Veteran follows family's footsteps

Anzac Day is one of the most important days of the year for Busselton Returned and Services League sub-branch vice-president Kevin "Doc" Casey.

From a young age Doc was destined to join the army, following in his father's and older brother's footsteps.

Born in 1937 in Katanning, young Doc moved to Perth with his family while his father served in WWII in Bougainville

As WWII ended and Doc's father returned to Perth, he struggled to deal with his time in the war.

A young Doc said he never had the chance to talk to his father about his experience in the war.

Doc's father was soon struck with an illness, and at 13 Doc had to give up school and find a job to support his family.

In 1956, as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, Doc was registered for national service, followed by Citizen Military Forces for two years.

In 1961 Doc married wife Kaye, and after his training in 1963 he joined the Air Force.

"Joining the Air Force was always in the back of my mind," he said. "I always wanted to join and I would have done it earlier but my mother wouldn't let me.

Doc became a firefighter for the Air Force, working in Point Cook, before working in Malaysia putting out fires from the air.

In 1986, Doc was discharged from the Air Force and moved into the car industry until he retired.

In 2006 after several holidays in the South West, Doc and his wife decided to make the move to Busselton.

"We used to come down for holidays and one time we came here and left owning a house," he said.

"We didn't want to leave.

"We should have moved here years ago." Doc now spends a lot of his time with his mates at the RSL exchanging stories.

He said his life in Busselton was a quiet one with Kaye and his garden, and his three children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He said he was looking forward to tomorrow's Anzac Day celebration to mark the 100th anniversary.

"Anzac Day is the biggest time of year at the RSL and it's a very important day to everyone here," he said.

"It's a chance for us to remember and pay tribute to those who served and those who died."