Corporal Eric Johnston was one of four veterans who was part of a Thai-Burma Railway remembrance service in Ballarat on Tuesday.
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Corporal Johnston, originally from Korweinguboora near Daylesford, served as a signaller in the 8th Division.
“People are running around and kids are playing, the world is still going on and we’re happier,” he said.
His daughter Ann said the service was a “humbling” experience.
“We see him in a different light now, knowing what he’d been through,” she said.
He was among hundreds who gathered at the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial to remember the 2800 Australians who died while building the railway for Japanese soldiers who forced Allied prisoners of war to build bridges and hand-drill tunnels through rocky terrain and dense jungle.
Lt Jim Ellwood from the Z Special Unit was also a prisoner of war.
He said it was important to pause and remember events like the Thai-Burma Railway, which was completed 75 years ago.
“My hope is that there are no further wars, and I think ceremonies like this remind people of what can happen in war,” he said.
“I was most impressed with the youngsters – I thought they were marvellous.”
The service was led by Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ repatriation commissioner Major General Mark Kelly, who added the Centenary of Anzac was a crucial time to reflect on all of Australia’s war history.
“It’s a really important legacy of this significant period of commemoration,” he said.
“Whether we have wars or not again in the future, we can’t not remember the sacrifice of men and women over this last hundred years.”
Minster for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said it was an “honour” to be in Ballarat.
“I cannot begin to imagine the circumstances these brave men endured while labouring on the 420km-long railway through a harsh terrain of jungles and mountains,” he said.
Kathleen Casey’s husband James, who died in 2000, was one of the first Australian prisoners sent to work on the railway, arriving on Anzac Day in 1943.
“(Today) is very, very emotional, I didn’t think it would be as bad as it is, it’s very moving,” she said.
“To think he survived all that … it’s shocking really.”
