Age may have wearied him, but Dannevirke World War II veteran Ivan (Bonnie) Bodley wasn't about to miss the Anzac Day dawn service - he was there to remember his mates who have passed away.
"I'm going on 96 and I attended Dannevirke's first dawn service. I was here under that tree waiting for my mates to arrive," he told the Dannevirke News. "I'm still here, but all the others have gone."
![Dannevirke World War II veteran Ivan (Bonnie) Bodley - "going on 96" - at the Cenotaph at 5.30am for the dawn service.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/FKDBY6NOUTSJTGH7RMKSWROBEQ.jpg?auth=440563b83ed54c6d36d0e2ec308bb8e0e03f99cdbfa23fc2eb83f6d310377fbc&width=16&height=26&quality=70&smart=true)
Mr Bodley has only missed one dawn service in Dannevirke - he was in England that year - but attended there.
"All my mates have gone and I miss quite a few after all these years and I wonder why I'm left. There is sadness, but it's part of growing old," he said.