Four years ago I took my then 8 year old son to an ANZAC dawn service in Auckland.
Eerie experience - lines of silent elderly servicemen with medals, and then a Mustang, Spitfire Herc and Seasprite at low level - flying over the war memorial Musuem.
What surprised me though was the large number of young people, both male and female, prepared to get up at 4am in the cold and dark... many in their 20s.
I thought about it afterwards, and wonder if one of the consequences of 9/11 and the ensuing conflicts has meant that a new generation has seen what wars look like, realised the value of the military and the sacrifices they make.
Its sobering to appreciate that there'll more than likely always be bad people somewhere of some kind, and while there are, we need good, brave people to stand in their way.