Nine-year-old Shanya Vincent and her sister, Zoe, 6, were not quite sure why they were wearing their great-grandfather's Gallipoli medals.
They did know Anzac Day was to remember the men and women who went to war, but they knew little of the war service of their great-granddad, Henry"Mac" Vincent.
"They are our Poppa Mac's medals," said Shanya at the dawn service in Auckland Domain yesterday.
The two girls remembered Poppa Mac's Gallipoli service by writing a poem. Remembering the words was a little difficult in the predawn Anzac Day darkness, but they came back with a little prodding from their mother, Donna Vincent.
We honour the people who went to war,
We honour the people who died at war,
We honour the people who came back from war,
We honour our Poppa who went to war,
We honour our uncle who came back from the war.
Ms Vincent said they had some grim reminders of how close Poppa Mac came to dying on the beaches of Gallipoli.
Her grandfather never talked of the horrors, but the family had the hat he wore when he landed at Anzac Cove.
"Poppa Mac was quite short anda bullet went right through thetop of his hat and missed his head.
"We have also got a brass bowl he stole from the Turks. There was stew in it with whole tomatoes, and it was the first time any of his unit had had fresh food for ages."
Ms Vincent added: "Anzac Day is a day of nationhood for New Zealand. To me it is more important than any other [holiday]. It is the day we became a nation."
