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Sunday marked the 89th anniversary of the end of World War I and
the RSA marked the occasion by posthumously awarding its highest
honour to some of New Zealand's military heroes.
The 17,000 New Zealanders who never made it back home were
remembered throughout the country on Armistice Day - the
anniversary of the peace declaration that officially ended World
War I.
The RSA chose the occasion to honour 22 members of the armed forces who fought in battles as far back as the New Zealand wars in the 19th century.
In life they were all awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery and on Sunday, in death, they were given the rare RSA Badge in Gold.
The only one to actually get to pin the badge to his chest was our most recent Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Willie Apiata.
There are currently six living recipients of the Badge in Gold. The most recent was awarded to World War II saboteur Nancy Wake, better known to the Gestapo as the White Mouse.
New Zealand had a population of 1.1 million in 1914 and sent 100,000 men and women abroad to play their part in the war. Nearly 17,000 of them never returned and 40,000 were wounded.
For former members of the armed forces, Armistice Day is yet another moment in time slowly being forgotten.
They would like to see it - like the Battle of Passchendaele - remembered in the same way and with the same passion that the country marks Anzac Day.
