday preceding Anzac Day.
Anglican Church lay reader Howard Young led the prayers after a welcome from Coonawarra Penola RSL vice president Frank Ousey.
Musical tributes were played by bagpipers Janet Bellinger, Heather Kroon, Doug Balnaves and Neil McLean and bugler Trish Bruggemann.
The Anzac Requiem was delivered by Leanne Young, former RAAF serviceman Peter Burford was the master of ceremonies and the significance of Anzac Day was explained by Kalangadoo Remembers committee member Jess Cook.
Wreaths were laid by representatives of the RSL local branch presidents Chris Mathias (Millicent), Bob Sandow (Mount Gambier) and Peter DeGaris (Coonawarra/Penola), Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll and Councillor Dale Price, former RSL Ladies Auxiliary representative Joan Auld, former Red Cross representatives Leanne Young and Rosemary Fagg, South Australian Police officers Brevet Sergeant Leo Price and Senior Constable Manyy Singh, Kalangadoo Primary School students Nate Holmes and Billy Edwards, Kalangadoo Lions representative Greg Moore, Kalangadoo CFS representatives Wade Brooks and Howard Young, Member for Barker Tony Pasin, Member for MacKillop Nick McBride, Vietnam War veteran Neville Dixon, and the Kalangadoo Remembers committee.
Each year without fail, the names of the seven Kalangadoo soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice in the two world wars are stated and remembered.
The guest speaker was Major Susan Hickey (retired) who explained the life of late World War II heroine Nancy Wake and the White Mouse Memorial Bike Ride.
Other traditional aspects of the dawn service such as the Ode of Remembrance, National Anthem and the minute’s silence were observed and families were invited to lay a personal floral tribute at the conclusion of the service.
Most present at this dawn service then accepted the invitation to the Gunfire Breakfast at the Riddoch Memorial Institute.
Members of the Kalangadoo and District Lions Club cooked the breakfast and ran short by only a dozen eggs.
The Kalangadoo Remembers committee is grateful to the local businesses who have donated breakfast supplies and to Brian Wagner who supplies roses from his nearby commercial nursery to place on every grave in the Kalangadoo cemetery.
