Lest We Forget"They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them."
This poem is usually said at commerative services around New Zealand and the world today. April 25 is Anzac Day and I've felt a little sad today, just thinking about war and all the lives given and lost during the wars.
I've also been thinking about my grandparents, my grandfather fought in Crete, Egypt and Italy during World War II as part of the 28th Maori Battalion. My grandmother was a driver in the Women's Auxillary Army. My grandfather was too young to sign up, so he lied about his age (he was only 17 when he left NZ). He signed up with his two (or could be three I'm not 100% sure) brothers. One was killed and the other fought during the infamous Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.
About 7 years ago, I went to Turkey on holiday and was fortunate enough to attend an Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli. It was very moving and just made me think about all the lives lost, not just New Zealand and Australian, but also Turkish. It's very sobering really.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tart at 5:46 PM |
2 Comments:
<< back home
Post a Comment
At 1:03 PM, 
said........
said........
I was thinking about you on ANZAC day and wondering how it is celebrated down under. Being at Gallipoli on ANZAC at dawn must have been incredibly moving. I had a moment like that in the cemetery in Normandy when I realized that all those boys (literally) died just months before I was born. I felt like I was there for all their unborn children.
