For Vietnam War veteran Eric Smith, being in the army gave him a new lease on life.
Six years after dropping out of school he decided to make a change and join the Australian Army Corp.
He was 20 at the time and had a fiancé, who has now been his wife for almost 60 years.
"The army gave me an education and good skills - I wouldn't have had that if it wasn't for the army," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith served in the Vietnam War in 1968. He was in the Signal Corps, charged with making sure telecommunications were running at all times.
When he arrived in Vietnam, Mr Smith said all he thought about was that he had a job to do.
"I had to make sure communication stayed up," he said.
"We didn't want to leave our troops out there with communication that didn't work - that was their lifeline."
After serving for one year, he continued to work with telecommunications. He did a stint in New Guinea for two years and joined the SAS for six years.
Mr Smith served for two decades, eventually leaving the army in 1982.
Anzac Day has always been a special day for Mr Smith but it has taken on new meaning since he began running his own service.
For the past 14 years, he has been in charge of the Anzac Day service at the Bridgewater Lifestyle Village.
Every year a parade is hosted down the main street to the Bridgewater Lifestyle Village memorial where a service is held.
A display of ex-servicemen and woman are placed on the clubhouse stage. Memorabilia of passed family members such as sords, medals and photos will be at the centrepiece.
"I'm quite proud of what we've developed here - the memorial is such an important feature in our village," Mr Smith said.
"We like to involve our grandchildren on the day to hand out poppy's for the memorial so homeowners can pay respect to those who have served.
"It's always a very moving and emotional event but it's great to see the support of the village."
Read more:
This year the village choir will sing for the event and the social club will put on a free lunch to those in attendance.
The preceding's will begin at 10:45am with a short service at 11am sharp. After this, residents and veterans will move to the main clubhouse for lunch.
