Wednesday marks the first time the two will march proudly through the streets of Gunnedah on Anzac Day.

Both men have served their country, Lawrie as a signaler in the army during the Korean War and Malaya Emergency, and Matt in the navy during the 1980’s.

Both men followed in the footsteps of Lawrie’s father who served Australia during World War Two and recently shared their experiences with The Namoi Valley Independent. 

Lawrie’s reasons for choosing not to march in Gunnedah on Anzac Day are humble, like the man himself.

He felt Gunnedah’s World War Two veterans deserved the accolades more.

“To me they were our heroes who defended this country,” Mr Percy said.

“They were up against it, the odds were stacked against them and they defended the country from invasion.

“I don’t think it gets much more heroic than that.

“Plus my time in Korea was short, I arrived in the last year of the war, so to me marching in Gunnedah didn’t really feel right.”

The Gunnedah native turned Rockhampton local, joined up at the tender age of 18 for “a bit of adventure”.

I was only a young fellow then, I had my 20^th birthday in Korea and I was only 22 when I left for Malaya,” he said.

“There was plenty of work and good feeling around Gunnedah following World War Two, but I was dead set on having myself a great adventure.

“So I traveled down to Sydney for a trip, spent most of money rather quickly and one day wandered into the recruiting depot in Martin Place and joined up.”

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Mr Percy reflected on some of the lasting memories of his service.

“When I arrived in Korea, albeit it was at the end of the conflict, I could not get over the devastation,” he said.

“It was still a war zone and you felt like it could ignite again at anytime.

“I can still remember throwing what rations we could to the Korean children from the train and watching them fight over them.”

Some of the memories of Malaya remain fresh for Mr Percy.

“While my unit was on patrol we spotted some smoke coming from the bushes,” he said.

“We radioed in to see if we were needed to investigate, the call came back for us to disregard the smoke and push on to our intended objective.

“Upon returning to camp we figured it must have been an enemy camp or hideout, and while playing cricket with some of the lads I was chatting to my mate Jack Potts and I said to him ‘what are you up to Pottsy?’ and he replied ‘looking into that camp you blokes saw’.

“Following that, I went on leave and it is while I was on leave that we had word that Pottsy and his unit had found the camp, and we got word that he and the others had been shot dead.”

“The feeling of guilt that it should of been us that had investigated the smoke, it was only 800 metres away from us and we should have investigated and maybe if we had they might still be here.

“The feeling of knowing that it could have been us is one of those memories that pops up from time-to-time.

“I have plenty of good and bad memories from that time that’s for sure.”

Following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, Matt Percy decided to chase adventure with the Royal Australian Navy.

“Like dad I have a lot of fond memories too,” Mr Percy said.

“I left the navy just before the start of the gulf war so my service was not exactly as tough as dad’s might of been but it certainly helped shape me into who I am.”

The father and son said they were excited to be taking part in Gunnedah’s Anzac Day’s events.

“I get a kick out of marching with dad and it really is a special day,” Mr Percy said.

“To be doing it in our home town for the first time is sure to be something that we will remember and keep close to us for a long time to come.”

Lawrie Percy said he most enjoys seeing children participate in the day.

“To see all of those young kids with their relatives medals on and the flags in their hands is very moving," he said.

“I think it’s so important to remember our servicemen and equally important to pass it on to our future generations.”

Gunnedah’s Anzac Day march begins at 10am from the corner of Marquis and Elgin Street.  

The Namoi Valley Independent will have rolling coverage of Anzac Day 2018 across the Gunnedah Shire.