I was brought up in a military family, so ANZAC day has been a running feature in my life, however, for many people I know, the date goes unnoticed (unless, of course, it falls on a weekday, and we get a day off). I think this is largely due to our modern thoughts on war in New Zealand. Modern wars like Iraq have well and truly given some New Zealanders a reason to lump all wars in the same basket – an unnecessary and disgusting waste of life. ANZAC day seems to be the last bastion of glorifying war and the people who are stupid enough to get involved.

ANZAC day is a joint celebration with Australia, and technically is a day of remembrance for the anniversary of the first major military input from us in World War I in Gallipoli. In this place and time alone, New Zealand lost 2,721 men. That was a huge whack out of our young population, and they were the kind of people we would have done well to keep around. The loss of them has probably changed the course of our history more than anyone really realises.

Over time ANZAC has become a day to remember ALL our troops who have served anywhere. I think it is very hard for well educated, left leaning, intelligent people who lived through the last several years to not put a negative spin on the idea of spending an entire day focusing on war.

But there is no glory in ANZAC day.

Gallipoli itself has started to openly become recognised as a dismal, avoidable and badly managed loss of life. A grave lesson in our need to stop leaping to arms without just cause, planning and consideration of every life that could be lost. ANZAC day, for me, is not about the glory of the military and the big brass, it’s about the men on the ground. And we need to remember that these men did not have the luxury of living through what we did. The world was a different place, they were the ones who taught us the lessons we should take a lot more seriously than we do.

It is our job to stop one day a year and remember them as the heroes they are and the teachers they should be. Even those who survived, sacrificed their lives to the belief they were making the world safer for the rest of us.

In this age of climate change and our inability to alter our actions to affect future generations, the concept of literally giving your life for people you will never meet is hard to imagine.

That’s what these guys did. And that is why it is so important to not forget.