Thousands honor soldiers of Gallipoli

GALLIPOLI, Turkey - For the first time at age 95, Bill Grayden has come to Gallipoli, where his father stormed the beach and took a bullet through his lung during the ill-fated British-led World War I invasion.

Grayden was among thousands of Australians and New Zealanders who made the pilgrimage to this distant peninsula in Turkey. They joined world leaders at a dawn service Saturday marking 100 years since the invasion, which had aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and take the Ottomans out of the war.

During the emotional ceremony, Britain's Prince Charles and the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand spoke of the heroism of the soldiers from their countries and other Allied nations. "For so many, the rising sun that day would be their last," Australia's defense chief, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, told the thousands gathered at Anzac Cove near the landing site.

That was not the case for Bill Grayden's father, Len. Five days after the landing, he was found on the field. During the heat of battle, someone noticed a slight hand movement and he was evacuated to a hospital ship.

Len Grayden would return to Australia to raise a family. His son served in multiple campaigns in World War II and became a politician.

The Gallipoli campaign also altered the course for the countries on both sides of the trenches. The landings marked the start of a fierce battle that lasted eight months. Around 44,000 Allied troops and 86,000 Ottoman soldiers died. Australians and New Zealanders mark the anniversary of the landings every year as important national days of remembrance.

The tragic fate of troops from Australia and New Zealand is said to have inspired an identity distinct from the British. The anniversary of the start of the land campaign on April 25, known as ANZAC Day, after the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, is marked as a coming of age for both nations. "In volunteering to serve, they became more than soldiers. They became the founding heroes of modern Australia," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at the service.

Prince Charles spoke about soldiers who were "tormented by the thought of their comrades being left behind" and their graves unvisited.

Turkish officials and soldiers also took part in the dawn remembrance, part of two days of ceremonies at the site of the battle. Gallipoli was also important in the emergence of modern Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk used his prominence as a commander at Gallipoli, known as Canakkale to the Turks, to vault into prominence, lead Turkey's War of Independence and ultimately found the Turkish Republic. Thousands marched in Gallipoli to honor the soldiers of the Turkish 57th Regiment, among the first unit to defend against the ANZAC landings. In the Turkish capital, Ankara, the mausoleum of Ataturk was open throughout the night as thousands paid respects to their "Gazi" - Ataturk's honorary title as a victorious Turkish warrior.