For the first time in their careers this weekend, Mr Dudley and his two sons Brett and Alan will march together at an Anzac Day parade in Wagga.

It was something they had expected to do last year, but COVID-19 thwarted their plans.

"We've never been able to march together," Mr Dudley said.

"I'm 83 now, how much longer can I march? I'm still able to walk, so now's the time."

While Alan has travelled from Amberley, Queensland to be in Wagga for the weekend, his younger brother Brett has driven from Avenel, Victoria.

"Wagga is a hometown for me, I spent many years there before I went into the air force," said 61-year-old Alan.

It brought Mr Dudley enormous pride when his sons suggested they march together in Wagga.

"We haven't been together for anything like this for 20 years," said 58-year-old Brett.

"We've never served in the same place, but we've all followed the family tradition of going into the [military]."

The brothers also have a cousin who has joined the air force, while Alan's second son has now risen to the rank of Chief Petty Officer in the Navy.

Mr Dudley's father, Claude, served four years in the air force during the First World War.

"He was a carpenter [before the war], so he joined as a rigor," said his son.

"The wings of planes were mostly wood and canvas in those days, so it made sense for him to be there."

Mr Dudley's father was one of four brothers who joined the military at the outbreak of war. Three survived, but one, Alfred George Dudley, did not come home.

He died in action at Bullecourt in France, on April 11, 1917 when he was just 20 years old.

"He came from a small town in Victoria, Corindhap," Mr Dudley said.

"There were 12 young men who died at World War I from Corindhap. The town gave each family a plaque."

It is for this uncle that Mr Dudley was named.

"There were so many killed that day that he's buried in an unmarked grave," Mr Dudley said.

"They would have dug a big hole and put them all in there. About a thousand died that day."

To honour the sacrifice the young man had made, King George V of England sent his mother, Emily Elizabeth a 'dead man's penny', embossed with her son's name.

Despite the harrowing experience of his uncle, the stories his father told of those four years serving from the homefront cemented Mr Dudley's desire to commit his life to the service as well.

"I went to Wagga High School and when I finished I wanted to join but my mother had other plans," Mr Dudley said.

"She said she had had enough worries with my father."

To bide his time, Mr Dudley obtained a job in the post office where he learned Morse code.

At the age of 24, Mr Dudley finally fulfilled his goal and signed up for service.

He stayed in the air force for 22 years, and by the time he finished, he had progressed to Warrant Officer.

He served mostly at home, but in 1984 Mr Dudley was sent on peacekeeping missions to Malaysia and Singapore.

His younger brother, Gordon, also joined the air force, serving 22 years as well.

Second son Brett continued the tradition, serving in the air force in logistics from 1981 until 2007.

In 1987 eldest son Alan joined catering in the air force. He served until 2014 and completed a tour of Iraq. He has continued to serve as a reserve.

By the end of their time in the military, the brothers had both risen to the office of sergeant.

"We've made friends in the military, there are guys I haven't seen for years now," Brett said.

"It's not just about family on a day like this [Anzac Day], you're marching together with friends, people you've served with, and with your family."

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