Anzac Day - Lest we forget

A glorious day here in Christchurch. This memorial is in Anzac Drive, which has been badly affected by the quakes, and you can see the sculpture is on a slant. However at last some work is being done on the road, so hopefully the area will eventually undergo restoration. The poppies immediately tell what the sculpture is about, and underneath - in the metal part this poem is cut into the metal.

Gallipoli - Memorial at Anzac Cove by Ataturk.

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...
You are now living in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us
Where they lie side by side here in this country of ours...
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries
Wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace,
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."
Ataturk, 1934

As a mother, I don't think it would help with the grief of losing a son in a criminally pointless action, in another pointless war.