Lest We Forget – An American Perspective

Auckland, New Zealand

Jumping ahead a few entries here.  Don’t worry we’ll get back to the Great Kiwi Roadtrip soon enough but something else takes precedence.  April 25^th was ANZAC day.  “What is that?” You might ask.

…And that right there is the problem.It isn’t your fault that you don’t know.  For us, we’d heard the word “ANZAC” before but didn’t really understand what it was (Australia / New Zealand Army Corps).  Then we got to New Zealand and during our many journeys here we discovered something – New Zealanders really love their soldiers.

Be it statue in the town square or one of the dozens of ANZAC bridges we drove over; featured prominently in every village and city we passed through or lived in was a monument to the Kiwi soldier.  We found this highly interesting being as we hadn’t seen this level of reverence for the armed forces outside our own country.  What was the cause of this devotion that was so prominently displayed everywhere we went?  We found out at the National War Memorial of New Zealand –

Coming from a large country like the USA, those numbers may not leave the proper impression.  So let’s put that into some perspective for our fellow Americans out there:  In World War 1, the “War to end all wars,” the war that brought new and terrible meaning to scale of death nations were capable of, the war of the trenches and mustard gas and blind charges into machine gun fire to gain 25 yards of blasted wasteland, in that war New Zealand had the highest casualty and death rate per capita of any country involved.

Not, “of the allies” or “of the winning side” no, of everyone involved.  In the “Great War” their national population was cut to the bone and yet still fought on in countries thousands of miles from their own shores.

Now to lose 25% of your young adult population all at once, that’s horrific enough and worthy of memory.  But we found something else out during our time in New Zealand:

Kiwis have supported America not only through WW 1 and WW 2 but even after this outright devastation to their country’s population, they continued to give us their sweat, their blood and their lives through many of our wars since.

The lesson we learned at the National War Memorial Museum in Auckland is this: Whenever Britain or America have called the charge, a tiny island nation off at the far end of the world has rallied to that cry.  A people known for their kindness, generosity and agrarian ways picked up their guns and sallied forth to be killed in droves in far off lands…

Because that’s what allies do.

As we’ve previously said, we as Americans have been indoctrinated into the mindset that we are alone in the world.  That we are the givers of aid but never the receivers.  That while we are a city upon a hill the undercurrent to that message is that there is no one to stand with us against the forces that would burn that city to the ground and dance upon its ashes.

This is, to put a fine point on it, a lie.

The ANZAC to us as Americans does not mean exactly what it does to the Kiwis we celebrate with.  To them, the ANZAC is an ideal: the very best of them.  It is honor, sacrifice, blood and country.

To us, as Americans, the ANZAC means that we are not on our own.  That America, the city on a hill, is not a lone beacon in the darkness.  That there are others out there willing to lay down their lives for freedom, even if it means that life be laid down in a land far from home.

“Lest we forget” is the quote they use down here to commemorate the day and it’s poignant, especially to us.  Because as Americans, in large part, we have.  As a nation, we have moved on from the World Wars much, much faster and more completely than our fellow allies.  Our news commentary of modern wars does not cover the fact that “coalition forces” actually consist of soldiers from other countries.

Thank-you New Zealand, because where the American Eagle and British Bulldog led, the Kiwi followed at no small cost.  Where we fought you backed us.  Where we died you fell alongside us.  We need to keep this in mind…

…Because you deserve at least that.  It is, quite literally, the least we can do.

We are sorry so many of us have forgotten.  But we know now, we shall remember and we will tell others.

Lest any of us forget.

For more on what our allies have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice each and every day in their support of us check out We are not alone – Remembering 9/11

PS – This article is about New Zealand as we went there first and our initial exposure to the ANZAC was there.  New Zealand and Australia do not differentiate between themselves on this day.  We also have the deepest sense of gratitude for the “diggers” of Australia both past and present.  Simply put, your two countries’ sacrifices and accomplishments were too amazingly badass to include all in one entry.  We have every intention of highlighting the Australian side of this equation in a separate article.

About the authors

Greg and Tiffany are traveling around the world on sailing yachts and keep a video blog of their (mis)adventures.  If sailing to Tahiti on a 44 ft sailboat, 3-day delays for wine tastings, getting pooped on by seagulls, opening coconuts with dull machetes, sailing past tornadoes and ukulele Christmas carols are for you, then check them out at www.CoastGuardCouple.com!