ANZAC Day

Listening to: The Superjesus-Jet Age. Been ages since I've had this one on, I want to see if I still like it.

Today is the first ANZAC day in about ten years that I haven't gone to a dawn service. Working evenings and getting home after midnight will do that. I used to go to services with my father when I was young, which was I think my Dad's way of stopping me getting too gung-ho with my military interests. It worked. I've always had an interest in military history, warfare and weaponry, but that has always been tempered by the knowledge that at the sharp end warfare is deeply unpleasant (I think a lot of enthusiasts and to an extent gamers miss this point. I was reminded of this recently when overhearing some guys at work discussing an email video of some poor schmo in Iraq being mown down by machine gun fire after pointing a rocket launcher at a US tank. An enemy, maybe a fundy, maybe even Al Quaeda, brave but not too smart, but still a living breathing person. I found it deeply unsettling to hear people discussing violent death like it was some kind of funny home video or sports highlight).

I started going again about ten years ago after meeting veterans at the RSA Dad was working at. I wanted to show my respect and gratitude for their experiences.

I mentioned in my 101 things that there is a lot of military in my family. Dad was in the Air Force from 1957-81, Fi's parents are ex Army (her father fought in the euphemistically titled Malayan 'emergency'), Fi's brother in law is in the Air Force (and played bagpipes at the dedication of the NZ war memorial in London last year), Fi's grandfather served in the desert campaigns of World War Two, Dad's brother fought in the Korean War (1950-53), his father was wounded at the Somme in World War One, and two of my cousins were killed in the same conflict. Were I not an asthmatic I would have joined the Air Force at 18.

For a New Zealand/English family this is probably a fairly typical summary. For a small country, we have always contributed above our share, rightly or wrongly. Hindsight is a wonderful thing when reviewing decisions to send people to war, especially if it is someone else's war. I'm not sure it is fair to judge.

From his own experiences, Dad was always willing to point out that warfare was not like it was depicted in the Commando comics I devoured as a child. Real people suffered and died. Neither his father or his brother ever really talked about their experiences.

The modern resurgence in attendance at ANZAC day parades is encouraging. It means people are taking an interest in the past, and their ancestry. I dismiss the notion that ANZAC day is somehow glorifying or mythologising war (although I feel the media coverage may be tending this way, ever willing to amplify the truth).

If the protestors at the Wellington service this morning acted as depicted by a number of sources, they should be ashamed of themselves. Trying to disrupt a memorial service, burning the flag and heckling veterans is crossing the line. I think that is incredibly inappropriate, arrogant, ignorant, and disrespectful. There is a time and a place for that, and it isn't today. Free speech sure, but accompanying free speech there is responsibility.

The intention of ANZAC day has always been to remember those who didn't come home, and acknowledge those who did. Just like Easter, take a moment to bear in mind the reason you have a day off, and be thankful it is not you being honoured.

PS, interesting to see Jessica Lynch testifying before congress today about how much of the 'Saving Private Lynch' story was a total PR fabrication. Gives me hope for the US.