The sacrifices of the more than 18,000 New Zealanders killed in World War I continues to be commemorated, one week on from Armistice Day.
Under fine skies and an armistice centenary fly by, relatives were out in force yesterday, searching for their loves ones.
The massive tribute to our thousands of soldiers struck down in the war includes a special section for families who lost more than one son.
Christine Brennan’s family has paid the cruel cost of war. She visited Auckland’s War Memorial yesterday to pay tribute to her great grandmother, who lost four sons.
“I think she could only feel that there was some honour in the fact that her sons were remembered, they died as young men, they died between 19 and 23 years of age,” she said.
Ms Brennan says the family never recovered from their loss - three of the four sons are buried overseas. But commemorating their memory has been a powerful experience.
“To have them all together in one place is really significant and to have them on the same field where there are crosses for all the soldiers who died in the war is just an astounding sight,” she said.
Organisers of the remembrance say that it’s resonating with people nationwide.
“You can’t not go into that field and shed a tear,” said Graham Gibson of the Fields of Remembrance Trust.
Members of the public have until Tuesday to collect crosses.
Based on an honesty system, there's no map identifying the fallen. It's a matter of simply joining the hundreds gathered and searching for loved ones.
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