Father's war service to New Zealand will never be forgotten

Joseph Meanata Jnr and whānau with a picture of his father who was in Bravo Company. Photo / Supplied

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When Joseph Meanata wakes up around 3am on Anzac Day morning, he will immediately think of his father Joseph Meanata Snr, who served in World War II as part of the 28th Māori Battalion B Company.

He will look at his dad's army picture, which shows a strong young man who served with pride and honour from 1940-1945, and smile before preparing for a day of celebration and comradeship.

Meanata will dust off his beret, pin his service medals from two tours of Singapore between 1975-1985 to his left side over his heart, and pin his dad's World War II service medals on his right side.

It's a ritual he has followed since his first Anzac Day as a soldier in 1975.

Meanata will then make the 15-minute drive to a spot in the Auckland Domain and park his vehicle before the traffic restrictions are set up. He'll make his way to the Cenotaph and wait for the march to start.

Meanata recalls his first Anzac Day with his father and uncles in 1964.

"We didn't have a car so Dad and I caught the bus to Grafton Bridge, where we started to march our way to the Domain," Meanata said.

"Over the years as the men got older, the route got smaller and smaller.

"Today, I will think about the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice and friends of mine from the army who are no longer with us.

"I will think of my dad and uncles and how proud our whānau are of them and what they did for New Zealand."