Roberts-Smith Set for First Anzac Day March Since Defamation Battle

Ben Roberts-Smith, the former highly decorated soldier whose name has become synonymous with a bitter legal saga, is expected to attend an Anzac Day service for the first time since serious allegations of war crimes were levelled against him. This marks a significant personal moment for the Victoria Cross recipient, who will likely be present at commemorations within Melbourne on Thursday morning.

The development comes after a tumultuous period for Roberts-Smith, whose reputation was meticulously dissected during a lengthy and costly defamation trial. While he successfully defended against some claims in a civil case brought by newspapers, the presiding judge found, on the balance of probabilities, that he had committed acts of murder during his deployment in Afghanistan. These findings, which Roberts-Smith has consistently and vehemently denied, saw him stripped of his prestigious medals and effectively erased from the official pantheon of the nation’s heroes.

Despite the shadow cast by the court’s decision, his participation in Melbourne’s dawn service and the subsequent march is a powerful statement. For many veterans, Anzac Day remains a sacred day of remembrance, a time to honour those who served and fell, irrespective of individual controversies. The decision to march underscores the complex and often painful intersection between individual honour and collective memory within the Australian Defence Force community.

His presence will undoubtedly draw intense media scrutiny and a mix of reactions from the public and fellow service people lining St Kilda Road. While some may see his attendance as a provocation, others in the ex-service community argue that the day is about solidarity among mates, past and present. For Melbourne, a city with a deep military history, the sight of Roberts-Smith wearing his medals—which he is still entitled to wear as they were never formally forfeited by the government—will be a poignant and deeply divisive moment in this year’s Anzac Day proceedings.