Speech
Memorial unveiling
E nga rangatira, nga apiha me nga toa o Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, aku mihi māhana ki a koutou katoa i tenei wā whakamaumāhara, me te pouritanga. Distinguished guests, leaders, officers and sailors, soldiers and airmen and women of the New Zealand Defence Force—warm greetings to you all at this time of remembrance and sadness.
It is an honour for me and Janine to be here in Bamian as the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team concludes its work in Afghanistan.
Later today, I will speak at the ceremony as the New Zealand flag is lowered at Kiwi Base for the last time.
It is fitting, however, that we first gather to mark the service of those New Zealanders who paid the ultimate sacrifice while on duty here.
Today we recall the service of Lieutenant Tim O’Donnell DSD; Private Kirifi Mila; Corporal Douglas Hughes; Lance Corporal Pralli Durrer; Lance Corporal Rory Malone; Corporal Luke Tamatea; Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker; and Private Richard Harris. We also recall the service of Corporal Doug Grant and Corporal Leon Smith of the New Zealand Special Air Service who lost their lives responding to insurgents in Kabul.
I also acknowledge the members of the Afghan forces who lost their lives while serving here and whose names are also listed on this memorial.
And we also recall the loved ones, whānau and friends of those they left behind, and grieve for them still.
Names etched in the cold of stone can never replace the warmth of a human life. Memorials, however, stand to remind us of those who made supreme sacrifice and the significance of why they served.
The New Zealanders whose names we recall and whose names are etched on this memorial continue a proud tradition. It is a tradition of ordinary men and women who stepped forward to serve a higher calling.
Like thousands of New Zealanders before them, they left the distant comforts and security of home to respond to tyranny, to defend democratic values, and to bring peace to troubled lands.
They stepped forward, knowing all too well the risks of service, because they wanted to make a difference to the lives of the people of this country.
They stepped forward and served with honour and distinction. Their service exemplifies the best traditions of the New Zealand Defence Force.
Later this month we will gather again to recall the fateful day when the men of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps—the ANZACs—stepped in our history at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
On that day, when we remember all those men and women who have served New Zealand, we will remember also those who made the ultimate sacrifice here in Afghanistan.
In doing so, we will recommit ourselves again to the solemn pledge to never forget their service and to always remember them. Kia ora, kia kaha, kia manawanui, huihui tātou katoa.