A Chinook from C Sqn, 5 Avn Regt, hovers behind the Kokoda Memorial, Isurava, PNG.

As the Last Post sounded across the Kokoda track, a teary eyed veteran, Thomas Sutcliffe, assisted by an Australian soldier, stood silent and reflected. He was again in the place he had fought so hard to defend 60 years ago - only this time the sound of war had disappeared.

He and nine other veterans had returned to the track as part of the 60th anniversary of the battles along the Kokoda Track, commemorated with the unveiling of a monument at Isurava by Prime Minister John Howard.

Isurava was the location where, in 1942, desperate diggers confronted the Japanese Imperial Army, successfully ending its advance to Port Moresby and protecting Australia from enemy threat.

Mr Howard renewed Australia's pledge to remember those who served defending Australia.

"For our generation it's important to commemorate a campaign that changed the course of WW2," he said.

"The courage shown by the young Australian diggers, airmen and sailors should be remembered and respected."

On August 28, 1942, Pte Bruce Kingsbury, 2/14 Bn, performed an act of valour for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Japanese's troops had attacked down the high ridge and up the creek valleys below Isurava, threatening HQ 2/14 Bn. Pte Kingsbury joined the party from HQ Coy and Sig Pl that rushed forward to bolster the defence.

In a desperate counter-attack by C Coy, Pte Kingsbury charged, firing his Bren light machine-gun from his hip in the face of intense enemy fire. He cleared a path through the enemy and continued sweeping their positions with his fire, inflicting many casualties, until the Japanese were pushed back over the edge of the creek valley below.

As he paused beside a large rock to reload his Bren gun, he was shot dead by a sniper. The rock is now known as Kingsbury's Rock.

The courage and determination did not end there. Men cut off behind enemy lines struggled for survival. Some were captured and killed, while others died of wounds or illnesses. Others kept up the long fighting withdrawal along the Kokoda Track.

At the memorial, four stone pillars display the words "Courage, Mateship, Endurance and Sacrifice" - words that today's Australian Army has built its foundations on.

Like Gallipoli in 1915, Isurava tells a story that is at the heart of our Australian identity, a story which through the years draws new generations to pay tribute to what it means to be an Australian and more so, what it means to serve our country.

What did Australian soldiers achieve on the Kokoda track? Militarily, they held the enemy from Port Moresby. But as well as that they showed their country, a fine example of courage, sacrifice, endurance and, most of all, mateship.