Nearly 40,000 people have gathered in silent awe on a rainy Canberra morning to hear a former soldier tell of losing his two legs in Afghanistan.
A violent, hot explosion took both of Sapper Curtis McGrath's legs in August 2012.
The ground rose up beneath him when we was caught unawares on what he thought was safe and familiar ground before a patrol in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.
The army combat engineer, whose job it was to clear the day's path of IEDs, fell victim to one himself.
But somehow, despite the physical wreckage and bewilderment, he experienced a bizarre moment of clarity.
"I found myself trying to do my own first aid and instructing the men on how to administer the morphine," he told 38,000 people gathered outside the Australian War Memorial for the Anzac Day dawn service.
His mates, meanwhile, were wrestling with five tourniquets on what was left of his legs, swallowing their own tears and terror.
It was through their efforts and those who evacuated him and operated on him that he received an unforgettable "DUSTOFF".
The call sign stands for "dedicated unhesitating service to our fighting forces".
Former Sapper McGrath - now a Paralympic gold medallist - reflected on those men and women who return home from conflict to a silent, private suffering.
"It has taken a terrible toll and for some it's far from over," he said.
"May we, as a nation, continue to provide those men and women who have served us with the care they need, dedicated, unhesitating service to our fighting forces, a mighty Australian DUSTOFF."
Afterwards, amid the wash of grey cloud and khaki and navy suits, the red, yellow and black stood out as indigenous remembrances bookended the national Anzac Day service attended by about 7000 people.
For the first time, indigenous diggers led the march in front of the Australian War Memorial with members carrying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
And after the service, indigenous activist Laurence "Sprocket" Coghlan and teenagers Jai Russell and Dakota Tompkins laid wreaths in memory of the warriors who died in the frontier wars when Europeans settled in Australia.
They had waited at the end of the parade ground for their chance, surrounded by supporters carrying Aboriginal flags and a banner reading "Lest we forget the Frontier Wars".
A sea of umbrellas lined Anzac Parade in front of the Australian War Memorial, many sheltering children and young people.
Michelle Boyd and her two children are in Canberra after her husband was posted there with the army.
An ex-soldier herself, Ms Boyd wants her children to understand Australia's history.
"The best way I explain it to them is people sacrificed their lives for you to live the way that you do, so you need to come and respect what people have done so you can live in a free country that's democratic," she told AAP.
