“Known unto God”

Visiting war graves in France and Belgium is moving and sobering.

They are immaculately kept, thanks to the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

They are peaceful, in stark contrast to the noise and brutality that those buried there endured.

They are a tragic reminder to the tragedy of war and what so many sacrificed in the fight for freedom.

So many of the men who are buried there were so young – in their teens and early 20s.

Private V.J. Cameron of the Otago Regiment is one of them buried in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery.

In World War I, soldiers didn’t have dog tags and many bodies were unable to be identified. Tomb stones for them have the inscription Known unto God.

Tyne Cot Cemetery: