“THIS is how the soldiers march,” Tully Howlett declares earnestly. She thrusts one hand to her forehead in salute and solemnly strides back and forth, head high.

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It’s the four-year-old Wodonga girl’s very first dawn service and she’s taking it very seriously.

She stands proudly alongside grandfather Garry Howlett, who served in the Armed Corp for 25 years.

“It’s the first year she’s been curious about it,” explained Tully’s mother, Tanya Howlett.

“She’s gotten out her grandfather’s old uniforms and he’s shown her his medals.”

Given Mr Howlett’s military history, Anzac Day is unsurprisingly an important one for the family - he and wife Carol attend each year, as does Tanya and now, as will Tully.

“It’s important the younger generation learns their history - our country would be a different place if they didn’t serve for us,” Carol said.

There’s a growing concern around the traps, that as the family ties that bind many Australians to Gallipoli gradually weaken, our younger generations won’t have the same attachment to Anzac Day and its history will be lost.

But speaking with youth at Wodonga’s dawn service and gunfire breakfast, it seems the sense of importance still holds fast.

Barnawartha’s Helwig brothers, Bo and Blake, don’t have the strong family links to either of Australia’s great wars but still feel compelled to attend the dawn service each year.

They’re lads of few words when it comes to explaining their reasons but then, sometimes just a few words will do.

“To pay respect,” Bo, 24, says and his brother agrees.

“It’s just what you do,” Blake, 27, says firmly.

Wodonga’s Lee Gustus delved into a little more detail. He, too, only has few military links in his family but in recent years he’s made the effort to get up at dawn to also pay his respects.

“There’s not many generations left now, so you’ve got to get people into it otherwise you lose the tradition,” he said.