Local WWII veteran gathers his horde of great grandchildren for ANZAC Day march - The Macleay Argus

Local World War II veteran John "Jack" Kerry has marched in the South West Rocks Anzac Day Service every year since he moved here. Most of the time, he only has his Macleay based great grandchildren by his side, but this year, for the first time, he was lucky enough to have the entire clan. "They came from everywhere, Sydney, Melbourne; there was a whole horde of them to keep me company during the march," Jack said. "A few of them wore the medals of my father, and brothers; they were all very proud to represent our family." Jack's family has a long history with the Australian armed forces, starting with his father, who served in World War I. "My father landed at Gallipoli, and was at the Battle of Beersheba, also known as the 'Last Charge of the Light Horsemen', Jack said. "I asked him about it once; all he said was, we rode directly at them, got in close, dismounted, and got stuck in. "He was very close to winning the Victoria Cross for his actions during WWI, but unfortunately, the guidelines stated that a specific number of officers needed to witness the event; he was one officer short of getting the medal." Related Content: Jack enlisted at the age of 18, during the last years of World War II, joining his brothers Charlie, Harold and Doug in the Army. A fourth Kerry brother, Athol, served in the Air force. Jack was stationed in the Pacific at Moriati, Ambon and New Britain before being discharged in 1946. While he was eager to help with the war effort, Jack had another motive for signing up to the Army. "I enlisted in Lismore the day I turned 18; I wanted to go look for my brother Doug who was missing," he said. "He had been at Singapore, and we didn't know what happened to him; I thought I might be able to find him." Jack served through the rest of WWII, but he never did find his brother Doug, who was the only one of the five brothers who never made it home. His service to Australia, and its people is commendable, but in Jack's opinion, his main claim to fame is his birthday, which he shares with a notable monarch. "I have the same birthday as Queen Elizabeth II, but I think I'm technically older because of the different time zones," he said, "We will see who gets to 100 first." Other ANZAC Day Services in the Macleay For those unable to attend a service in person, a national service will be held at the Australian War Memorial and televised across the nation. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Local World War II veteran John "Jack" Kerry has marched in the South West Rocks Anzac Day Service every year since he moved here.

Most of the time, he only has his Macleay based great grandchildren by his side, but this year, for the first time, he was lucky enough to have the entire clan.

"They came from everywhere, Sydney, Melbourne; there was a whole horde of them to keep me company during the march," Jack said.

"A few of them wore the medals of my father, and brothers; they were all very proud to represent our family."

Jack's family has a long history with the Australian armed forces, starting with his father, who served in World War I.

"My father landed at Gallipoli, and was at the Battle of Beersheba, also known as the 'Last Charge of the Light Horsemen', Jack said.

"I asked him about it once; all he said was, we rode directly at them, got in close, dismounted, and got stuck in.

"He was very close to winning the Victoria Cross for his actions during WWI, but unfortunately, the guidelines stated that a specific number of officers needed to witness the event; he was one officer short of getting the medal."

Related Content:

Jack enlisted at the age of 18, during the last years of World War II, joining his brothers Charlie, Harold and Doug in the Army. A fourth Kerry brother, Athol, served in the Air force.

Jack was stationed in the Pacific at Moriati, Ambon and New Britain before being discharged in 1946. While he was eager to help with the war effort, Jack had another motive for signing up to the Army.

"I enlisted in Lismore the day I turned 18; I wanted to go look for my brother Doug who was missing," he said.

"He had been at Singapore, and we didn't know what happened to him; I thought I might be able to find him."

Jack served through the rest of WWII, but he never did find his brother Doug, who was the only one of the five brothers who never made it home.

His service to Australia, and its people is commendable, but in Jack's opinion, his main claim to fame is his birthday, which he shares with a notable monarch.

"I have the same birthday as Queen Elizabeth II, but I think I'm technically older because of the different time zones," he said,

"We will see who gets to 100 first."

Other ANZAC Day Services in the Macleay

• Kempsey: East Kempsey Cenotaph, 11am
  
• Crescent Head: Lloyd Park, 9am
  
• Bellbrook: 10.50am
• Gladstone: 10.50am
• Frederickton: 9am
• Hat Head: 10am
• Willawarrin: 9am

For those unable to attend a service in person, a national service will be held at the Australian War Memorial and televised across the nation.

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Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

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Local WWII veteran gathers his horde of great grandchildren for ANZAC Day march - The Macleay Argus
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