‘The Dust of Uruzgan’
This was painted on ANZAC Day 2023 as my personal tribute to all the past and present service men, women and animals and their ultimate sacrifices for our freedom. The red poppy symbolises the fallen service men and women, and the purple poppy symbolises the fallen service animals, and their ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
In November 2001 Australian SAS troops joined the war in Afghanistan. C-130 Hercules aircraft provided logistic support to the SAS, while F/A-18 Hornets contributed to air defence at the American Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia. The two major operations over the next 20 years were Operation Slipper and Operation Highroad.
During this time, 41 Australian troops were killed and 261 wounded.
‘The Dust of Uruzgan’ is named after the song by Fred Smith who was the first Australian diplomat to be posted to Uruzgan in July of 2009. He wrote a powerful collection of songs about the realities of life for soldiers and civilians in this difficult war.
On Fred’s first day in Uruzgan, he attended a memorial service for the first soldier killed in the conflict. His name was Ben Ranaudo. Fred then wrote this song about what happened to Ben.
The lyrics include:
“… Me and Benny sat together flying into Kandahar
And we sucked back on our near beers in the Camp Baker Bar
We were up at 0530, we were on the Herc and out
And in twenty flying minutes we were in to Tarin Kowt
We shook hands as the boys ripped out from MRTF 1
Pretty soon were out patrolling in the Afghan summer sun
Walking through the green zones with a Styer in my hand
Body armour chafing through the dust of Uruzgan…”
LEST WE FORGET
18" x 24" / 46cm x 61cm
This work is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas and has been sealed with varnish, is ready to hang and comes with a signed Certificate of Authenticity.
** PLEASE NOTE**
Due to the nature of the paints used, the highlighted areas can look different from different angles, and this can be difficult to photograph.
In the photos, where the painting is shown mounted on a wall, these are purely for illustrative purposes. You should review the dimension of the artwork to be sure the work suits your needs.
In the photos, where the painting is shown mounted on a wall, these are purely for illustrative purposes. You should review the dimension of the artwork to be sure the work suits your needs.
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