Leading Seaman Lateika Smith, a Gumbaynggirr woman from Nambucca Heads, addressed more than 600 school children at the service held in Sydney’s Hyde Park.
“It means that our history is getting out there a lot more,” she said.
“A lot of our veterans' stories have sort of been hidden throughout the years, so it’s good that they’re finally coming to light.”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been part of Australia's fighting forces for more than 100 years.
Former Warrant Officer Harry Allie is a Gudjal man who grew up near Townsville in the 1960s.
He spent 23 years in the Air Force, following a family tradition.
“Things were very hard in my community [and] I wanted to make something out of my life,” he said.
“Because of my two uncles, who served in World War II, and my aunty who served in the women's land army I was inspired to join the services.”
It wasn’t always an easy path.
“I became very homesick, because my community is a very close community,” he said.
The annual memorial service for Indigenous service men and women was first held in 2006 to commemorate the nation’s 7000 living Indigenous veterans and war widows, and those who have passed.
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