At an Anzac Day ceremony in 2016, four-year-old Oscar Kosloff was standing in the crowd when the speaker urged attendees to go out of their way to meet a soldier.
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Oscar took up the opportunity when he spotted the then 94-year-old war veteran Tom Rush sitting at the bus station at the Ballarat cenotaph.
After shaking his hand and having a chat, the chance encounter ended with a pledge to meet at the same bench the following year. But Oscar was desperate to find out more about his new friend.
“Oscar would not let up about this Tom, he would say, ‘oh mum, how many more days until we get to go back?” mum Kelly said.
Kelly put out a public plea on social media for help to find the veteran and The Courier picked up the story.
A number of phone calls and emails ensued, until the mysterious soldier, known only as Tom, was found – living just 300 metres from the Kosloff’s home in Alfredton.
It marked the start of a beautiful friendship, with Oscar and Mr Rush’s reunion and Oscar’s participation in this year’s Anzac Day march also covered in The Courier.
“We go around and visit Tom and he comes around and visits us – he’s so close, the kids have ridden their bikes there,” Kelly said.
“We spent Christmas Eve together last year, so he is our unofficial extended family now.”
Kelly said she was touched by just how much the friendship between the pair had moved the community.
“When The Courier first ran the story, a lot of people recognised Oscar and were stopping us in the street to share with us that they had read the story,” Kelly said.
“And when it was uploaded on Facebook, it was amazing to see how many people would write so many beautiful things about Tom and Oscar, and the whole story, it’s really inspiring.”
Looking back to that Anzac Day, Kelly said she would never have imagined the turn of events.
“It was just meant to be,” she said.