Sas and epiphany, I tend to agree, for a couple of reasons. I also agree that the can do attitude is what makes us New Zealanders, and as long as it doesn't kill us, we either get the job done or learn a great lesson.
It's one of the reasons Sir Ed Hillary conquered Everest!
Unfortunately when it does kill us then we can only hope that others learn from our mistakes. As my instructor said, learn from others mistakes, you won't live long enough to make them all yourself...
Having said that, April 25 doesn't sneak up on us any year, we know that we have dawn parades, we know that the military do fly pasts. I can also tell you that when we, being helicopter pilots, in New Zealand heard that a machine was missing in the fog, we all remembered the weather forecasts from the night before, or infact the few days before, and said of course someone has gone missing, the weather had been marginal for at least a couple of days and the forecast was crap. The military have a base in Wellington, why not go there, I guess that's the question that will always be asked. I hope that they use those options in the future.