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Related Articles Anzac Day: A brief history History of the poppy Anzac Day events 2008

TV ONE is hosting a special day of commemoration for Friday April 25 - Anzac Day. Details of coverage can be found below. Throughout the day there will be news bulletins with special editions of ONE News at 6pm and Close Up; and on-line at onenews.co.nz.

6.00am: Anzac Day Dawn Service 2008    

LIVE broadcast of the Anzac Day dawn service at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland, New Zealand's largest war cemetery.
 
  
7.00am: Breakfast


An Anzac Day edition of Breakfast features highlights of services held around the country; including the Cenotaph, at Auckland War Memorial Museum; the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial in Wellington; and the Christchurch  Bridge of Remembrance War Memorial.

 
9.00am: Good Morning



Sarah Bradley, Brendon Pongia and Steve Gray celebrate our Anzac spirit and
honours war veterans and our armed forces in a two-hour, advertising-free special on Anzac Day.

Brendon flies with aerobatic display team, the Red Checkers, high above the Royal  New Zealand Air Force Base at Ohakea, and he'll travel the lower North Island visiting heartland RSA clubs. Veterans of the Vietnam War and the women who kept  the home fires burning during World War Two describe their experiences and Good Morning finds out more about Tribute 08, the official commemorative weekend  honouring veterans and their families.

Sarah Bradley and Steve Gray also meet two New Zealand military officers involved in dangerous de-mining initiatives in volatile Southern Lebanon, and talk to the New Zealand Army's official artist, Matt Gauldie.

Plus, we play popular music that cheered troops in the first and second World Wars, and protest music from the Vietnam War era.

 
11.00am: Anzac Day Wreath Laying Ceremony 2008  


A LIVE broadcast of the 2008 Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, at the National War Memorial in Wellington.

12.00pm: ONE News At Midday

12.30pm: The Town New Zealand Saved  


A 90th anniversary documentary for Anzac Day 2008, which tells the story of New Zealand's very special relationship with Le Quesnoy, an ancient walled town in northern France.

There are few places in the wider world where streets and squares are named after New Zealand and New Zealanders and where each year our country is remembered with honour and gratitude. But it does happen in northern France in the ancient walled town of Le Quesnoy. In 2008, the town will commemorate a 90-year link with New Zealand.

For most of World War I, Le Quesnoy suffered under German occupation but by 1918 the Allies were advancing to liberate northern France. The New Zealand division was at the front of the advance and had Le Quesnoy in its sights. But instead of taking the safe route of using our artillery to blast the town and the resident German garrison to pieces, the Kiwis decided to preserve the citizens and their homes. They chose the dangerous route of an infantry attack.

The Kiwis used scaling ladders to climb the centuries-old walls and ramparts of the town. It was like a medieval assault, but it surprised the German defenders and the allies liberated the town.

The people of Le Quesnoy have never forgotten our men's selfless actions. Each year around the anniversary of the battle bands play, a parade passes through the town and dignitaries lay wreathes and give speeches. The health of New Zealand and "les kiwis" is drunk time and again.

Click here to access our Anzac Day study guide (PDF)

1.30pm: Our Lost War: Passchendaele

Actor Robyn Malcolm takes her son Charlie to Belgium, following the path of her Great Uncle George who lost his life in the fated World War I Battle of Passchendaele.

 
2.30pm: ONE News Special - Gallipoli  


LIVE coverage of the Dawn Service at Gallipoli for Anzac Day.

3.40pm: Te Karere

4.00pm: Kiwis At War  

Nancy Wake was one of the great characters of World War II. She was born in Wellington but went on to become a resistance fighter and special agent during the German occupation of France. 

4.30pm: ONE News At 4.30

6.00pm: ONE News At 6pm

The events of Anzac Day, in New Zealand, Australia and around the world will be comprehensively covered by ONE News bulletins throughout the day; with special editions of ONE News at 6pm and Close Up; and on-line at onenews.co.nz.

7.00pm: Close Up

A special Anzac Day edition.

 
8.35pm: Reluctant Hero  



A documentary about Corporal Willie Apiata of the New Zealand Special Air Service, who made history last year when he received New Zealand's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, after rescuing a critically-injured soldier in total disregard for his own life while on operations in Afghanistan.

It was business as usual at the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) headquarters on Sunday 1 July, 2007 but for one soldier it was a day that would change his life forever.

Some three years after 'an incident' in Afghanistan, Corporal Willie Apiata was informed by his Commanding Officer and Regimental Sergeant Major that he was to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth military's highest honour. For Apiata, used to the deeply covert life of a Special Forces soldier, it was the start of a rollercoaster ride into the forefront of the public eye.

Reluctant Hero, a special feature-length documentary for Anzac Day, profiles Willie Apiata, re-enacts the feat for which he received his medal, and looks at how this reserved Kiwi soldier has coped with the public exposure his honour has brought him.

Click here to access our Anzac Day study guide (PDF)

 

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