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Ben Roberts-Smith is not your average bloke. At a towering 202cm, everything about Australia’s most recognised soldier today denotes courage and strength.
Enlisting in the Australian Army shortly after his 18th birthday in 1996, Ben, now 38, would go on to be awarded a Medal for Gallantry, and in 2011 was honoured with the country’s highest military distinction, the Victoria Cross.
This Anzac Day will be an opportunity for Ben and his family – wife Emma and the couple’s five-year-old twin daughters Eve and Lizzie – to honour all those who have served and continue to serve.
“The girls are at an age where they’re starting to cultivate what it’s all about,” Ben explains.
“They know soldiers died and many got hurt fighting for our freedom – so they can be free to do what they want in a safe country,” he tells Woman’s Day.
The Roberts-Smith clan will pay their respects on April 25 at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance service, alongside 60,000 other Australians.
“The girls come for the parade, but not the dawn service – they love to see current soldiers marching and the bands. It’s a wonderful family event,” says Ben.
With the world now gripped in a seemingly permanent state of uncertainty, Ben concedes what many fear – that we are in fact at war. “That’s the reality. It’s a different fight, but it’s inevitable,” he says.
“I want my girls to be proud of our family’s legacy and how many generations before them put up their hand to fight for our country.
“But there’s so much more to Anzac Day than any one person or any one award,” Ben says. “It’s more about remembering and honouring everyone’s service.”
Queen Elizabeth II met the Australian soldier after he was awarded the Victoria Cross, back in 2011.
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