There’s a space in Ngaire Te Tai’s home she visits each day for quiet moments, where photos of her son Kane sit beside a glass display cabinet holding army medals, poppies and a stuffed teddy bear in military attire. A sculptured turtle sits as a centrepiece, metres from a baby photo of the dad-ofone, in honour of his battlefield codename “Turtle”.
Memories are all Ngaire, a mum-of-seven, has left of her firstborn now, along with the bittersweet knowledge he died a Ukrainian war hero.
In April 2022, Kane flew from New Zealand to Ukraine to support the fight against Russia’s invasion, a cause the former New Zealand Defence Force soldier, 38, vowed he was prepared to die for. Sadly,
