"Bomber Command had bad publicity when we came back from the war, so this sort of brings some closure to all the years we've been waiting," Neville Selwood said yesterday.
Some 6000 New Zealanders were a part of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command during World War 2, their mission the strategic bombing of key targets considered critical to the war effort.
By the end of the war, 1851 of the contingent were dead.
Two who survived were Mr Selwood and Don MacKenzie, both former members of 75 (New Zealand) Squadron of Bomber Command.
Both men, now 88, were 18 when they joined Bomber Command. After two years' training, they served in England for the last few months of the war.
Mr Mackenzie was an airgunner with the rank of flight sergeant, and Mr Selwood was a navigator with the rank of flight officer.
They both served in Operation Manna, dropping food parcels to civilians in the Netherlands, and were based at Mepal, near Cambridge, but were in different groups and a few months apart, so never met in England.
Mr Selwood said New Zealand Bomber Command veterans had waited decades for recognition.
Sadly, it came too late for many.
"It's time to remember all those old mates who didn't make it back."
He was greatly disappointed not to have been one of the 32 New Zealand veterans in London earlier this year at a dedication by the Queen of a Bomber Command Memorial commemorating the 55,573 Allied lives lost during the World War 2 offensive.
"I got a new passport and everything, but they said I couldn't go, for medical reasons." The service in Wellington is for veterans not able to undertake the trip to London. The Government was flying them to Wellington for the day, for a commemorative service and a reception and lunch at Parliament, hosted by Prime Minister John Key.
Mr Mackenzie said he was looking forward to the trip, and catching up with others from Bomber Command.
