In his Easter 4 sermon Glynn Cardy challenges the notion that to "lay down ones life for your friends" justifies the fultity and stupidity of war. Glynn uses Gallipoli as the kick-off of a theological "rant" saying any justification of war is in opposition to Jesus' message.

"Last year I visited Gallipoli. Like many New Zealanders our family has its names on the white monuments that adorn the hilltops. We heard how the dead lay piled in No Man’s Land - 10,000 dead - an incomprehensible number. Imagine the flies... and the disease... and the despair. One white tombstone said, “For God, King, and Country”. The Turk tour guide, a knowledgeable revisionist, added, “For nothing.” Nearly 500,000 young men died on those ridges, gullies, beaches, or in the hospitals beyond." Full text at http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=498&id=935.