Why this 100-year-old veteran has never missed a Port Macquarie Anzac march

The 100-year-old Port Macquarie resident said that partaking in the march brings back memories of his time serving in Papua New Guinea and of his friends.

"People ask me 'haven't you got any mates with you?" he said.

"But all my mates have deceased before me.

"I just feel so fortunate to still be here."

Mr Boyle agreed it was encouraging to see other serviceman at the annual march but was glad to see the younger generation at the service.

"It's encouraging to see how many kids turn up," he said.

"They're there every year [and]... enthusiastic as well.

"Some of the young people who get to do the talk at the commemoration service are absolutely unreal with their knowledge which is good."

Mr Boyle believes that all men and women should serve two years in the national service after the positive impact the army had in his life.

"I went straight [into the service] from school at 17-years-old... and I think it's the best five years of my life," he said.

Mr Boyle grew up knowing the sacrifice of servicemen and women.

His own father was injured twice while on the Western Front and went on to have multiple hip operations from where shrapnel had hit it.

When war broke out a second time, his father went on to enlist in WWII in a non-active role while his sister served in the Australian Women's Land Army.

It wasn't long until Mr Boyle put his hand up to enlist in WWII himself and was trained as a motor mechanic.

He spent two years in Papua New Guinea situated at the treacherous Bulldog Track which led supplies past the Lakekamu River.

On one occasion, Mr Boyle and another mechanic were travelling on the track but forced to hike back after a landslide interrupted their journey.

It took them six days to return with Mr Boyle taken to hospital afterwards with blistered feed and dermatitis.

"We had our rifle, our pack and our toolbox," Mr Boyle said.

"At least we weren't being shot at like there were on the Kokoda trail."

Mr Boyle said he had more positive memories of his time in Papua New Guinea, particularly his interactions with American soldiers also stationed in the area.

He was issued a carton of beer and cigarettes each week but Mr Boyle had a different use for these...

"I didn't smoke or drink because I was still young," he said.

"And I sold those back to the Yanks and made a profit."

One of Mr Boyle's more famous trading achievements was towards the end of the war when the Americans were moving out.

"They had a 38 foot patrol boat and they wanted to sell it," he said.

"So I bought it for a bottle of [alcohol]"

It was the first boat Mr Boyle ever owned.

Mr Boyle has seen how RSL clubs have grown over the decades

His father was a member of the Hornsby RSL-sub branch in the 1940s when club rooms were Nissen huts, rounded corrugated iron buildings.

"It's a bit different to what they've got now," he said.

But it was the support of the local Port Macquarie RSL sub-branch that has helped him attend the Port Macquarie Anzac day march over the years, with him leading the march with former president Greg Laird in 2021.

"When I came here I got involved in the local RSL and have been going ever since," he said.

"And they always look after me."

Weather permitting Mr Boyle said he plans to take part in this year's Anzac march in his mobility scooter, wearing both his and his fathers service medals.

He said he was glad most Australians recognise the important day.

"I think everyone appreciates Anzac day," he said.

"Anzac day has never been any less in the years I've been involved in it.

"It always seems to get bigger and bigger."