Swapping stories of their time during the war, it was a sense of camaraderie that brought five veterans closer together.
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Four ex-servicemen, and one ex-servicewoman, were recognised for their significant contribution to the war effort at an intimate ceremony at the Launceston RSL on Thursday.
Max Christmas, Don Bayles, Harry Reeves, Ronald Jones and Marie Brearley were presented with their medallions in front of their family and friends, which was attended by Member for Bass Bridget Archer.
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"These commemorative medallions is the government's small way of saying thank you to those of you who served in WWII and to be able to present these medals today is my absolute honour," Ms Archer said.
The five veterans shared their experiences and stories from the war, and all said they felt "it was a great honour" to receive the medallions.
Mrs Brearley said she had joined the Navy when she was 18 at a time when not many women had joined.
"It was really at the beginning of when women were starting to join the forces," she said.
Working as a telecommunications operator, Mrs Brearley's duties were to decode messages sent across the world.
She said she was working when the message was sent through that the war had been won and it was over.
"I actually handled the signal when it came through," Mrs Brearley said.
She said she knew it was an important message because attached to it were the five codes, which indicated its significance but she said it sunk in about 3am, when she said it come over the news.
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Army Private Max Christmas said he joined the Army when he was 18, he just turned up because he thought it was the right thing to do.
"i just turned up one morning, that's about as exciting as it gets," Mr Christmas said, with a laugh.
He said he enjoyed his time serving and said he met some colourful characters on both sides of the fence.
Mr Christmas said the medallion meant a great deal to him and he was happy his family was there with him.
Australian Air Force third engineer Ronald Jones had one ambition when he ended up in service.
"I always wanted to fly planes," he said.
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Joining the air force was a no-brainer for him to achieve his dreams but he said he'd seen his fair share of fighting and conflict.
He said he had worked in New Guinea, Indonesia and across Australia and was responsible for ensuring the air craft could safely take off and maneuver.
"I was third, so I was the top. If something happened to the captain and the second officer, I could take control."
The ceremony on Thursday was also to commemorate 75 years since the end of the war in the Pacific.