John Andrew was 18 when he joined the army - it shaped the rest of his life

In 1943, he followed in his older brother's footsteps by being stationed in Darwin.

But, it's a place Mr Andrew was never meant to reach.

After joining the army, he was supposed to go to Alice Springs, which at the time was the base for the army railhead, central troop reserve and arsenal for the north.

But when Mr Andrews stepped off his convoy, he found he was about 1500 kilometres north of where he was meant to be.

"When I got to Darwin, it was pointed out that I'd come the wrong bloody way and I had the wrong uniform," he said.

If this was Mr Andrew's first strange experience of military life, it definitely wasn't his last.

The 99-year-old, who was trained as an electrician, described 1940s Darwin as a "rudimentary" place where he had to start from scratch by setting up his own workshop.

He said another prevailing memory of this time was hearing the popular Japanese propaganda show "Tokyo Rose" broadcast over the wireless.

Tokyo Rose was the name given to a then-unknown woman who broadcast Japanese propaganda and popular Western music aimed at Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II.

"[It was] very strange in a way, but we didn't know the difference, we were mostly boys," Mr Andrew said.

In total, Mr Andrew spent three years in Darwin before returning to Melbourne.

He eventually left in 1946, after performing electrician work on Darwin Hospital after the war ended.

When Mr Andrew made it back to Melbourne, he said he found his home city a changed place.

But despite the end of the war, Mr Andrew's time in Darwin would continue to play a role in his life.

He eventually married the younger sister, Rosemary, of his corporal in Darwin.

After meeting in South Australia, the pair moved to Melbourne together before eventually settling in Sebastopol about 15 years ago, where he marched once again on Anzac Day.