Canberra: Anzac War Memorial

I have some friends at Australia\s National University in Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia (good trivia question!), and has it's own little area carved out called the Australian Capital Territory, so it's not part of either New South Wales or Victoria (kind of like Washington DC or the Vatican or something). Anyways, I went down for a weekend and my good friend and gracious hostess played tourist with me. On one of the main drags near the Parliament Building, there is a series of national monuments dedicated to the men and women who have in some form or other, fought and represented Australia (like the mall in DC, I suppose). There were memorials in honour of parts of the military (e.g. air force) or for specific wars. Here is the view looking down the street. memorials are on both sides.

 Here is the National Naval Memorial which is dedicated to people who have served past and present in the Australian Navy

 There was an intriguing and beautiful memorial dedicated to the nurses in the service

Last is the Vietnam War Memorial. It is inevitable to compare it to the Maya Lin's iconic memorial in Washington DC, and while both memorials are a sobering reminder of those who fought and served in the war, the stark beauty of Lin's memorial seems to convey the harsh realities in a more compelling fashion.