ANZAC Day.

[Pussy]

My gratitude and respect for past and present sevicemen/women.
We will remember them.....

[Donor]

Managed to get to the Papakura cenotaph right at the end of the service thanks to a bad night with kids...

But got to see the parade march out on their way back to the RSA, so stood and watched feeling extremely humble, looking as so many old yet smiling faces.

Rode into work, and have just realised I've come in with my pillion pegs down... I was going to put them up, but I think it's somehow fitting. The old soldiers carried out a fight in my unknown name, I think it's only fitting I carry them for a day...

[yungatart]

I will be attending the civic service in Taradale with Henry, our Finnish lad.
I have been going to Anzac parades since I was a Girl Guide...I always cry..The Last Post gets me every time!
My mother's six older brothers went off to WW11, and miraculously, they all returned!
Lest we forget.....

[peasea]

Glad to see this thread up.

Just got back from dawn service at the Domain.

My grandfather fought in North Africa and Italy with the New Zealand Division in WW2. I've always been grateful that he was willing to tell me his stories when I was a kid.

We will remember them.

Yeah, we went to the Domain, huge crowd huh? Ran into a few bikers I knew too, good to see them there and good to see so many younger faces.

[Sniper]

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[ynot slow]

how fucken true,watched couple of programmes on tv one this morning on gallipoli,shit they really stuffed it up,first time i had seen the doco made which was narrated by peter eliott.interviews and opinions by both sides past down in time.had referances to col malone and others,also the fact that if the irish troups had gone further up their landing instead of having a rest,as the commanding officer was/had no respect from his people,they may well have taken the ridge without the massacre.interesting also that both factions in ireland put the problems aside and fought together.was very informing but shame lots of the scripts,documents have gone forever.also there was doco on n.z pow from battle of crete,how they were held etc,was very informative as most of the men gave their versions.

[Maha]

We do not remember their deaths. We remember the freedom they strove to protect. We do not glorify their deaths. We respect the sacrifice they made for people they would never know.

Fantastic and yet simplistic way of explaining this day, that makes so much sense

[SARGE]

sadly.. i do not see the appreciation the younger generations SHOULD have for the people in past generations who have made the ultimate sacrifice. yea .. its all good to go to the dawn service and buy the poppies .. but when is the last time you ( generalizing) have actually stopped at a rest home or at an RSA and just sat and talked to a Vet.. when have you shook an old man's hand and said " Welcome Home Soldier... Thank you"

Buckbuck, NZsarge, Sniper, Gunny, Doc, and a few others on here know what the life is like.. the loneliness of being so far from home and away from the people who love you.. the knowledge that death is 5 feet away and has your name.. seeing your mates die or get hurt. knowing at any time,your country will ask you to lay down your life to protect the ones who are at home waving signs AGAINST what you are doing..

In the US .. it is considered our DUTY and an Honor to serve. In NZ it seems to be the furthest from most peoples minds. Being in the USMC changed my life. it taught me Discipline, Respect and Humility in the respect of knowing that the lessons i learned were written in the blood of those who came before me.

Thank a Vet every day.. its because of them that you are here today and able to express your opinion.

[stelartia]

i was on my way to a service today and an older man said to me that he has stopped going because all his friends hed go with (ex service men all) have died.

we will remember them

[Scorpygirl]

Yes, we will remember them. Lest we forget, their names liveth within us.

...............................

[Manxman]

how fucken true,watched couple of programmes on tv one this morning on gallipoli,shit they really stuffed it up,first time i had seen the doco made which was narrated by peter eliott.interviews and opinions by both sides past down in time.had referances to col malone and others,also the fact that if the irish troups had gone further up their landing instead of having a rest,as the commanding officer was/had no respect from his people,they may well have taken the ridge without the massacre.interesting also that both factions in ireland put the problems aside and fought together.was very informing but shame lots of the scripts,documents have gone forever.also there was doco on n.z pow from battle of crete,how they were held etc,was very informative as most of the men gave their versions.

Agree...many mistakes are made in war - some unintended, some just downright dumb....but that's the human condition:no-one is perfect.

The biggest wartime mistake was made by one Adolf Hitler...

The biggest mistake our generation can make, is to not remember or learn from the past...

[Manxman]

I find myself pondering this often when thinking of global conflicts, sitting in my Marketing class today with my study group. Kyoko from Japan, Dominic from Germany and myself, a kiwi [all of us had a grandfather in WW2]. Got to thinking that you know, 50-60 years ago it could have been us shooting at each other, clamering over death hellbent on each others destruction - and for what?

It boggles my mind... and yet it continues to this very day

"and for what?"...I'd say that it was 'cos of some egotistic and dictatorial German, called Adolf....a clear and present threat if ever there was one.

[scumdog]

Moving stuff seeing the old grey headed ones ranks thinning each year....

The old man fought the Communist (sorry Ixion) invasion of Malaya in the late 40's through to the 60's, terible stories even in that little war..

[BarBender]

'I honour the courage and leadership of Haane Manahi, one of Te Arawa's greatest sons.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, Haane Manahi joined the 28th (Maori) Battalion. He travelled far from Ohinemutu, the village of his birth, to fight in lands far from New Zealand. Lance Sergeant Manahi fought in Greece, Crete, and North Africa. He played a pivotal role in the 1943 attack on Takrouna in Tunisia.'

[Romeo]

"and for what?"...I'd say that it was 'cos of some egotistic and dictatorial German, called Adolf....a clear and present threat if ever there was one.

Exactly, one man was able to poison everyone around him until he had the support he needed to generate a conflict which ended up sending 70+ million people to their deaths. People often say that "a dead [enemy soldier] is a good [enemy soldier]". But in reality if you're a soldier on the front lines you're not fighting for some stupid cause thought up by some stupid political leader, you're fighting for your life. When the shit hits the fan I think you'll find 99% of soldiers would rather be at home on the couch with a cold beer.