ANZAC Day And Gallipoli / Remembrance of lost ones.

Hello all! Today is a very special day for me, and all the rest of the NZers here on the McBrawl forums. Today, today is ANZAC day. For those of you who don't know what ANZAC day is:

Anzac Day occurs on 25 April. It commemorates all New Zealanders killed in war and also honours returned servicemen and women.
The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders.

Thousands lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders, almost one in four of those who served on Gallipoli.

It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something else – a feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

Anzac Day was first marked in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since then. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral.

The term "ANZAC" means "Australian, New Zealand Army Corps. These are the men that fought for their king and country at Gallipoli in 1915.

Each year on Anzac Day, New Zealanders (and Australians) mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 25 April 1915. On that day, thousands of young men, far from their homes, stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Turkey.

Key dates
25 April 1915: Gallipoli landings

8 May: NZ troops take part inSecond Battle of Krithia

8 August: NZ troops capture Chunuk Bair

15-20 December: Troops evacuated from Anzac area

For eight long months, New Zealand troops, alongside those from Australia, Great Britain and Ireland, France, India, and Newfoundland battled harsh conditions and Ottoman forces desperately fighting to protect their homeland.

By the time the campaign ended, more than 120,000 men had died: at least 87,000 Ottoman soldiers and 44,000 Allied soldiers, including more than 8700 Australians. Among the dead were 2779 New Zealanders, about a fifth of all those who had landed on the peninsula.

In the wider story of the First World War, the Gallipoli campaign made no large mark. The number of dead, although horrific, pales in comparison with the death toll in France and Belgium during the war. However, for New Zealand, along with Australia and Turkey, the Gallipoli campaign is often claimed to have played an important part in fostering a sense of national identity.

So, some of you may be wondering what the point of this thread is. For me, it's about telling all of you about the suffering and pain that NZers and Australians went through during the great War, and it is so that we can all remember them. If there is anyone that you knew, loved, or someone from your family that fought / died in a war, then mention them in the comments, and tell us about them and what they did.

Please take this seriously! This is something that us NZers and Aussies take very seriously, and I would be very angry if someone started to goof around on this thread.