Family and friends flocked to the ceremony to see Barry bear the Australian flag and express their gratitude for his service. It was a stark contrast to how he felt when he first arrived home.

“I spent 12 months in Vietnam. The government couldn’t wait to get rid of us when we got home, so I really wasn’t too happy about it. But I’m glad that I served my country,” Barry said.

“You’re a different person once you’ve been in a warzone,” he admitted, but added “ I’m glad I did what I did and I came back alive.”

Barry served as a private in the Australian Reinforcement Unit, 9^th Battalion from September 1969 to August 1970.

“I was the fella up front,” he said. Barry said his Aboriginal heritage made no difference on the battlefield. 

“Once you’re in a war zone, you don’t look at the colour - you’ve got to look at who’s shooting at you,” he said.

Local Greg Livermore said it meant a lot to see his cousin Barry honoured on the day.

“It was good for me as an Aboriginal man to see one of our veterans leading the march,” he said. 

“A lot of people don’t really realise that Aboriginal people have been fighting for Australia since the Boer War,” he added.