Mr Martens, whose full name was Hans Ernest Nels Martens, had a distinguished career with the Australian Army and later refused to allow his life to be defined by a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

He died on Friday at the age of 78.

Mr Martens was born in Indonesia - then the Dutch East Indies - to Dutch parents.

As a very young child, he spent four years in an internment camp during World War II.

Mrs Martens said this experience left her husband with an unusual skill: He was good at catching flies because if the children caught 100 of the insects, they might have been able to get an extra spoon of rice.

It was in the camp, Mrs Martens said, that her husband developed his strength of character and first made the decision he wanted to join the army.

After being released from the camp, Mr Martens and his family moved to Australia. 

He often remarked that having good parents had set him up for life.

Mr Martens was just 17 when he joined the Australian Army, and he did his initial training at Kapooka.

After serving with Australian troops during the Malayan Emergency, he was invited to apply for the Officer Cadet School at Portsea.

In all, Mr Martens did three tours of duty oversees. After Malaya, he twice served in Vietnam.

The first time he was a platoon commander for the 1RAR .

Later, Mr Martens returned for a second tour as an advisor for the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam.

Mrs Martens said the AATTV was the "first unit in and the last unit out" of Vietnam. 

This highly respected unit received more than 100 decorations, including four Victoria Crosses and served as adviser to Vietnamese units.

Mr and Mrs Martens met in Melbourne, while Mr Martens was posted at staff college at Queenscliff.

After two years in Melbourne, the couple then spent 10 years in Canberra, where Mr Martens had three separate postings.

Next came a move to Toowoomba, where Mrs Martens furthered her own career in the Catholic education system.

Having retired from the army, Mr Martens worked for the racing industry and for a federal MP.

Later, they moved to Wagga to be closer to relatives, including Mr Martens' daughters Kim and Terry and their families

"So many people have said he was a true gentleman," Mrs Martens said.

"He really believed in gender equality, and really supported my career.

"He loved good food and good wine. He had an eclectic taste in music, but really loved jazz."

Mrs Martens has fond memories of long walks and amazing holidays with her husband.

She recalls that he attended mass at Sacred Heart Church with her, despite not being Catholic.

Mr Martens helped to design the Wagga home he shared with his wife, and had designed and planted the gardens at all of their homes.

"He loved being outside. He had a real green thumb," Mrs Martens said.

Wagga's John Gray knew Mr Martens through the Officers' Mess at Kapooka.

"He was a fine man, an honourable man and it was a great pleasure to have known him," Mr Gray said.

"He was a wonderful fellow with a great sense of humour."

Mr Martens' funeral will be held in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Lake Albert Road, Wagga on Tuesday March 5, at 1.30pm.