Ernest Plumridge can remember a friend coming into work in the late-1960s, to say he'd joined the army.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That friend is one of those among the fallen whom Mr Plumridge remembers on Anzac Day.
Now vice president of the Castlemaine sub-branch of the Returned and Services League, Mr Plumridge was one of many who gathered in Castlemaine on Thursday morning, to honour fallen service men and women.
Mr Plumridge and his friend had gone to state school together, tech together and both worked at Thompson's Foundry. He can recall the day his friend told him he'd joined the army.
"I said, 'What do you want to do that for? You could get conscripted and then you've got no choice," Mr Plumridge said.
The friend was shot in Vietnam.
About a year after his friend died, Mr Plumridge was conscripted, aged 22. There were about 10 of them from Castlemaine who went together
After 14 months in Darwin, he was sent to Vietnam for three months.
The work was much the same as in Australia, looking after vehicles, repairing vehicles, taking care of firearms. He wasn't near the front line.
Mr Plumridge said it was good to remember his mates, those who'd served before him, and those who'd served since then.
"It is good to remember because those sort of things you never want to forget, your mates and all that," Mr Plumridge said.
"It is to remember those fallen before us, and those fallen when we were in service, and those since."
President of the RSL sub-branch John Whiddon said commemorating Anzac Day meant a lot to people in a town like Casltemaine.
"I think country people are more proud, for their heritage and their people who have gone before them," Mr Whiddon said.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.