The battle of Passchendaele is remembered as New Zealand's darkest day because of the sheer number of those killed in just a few hours. But what about those who survived?
Returning home to New Zealand after the horrific realities of war was often too much for soldiers to bear, and 100 years ago, post-traumatic stress wasn't recognised.
It's all quiet on the Western Front now. But 100 years on, traces of the Battle of Passchendaele - like unexploded shells - are everywhere.
Afterwards, Passchendaele was completely razed and scarred by war. But the marks left on the New Zealand soldiers went far deeper.
Those who survived faced another war once home - the battle with post-traumatic stress.
Three brothers from Craig Laloli's family fought there. One great uncle, John Laloli, was killed at Passchendaele, and probably still lies in the field he fell.
His brothers survived but one had been gassed, while the other, a tunneller, lost an arm.
Karl French is one of a few Kiwis who had a parent fight in World War I. His father, Tom French, was injured on October 4, 1917. That likely saved him from the slaughter of Passchendaele eight days later.
Once a Māori All Black then a Trench Black, losing his arm ruined Tom's promising rugby career.
But back in New Zealand he managed to rebuild his life. he had Karl at 74, but eventually the war still got him. He died of emphysema, a consequence of gas exposure.
Because so many returned soldiers wouldn't or couldn't talk about their experiences, their personal war histories were lost, as were those of so many of the men who died.
The poppy, which was the first flower to grow from the battlefields and graves of soldiers on Flanders Fields, is the symbol for remembrance - including those stories lost to time and trauma.
Newshub.
