Anzac Day

With Anzac Day upon us, Ian Harris delves into the meaning of sacrifice, both ancient and modern.

As Anzac Day looms, Gallipoli has become a place of pilgrimage, but the Western Front claimed many more Australian and New Zealand lives. David S. Potts visits the fields of Flanders.

The Dunback war memorial and the toilet block at the Dunback domain have been cleaned and painted by East Otago High School year 13 pupils this week.

While Anzac Day is about honouring the dead, it is also an important way for younger generations to hear about what war was like, a Dunedin World War 2 veteran says.

War medals were carefully dusted off and proudly worn by two young Central Otago boys who took part in an Anzac Day parade at Omakau on Saturday.

The enthusiasm of younger generations to pay their respects to the men and women who served in the world wars bolstered the spirits of returned servicemen Allan Fisher, Frank Lindsay and Aubrey Nolan on Saturday.

Speaking at the Anzac Day service at the Enfield Presbyterian Church was particularly special for Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton.

While there was not much to smile about on the battlefields during World War 2, Phil Smith takes pride in the fact that when soldiers did find reason to bare their teeth, he had helped make them shine.

Syd Herriott has not missed a dawn parade since coming home from the war - and losing his medals, poor eyesight and a few health "hiccups" are not going to stop him now.

Dawn service at Cenotaph will begin at 6.15am on Saturday

War memorials abound around the country, often the only markers of localities that sent their young men overseas in service of the British Empire.

A medical dictionary would be helpful when reading Gary Mowat's war pension disability card.

Roy Sefton wants to think positively. He hopes the new expert panel on veterans' health will lead to greater acceptance of the psychological and physical problems suffered by veterans exposed to nuclear tests, and greater compensation for them.

Harry Hedges' wartime exploits read like a Boy's Own adventure.

Darling, don't wait. For those Allied soldiers who were captured early in World War 2, one of the few freedoms they had behind the barbed wire of a Nazi prison camp was the freedom to release their beloved from bonds of affection.

Does New Zealand adequately look after its living roll of honour - the estimated 50,000 war veterans who have served their country in conflicts from WW2 to Iraq? The Law Commission says not, labelling our eligibility and war pension payment systems "very outdated" and "completely inadequate".

A Lancaster crewman who swapped bombs for biscuits and a couple eternally grateful for that mission of mercy met for the first time in Dunedin this month.