Posted on 04/24/2002 7:43:12 PM PDT by New Zealander
Rain falls as war dead remembered
25 April 2002
Inclement weather failed to deter or dampen the spirits of thousands who turned out for Anzac Day dawn parades and services in Auckland and Wellington this morning to commemorate New Zealand's war dead.
As the rain bucketed down, more than 15,000 people stood in silence for one minute in the Auckland Domain today, honouring the memory of fallen soldiers.
The dawn service began at 5.15am when war veterans from all three services formed up for a short march to the Cenotaph in front of the Auckland Museum.
As the veterans marched on to the parade ground in front of the Cenotaph, the intermittent spits of rain gave an indication to the thousands waiting of what was to come.
Within a few minutes heavy rain was falling but it did little to quell the spirit of the service. No one left but the umbrellas came out and strangers moved closer together for shelter and to sing the words of the hymns from the printed service paper.
"It's a blessing from heaven. These are God's tears falling on our dead soldiers," said a Maori woman who stood bareheaded in the rain.
Auckland mayor John Banks, at his first Dawn Service since winning the mayoralty last year, said on this day in 1915 Anzac received its baptism of fire and became one of the immortal names in history.
"We who are gathered here think of the comrades who, then and since, fought for freedom on land, sea and in the air and did not return.
"We feel them still near us in the spirit. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice. Let us therefore once more dedicate ourselves to the service of the ideals for which they died.
"As the dawn is now about to pierce the night, so let their memory inspire us to work for the coming of the new light into the dark places of the world.
"We will remember them," Mr Banks said.
Mr Banks laid a wreath at the base of the Cenotaph before a lone bugler played the Last Post and the flags at the Cenotaph were lowered to half mast.
As the lights were turned off, heavy rain continued to fall and the crowd stood in silence for a minute.
After the benediction by the Reverend Wally Te Ua , the crowd applauded as the now-soaked veterans turned to the left under the orders of the parade commander and marched off the parade ground to a drum roll to end the service.
Meanwhile a crowd of several thousand braved a slightly damp but mild morning in Wellington to attend the dawn parade and service at the War Memorial Cenotaph near Parliament.
Chief of New Zealand's defence force Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson told the gathering of veterans, servicemen and women, and members of the public young and old that Anzac Day, the anniversary of the allied landings at Gallipoli, Turkey, 87 years ago marked "a national tragedy when poorly prepared soldiers perished for an ill conceived strategic notion", and was not about glorifying war but about remembering those who had "sacrificed their youth and in many cases their lives" so that successive generations could live in freedom.
Air Marshal Ferguson also made mention of the more than 1000 New Zealand servicemen and women currently serving overseas in peacekeeping and other roles.
Just want to remind you the Aussies were there as well.
LEST WE FORGET.
I elected to participate as an onlooker in small town New Zealand, not too far from New Zealander, in a pleasant little hick town called Shannon.
ANZAC Day, like Good Friday, is a sombre, shops shut day. The Horowhenua District pipe band let fly with bag pipes as they led the parade to the town's War Mememorial. Quietly proud Veterans with aged faces, some wearing medals walked the short distance to where a passage of scripture [Luke 22:19] was read. Wreaths were laid by various organisations whilst four NZ Army soldiers stood with their Steyrs clasped, barrels to the ground and their heads to the ground. A volley of three shots from a New Zealand Army firing party was discharged. I was swept away as I looked across the crowd at the faces of the Vets. Some had seen WWII, the younger ones would have seen Vietnam.
An uncle of mine, who I've never met was killed on ANZAC Day itself in Greece, 1941. I'd like to record here fervant thanx to my Uncle Harry and everyone else's Uncle Harrys for the sacrifice they made to ensure a better life for the generations following them.
THEY WERE CALLED AND THEY WENT
My Uncle Harry, me Mum's sister's husband and my Mum's brother were tortured almost to death during four years in Changi Prison, courtesy of 'his majesty "emperor" and mongrel bastard, Hirohito of Japan.
Human History's fourth most prolific mass murderer.
Other members of my family have served and or have been killed and/or wounded in every New Zealand War since before 1840 when they and others like them first brought Civilization and Law to New Zealand -- and saved the natives there from eating themselves into extinction.
Didn't make it to the dawn service, but did come into work for the morning...only to be called back again in the afternoon!
Does anyone know where all the poppies were this year? I looked for them every day but couldn't find any. This must be the first year I can remember that I didn't get a poppy!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.