Last day in Australia - moved & touched (Part III)

After the National Ceremony, the Australian War Memorial opened.
I was in there again - instead of going to the 'Roll of Honour' - I went to the exhibition hall.

It was 12.15pm.

I started with the exhibition hall about 'First World War'...
then 'Second World War'...
then 'conflicts from 1945 till today'...
also the 'Of Love and War'...

I also visited some other halls,
showing the different wars in which the Australians were in service;
I stayed in some halls seeing the aircraft,
watching the panaroma short movie with the scene, the sound and the move of air above me - creating an illusion that the aircraft is really like over my head.

Clock ticked - 1pm... 2pm... 3pm... 4pm..
When I was at the last stop - the souvenir shop - it was 4.15pm!!

Basically, apart from the half-an-hour lunch inside the Memorial,
I spent almost like 4 hours there for the exhibition, and indeed - I didn't really go through all the exhibits.
Some of those are really bit 'heavy' for me - I still couldn't understand why there was WAR.
Seeing all those exhibits which include like letters from those who were dead;
aircrafts - bombers - guns - navy submarines - swords - knives;
photos showing the prisoners who were starved to death...
countless people were dead - some even nameless because their bodies were discovered only some years after the war ended.

So there I was walking through the years - from First World War till the most recent 'conflict of today'.
That includes the 'post-911' US-Afghanistan conflict.
(Coincident, I am reading a book about the lives of the New Yorkers who survived from 911.. )

Why war? Why no peace? What's the point of 'winning' the war with so many people died?

I was asking tonnes of questions to myself.
Yet, I am sure - there are no answers out there.

***
I was indeed surprised to see all the exhibits,
and the Australian War Memorial is definitely one of the best in my museum list!

Never imagined I would have got the chance to walk through all those history in such real touch,
I felt like I saw the weakness of mankind -
for I guess those declaring war might be indeed in fear of their own weakness being attacked.
On the other hand, I saw the courage among those men and women at war times -
or those involved in war matters for their families may be survivors from wars or ones being left behind...

Today - there are still wars going on somewhere in the world.
People are killing others; nations are fighting against others or fighting in the name of 'defense'.
Frankly, I guess there is no end to the game of 'war'.

However, I believe there is peace existing somewhere in the world.
Yet - I think before seeing that existence, everyone has to see that from within ourselves first.

***
Last day in Australia - I was moved & touched - for I heard not the voice from within,
nor that from the Nature or the people around me,
but the voice from history - from the messages left by those who died in wars.

** END **