VETERANS of World War II and more recent battles were overjoyed to see the crowds of young people who turned out for Darwin's Anzac Day.
"I am impressed by all the young people here," said 94-year-old WWII veteran Ted Milliken.
Lieutenant Milliken, who was too frail to march and was driven along the parade route, said seeing them line the streets made him happy.
He served aboard a ship in the Pacific during the war and while it was a "bit hairy", his vessel had never come under direct attack.
"I just got lucky," he said.
Air Surveillance Officer Rachel Boyles, aged 24, who served in Afghanistan with the Air Force in 2008 and 2009, praised the large turnout of people at Darwin's dawn service and Anzac Parade.
"It is really good to see the younger generation getting involved," she said.
Among the 3000-strong crowd who attended the dawn service in the city, many were of school age.
Fifteen-year-old Geoffrey King said it was his dream to join the air force one day.
"I have attended every dawn service since I was four," he said.
Earlier Bill Buckley, vice-president of the Darwin RSL, said in his speech that Alec Campbell, the last Australian veteran of the Gallipoli campaign, had warned Australians to never to glorify the event.
"It was a terrible fiasco, a total failure and best forgotten," Mr Buckley quoted him as saying. Mr Campbell died in 2002 aged 103.
Darwin turned on a cloudless morning and warm temperatures as the service was held overlooking Darwin Harbour under a full moon.
Members of the armed forces of Australia and the United States - which has a contingent of marines stationed in Darwin - laid wreaths at the cenotaph.
David Alford, 49, an ex-navy seaman, said he came to show respect for his country.
"I think this is a very important celebration of our proud history," Mr Alford said.
Military Police officer David Bates, who recently served in Afghanistan, said it was good to be in Darwin after the desolation he had seen overseas.
Lance Corporal Sean Starling was one of hundreds who lined Darwin's streets on Thursday to watch the Anzac Day parade, although he prefers not to march himself.
He served in Oruzgan province in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011.
"It is important to show support for the old diggers," he said.
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