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ANZAC Day
A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice
22 May 2007
From Afghanistan to Korea, Britain to Hawaii, and in cities and towns throughout New Zealand, thousands of Defence personnel paraded to remember the fallen on ANZAC Day.
Dawn and civic ceremonies were held at war memorials and town halls throughout the country, and overseas the day was commemorated in a variety of ways, and not just by New Zealanders and Australians.
The Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, and the Minister of Defence, Phil Goff, were visiting the NZ PRT in Afghanistan during the days before ANZAC Day, and attended a dawn service with CRIB 10 personnel in Bamian.
At the commemorative service in Gallipoli the NZDF was represented by the Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral David Ledson, and in Hawaii by Brigadier Warren Whiting.
The wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in Wellington was attended by the Governor General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand, VCDF, Air Vice-Marshal David Bamfield, the Secretary of Defence, John McKinnon, and a contingent of Defence personnel.
Addressing a large crowd at Dunedin’s dawn parade, Commander, Joint Forces New Zealand, Rear Admiral Jack Steer said ANZAC Day marked a national tragedy.
“We do not glorify war here today. It is a tribute to service and sacrifice.
“Nowhere perhaps is this sacrifice better recorded than on the Commonwealth War Memorial at Kohima, in North East India; which includes the epitaph;
“When you go home, tell them of us and say For your tomorrow we gave our today”.
“But this is not a day for only distant memories of men and women, our grandparents or great-grand-parents, of over 90 years ago. This is also a day when we remember our contemporaries – the New Zealanders and Australians who died in recent years; in East Timor or in the Gulf region – young ANZACs of today’s generation. As much as it is for the veterans of the great wars of sixty and more years ago, ANZAC Day is also a day for today’s young people.
“We must also remember that today our ANZAC tradition is no longer just about the wars of the last century. Today our nation and the other nations of the west face a new threat. These days those who wish to harm us see city skyscrapers, commuter trains and holiday spots as legitimate targets. That means we could all be in the front line – any one of us.
“ANZAC Day marks a national tragedy where poorly prepared soldiers perished for an ill conceived strategic notion. ANZAC Day is not a celebration. We do not glorify war today. No one who is prepared to give it any thought could possibly see it this way.
“ANZAC Day is a tribute to service and sacrifice. It marks the selflessness of the Service culture that has our Service men and women giving their all to protect others. It is an ethos that is evident in all current operations.
“I will close with a true story that I was told. It happened in Belgium in a war graves cemetery beside a small village called Passchendaele. Thousands of young New Zealanders gave their lives there. At the rear of the cemetery is a memorial wall, with its central crypt being dedicated to the New Zealand dead.
“There was an old British soldier there, who had committed himself to giving personal conducted tours of the battlefield. He said that he had been in the cemetery one day and watched unseen as two buses arrived at the entrance some distance away. Young children got out of the buses followed by two young teachers. They gathered together for a short while, then the children dispersed into the cemetery, laughing, playing, joking and generally seeming to be having a good time. The old soldier was shocked at the irreverence of what he was seeing and made his way toward the two teachers.
“He introduced himself in a rather curt and offended manner and then demanded to know why the children were allowed to play amongst the graves. One of the teachers responded, “We are sorry, we did not know that anyone else was here. We hope we have not caused you any offence. You see, all these children have just started school this year. They live in houses surrounded by war cemeteries. One of the first things we teach these children is what the cemeteries mean. We teach them the history of the wars that have swept Belgium over the years. We teach them why the wars were fought and by whom. We tell them of the thousands of young men who came to our country to fight for our freedom, and suffered under the most appalling conditions, and died here. Many of them having just left school, and little more than children themselves. We tell them of the far away countries that they came from, like New Zealand and Australia. And we tell them that those young men died for Belgium’s freedom, and are buried here, and have probably never been visited by their own families. It was simply too far to travel in those days. For most, it was the first time – and the last – that they left home.
“We then tell the children to go and play amongst the graves. Sing, dance, and be happy. After all, those young men died for these children’s future. Is it not the least that we as a society can do? To show these men that the loss of their youth and lives was not in vain? That our children are happy and free because of them? Is it not what the young men would want to see, so far from home, to be forever young themselves?
“The old soldier was moved to tears. In his desire for solemnity and remembrance, he had overlooked the most obvious indication of why they died – the renewal of life and hope exemplified by the children playing.”
This page was last reviewed on 25 May 2007 and is current.
