We remember, of course, the sacrifice of those who died. We remember, particularly the 61,514 Australians who died in the "war to end all wars". And we remember those who died in the wars that followed, many of them enlisting, out of choice and duty, to serve their country.

But there is a risk, too, of glorifying war. It is easy to feel pride in the pomp and the ceremony, the bands and the parades of men and women in uniform. Who wouldn't be moved at the sight of men who once faced enemy fire now walking only with a struggle?

We remember them. We salute them.

But we remember, too, that war is horrible. That statement is one of those clichés which we know but the truth of which we sometimes seem to forget. The searing pictures coming from Ukraine should remind us of the reality of war.

The head of the army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, told The Canberra Times war is "a very violent and very unpredictable thing, and that it's in no one's interest that that course of action is pursued".

It seems obvious but there is a danger when peace seems to be the normal situation to forget that war is truly horrible. It can't be controlled, and innocent people are killed and maimed. That, too, we should remember on Anzac Day.

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We have been blessed with peace in our times. Certainly, there has been conflict - and Australian troops - have been part of that conflict - but war has seemed remote from everyday life. It has been something which happened elsewhere.

But we are now in dangerous times. The people of Ukraine know that. The people in neighbouring countries know that, too. The soil of Europe is drenched in blood. Older generations there remember that, and it is important each new generation does, too - including generations in Australia.

That is why it is so important to get the tone of Anzac Day right. It is not a celebration but a ceremony of remembrance.

There are two parts to it: the dawn service and the marching later in the day. Both are important but often the most moving - the most thoughtful - event is the quiet service in the dark, a dark lightening to dawn on a chill morning.

It is a ceremony to remember the darkness of war and also to hope for the end of war.

Ever since the first Anzac Day in 1916, politics has been involved.

According to historians, that first ceremony in memory of those who fought tragically at Gallipoli only a year earlier was also about persuading men to sign up voluntarily for the rest of the war. It was about engendering a warlike spirit when there was no conscription.

Through the decades, the importance and prominence of Anzac Day has waxed and waned. During the years of Vietnam, it became a day of protest and not of national remembrance.

But in the last four decades, the day and the legend of Gallipoli has become more prominent.

In Anzac Day in 1990, Bob Hawke became the first major Australian politician to visit Gallipoli. His successor as prime minister, John Howard, also visited Gallipoli on April 25, in 2000 and 2005.

It is right that they did so. But in our times of the tragedy of Ukraine and the militarisation of China, with its influence spreading nearer to our shores, we should remember, too, war is horrible, as unavoidable though it sometimes is.

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