exaggerations, built from diaries, battalion histories, and fanciful adventurers seeking fame and fortune. Paid enormous sums to write, we have produced more Phd's in History, then any country Worldwide. Every regurgiated issue is becoming more bizarre, with claims of gallantry, heroism, masculinity, and hero worship, for children to aspire to ? A lie, embellished to gargantuan proportions to proliferate folklore, to what end ? Tunnel vision or rose coloured glasses ? Do we become orgasmic and dream rhapsody at our sanitised past ? Issues jam packed with bibliographic references, plagiarised from other books and used to lend an air of authenticity is not only deceitful, it's patently criminal and gives authors no credit. Since Colonization, the Nation's Political luminaries have mawkishly followed in Mother England's Empire building, recklessly imperiling the lives of the Nation's cream of strapping young men then and now. In all candor, one would think we can learn from our past ?

Realistically, not only are we distorting facts to enrich our sanitised History, we now have to contend with film producers and directors, hogging the limelight, ala tinsel town ? Million dollar extravaganzas, replete with million dollar tax and gratuitous grants and incentives, are encouraged to stretch the limits of fantasia, and produce films in the War genre, cozen in Nationalistic euphoria !

Changi POW camp was a kindergarten compared to the Thailand / Burma death camps. Many Australian servicemen from Changi, initially transported by rail, were frog marched to many camps along the route, where they perished like flies. The so called Bridge over the River Kwai, became a film epic, with Alex Guiness, and Bill Holden. Over 16,000 died while building the Death Railway to Burma, of which the bridge was only a small part of. At the Military cemetery at Kanchanaburi. Thailand. Thousands of Allied servicemen are interred. Although the number of POW's who died during the Japanese occupation is horrifying, the fatality rate of laborers i.e Thai, Burmese, Malay, Indonesian and Chinese, were much worse - estimated at over 100,000 coolies died in the area. Their graves are unmarked.

Attention seeking
cont..

war stories from hearsay is evidence not recognised in a Court of Law. It must be corroborated and verified by credible witnesses. Unless the criteria is met - all the flag waving, mantra chanting, catchy slogans, and hula-hula gyrations are inadmissible. Unfortunately much of our History is in this category.

Despite the hubris, and Officer's testimonials of which most of our History is based upon, and securely closeted in the National Archives, State Library's, AWM, RSL's and mess's across the Nation, the treasures at best, may be suspect.

Given,it's a human characteristic to aggrandise events. People in general exaggerate a thing or two. Spend a day at your local Magistrate's Court, and you will blush at the furphies told under oath. No wonder the Judges are so screwed up. They cannot ( in all truth ) decipher the truth from the chaff. To add to the defendent's credibility, they are told to dress in suits and their Sunday best. Thus emboldened, their presentations may sway a sworn Jury, but hardly raises an eye-brow from the Bench.

To reiterate, sotto voce: War is Hell !

Growing up in the late 70's early 80's Anzac day didn't have the popularity it has now. At the time i played in a brass band and marched every year. I was taught that it was a day to remember the loss of life in war and to never forget that war was an atrocity and sould be avoided at all costs. Also it was a day of healing for the veterans.
Today it has been transformed in to a day of nationalist pride as has that other day of national misbehaviour. It seems to now be used more to sensationalise wars with stories of heroism and great battles we won against the odds.
The time has come to return to the more traditional values of Anzac day.
Remember in war people die. not just soldiers but innocent children, woman and men. massive cost to our nations in terms of human life, social healing and cost.
Most wars do not have to be fought, they are based in peoples fear of things they don't and won't understand. They destroy the lives of the soldiers and families in the war zone.
History shows us that rarely are the problems fixed through war, rather they are just put off to a latter date when a new generation can fight another war over the hate of their parents.

Anzac day for me is the day I remember 3 mates, & a couple of acquaintances who died maintaining our defence capacity, in PEACETIME.

I also think of those who have died in peacekeeping efforts, & disaster relief operations. All these people were serving our country, in a way that even our bleeding hearts should approve of, but are never mentioned.

I'm the grandson of a man of Irish descent who went to jail for his activities when opposing conscription in NZ during world war one. He beat up two 'special constables' bought in to quell the anti-conscription demonstrations.
I'm the son of a man who held, until the entrance of Japan, that the war with Germany and Italy was merely another European or English war and no business of NZ.

I think they like me appreciate and respect the committment of other NZers and revere the memory of those who suffered.

I think they like me would say you lefties should shut up and just bloody well leave ANZAC Day alone.

You've done your bit and cheapened it enough this year by trying to turn into just another bloody long weekend holiday.

Oh and Tristan NZ and Australia didn't fight as a single Corps in either war. They were separate Corps. The name ANZAC had it's origins in a newspaper headline.

And if you think I shouldn't comment because of the attitudes of my father and grandfather ... well the record some of my uncles and of my mother's family is quite a different story.

Australians and New Zealanders did fight together in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. (see below) I'm not certain, though, whether NZ soldiers fought in other units in WWI as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_and_New_Zealand_Army_Corps