Anzac Day is a day of remembrance for most New Zealanders. For some it is a day of national pride and a chance to reflect on what it means to be a New Zealander. Some currently serving Defence personnel share their thoughts on Anzac Day means to them.
NZDFpersonnel deployed to Gallipoli, Turkey for the 95th Anniversary of the battle of Gallipoli. An NZ Flag waves in front of LAC Jay Ayers. [WN-10-0084-081]
Rear Admiral Jack Steer, Vice Chief of Defence Force
Anzac Day is a day the means an enormous amount to me personally.
First I recall the enormous debt that we owe those that gave their lives so that New Zealand can be what it is today. So that my children have the opportunities they presently have.
Then I think of the young men and women who every day we send into harms way. They are the veterans that we create every day. They are the people, who like their forebears at Gallipoli, Passchendaele, Korea and Vietnam, who bravely go to do their duty in some overseas place that many of them have never been to before.
I also get to meet the last survivors of WWII and other veterans, who are always willing to share their amazing memories with me. It is a really wonderful way to spend the day.
The Last Post is I guess, what brings it all together. I hear it many times and it always makes me think of the sacrifices that many have made, so that I can be there listening to it today. On Anzac Day this is even more poignant. It really brings it all together. Sitting in the National War Memorial with veterans young and old, with dignitaries and families, all there to give their thoughts and thanks to those that have gone before us. Of course last year we had just lost three brave aviators who were on their way to be a part of the ceremonies. It never fails to bring all my emotions to the surface, some years more than others.
So, that is Anzac Day for me. A day when I choose to join with others to remember and say thanks to the people who have given their lives so that we can live ours the way we do.
Brigadier Phil Gibbons, Defence Attache, UK
On Anzac Day I take every opportunity to parade with my father Ivan (89 years old), a WWII veteran seriously wounded at the Battle of Cassino. I think it is important for older veterans such my father, to see the modern military and young New Zealanders from all walks of life come out on this very special day to commemorate the Anzac traditions and to acknowledge the personal commitment they made for all New Zealanders.
My father’s generation went through some very, very bitter experiences that I am not sure any of us can quite understand or imagine. With the ever increasing awareness and level of public support for our veterans on Anzac Day, it does however go a long way towards assisting this generation and indeed all veterans, deal with some of their very deep emotional experiences.
The culture of the New Zealand Defence Force today is based on its ethos and its values. These ethos and the values are derived largely from the commitment of those veterans who served before us. The ethos is based on a sense of service… of serving honourably and loyally. Our values of courage, commitment, comradeship and integrity are taught to all new recruits through the experiences of our veterans. It is an opportunity to further enhance the importance of why we serve and further acknowledge the commitment made by this very special group of new Zealanders.
Chaplain Wayne Toleafoa, RNZN
There are at least one or two days in NZ history which help us to define who we are as a people. ANZAC is one of those days. Waitangi Day is another. I guess if there are 'sacred' days in our history these two days would be those days. Both days define our relationship to one another and to the rest of the world. ANZAC Day involved Australians and New Zealanders (Pakeha and Maori) and many other allied nations who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. Passchendaele saw even greater Kiwi losses and that too calls for our reverence. All days that note the sacrifice of Kiwi lives on land, sea or in the air, are in a sense 'sacred' to the memory of those who died on behalf of all of us.
LAC Grant Armishaw, RNZAF
ANZAC Day for me has a particular personal touch. My Great Grandfather went to Gallipoli with the Otago Infantry Battalion. He was lucky to return alive and raise a family. I admire his courage during the time he spent there and for the commitment his peers showed during such a brutal period. Many of his comrades did not return to their families and loved ones and these are the people I, along with the rest of Australia and NZ, think about each ANZAC Day. It is also a time when I remember my grandfather who served in the Pacific WWII.
In 2010 I had the honour of being part of the NZDF contingent to travel to Gallipoli for the 95th Anniversary. To be on the very spot where our men stood and many died on that fateful day was a very overwhelming and sombre experience, one I will never forget.
Warrant Officer Jack Rudolph, RNZN
ANZAC Day is a national day where we honour those who have served NZ through their military service. In particular we honour those that have lost their lives in that service. The Navy is a Service that aims to live by its values of courage, comradeship and commitment. It is a responsibility we take seriously. It is therefore important that we show these values by joining with our fellow citizens in remembrance services on ANZAC Day. I have been privileged to represent the RNZN over the past 31 years in Naval uniform. I have also been privileged to attend overseas ANZAC Day commemorations at San Francisco, USA, Canberra, Australia and Gallipoli in Turkey. Equally important have been the numerous RSAs I have been able to be at within New Zealand representing the RNZN, being with veterans and families of veterans that are no longer with us. The speakers recite stories from the horrific Gallipoli campaign of the 1st World War, the 2nd World War and the various other campaigns which include Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and East Timor. Campaigns continue to this day with emphasis more on peace keeping throughout the world rather than combatant roles. The next generation of children and grandchildren are inclusive of ANZAC days of today and their involvement in being amongst the few veterans that are left, to listen to their stories and at times, recite their fathers or grandfathers involvement in the atrocities of their respective war campaigns continues. We - 'the survivors of them', should never forget and are obligated to veterans that paid the ultimate sacrifice and fought in War campaigns are not forgotten. ANZAC to me encompasses all of the above and is surmised within the words of the RSAs ODE:
I te hekenga atu o te ra
Tae noa ki te aranga mai i te ata
Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Powell
Anzac Day is, of course, the day to remember the Gallipoli landings and our nation's coming of age alongside our Australian comrades. But it is much more than that now.
It is also the time to remember family and their service & sacrifice. My father served as a young Sergeant with the Auckland Regiment at Castor Bay when WWII broke out. He then went on to serve in Korea as the Senior Medical Officer for K-Force.
My wife's great uncle was killed on Chunuk Bair but her grandfather was awarded the Military Cross at La Signy Farm on the Somme in 1918, so it is also a time to reflect on the loss which so many families suffered, but also the fortune that smiled on those who survived.
We should think of ANZAC meaning more than Gallipoli. New Zealand's losses on the Western Front at battles like Passchendaele and First Somme make the losses at Gallipoli seem pale by comparison. Let’s not dwell too long on loss though. New Zealand's contribution to the victory in Europe during WWII was substantial as were our efforts in the Pacific.
New Zealanders fought bravely and with considerable skill in South East Asian Wars such as Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam, and our contributions to current peacekeeping operations show the quality of New Zealand servicemen and women as warriors and as diplomats.
There are some appallingly sad occasions which will forever mark Anzac Day for New Zealanders and the Iroquois disaster of last year is just one such occasion. That incident is a reminder of the danger that NZ men and women face daily when they volunteer to serve their nation.
Finally, New Zealanders of today should be honoured by the fact that the sacrifice of their forebears is remembered in many more places than New Zealand and Australia. In fact in tiny corners of the world like small villages in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, the local people remember the sacrifice of New Zealanders who came from the other side of the world to liberate their countries when the darkness of oppression and tyranny was upon them.