COMING up for the seventh anniversary of his death, Bellingen's Matthew Locke is far from forgotten.
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On Friday the well-loved SAS sergeant who died in action in Afghanistan on October 25, 2007, was honoured by one-time colleagues, who are now members of the Wandering Warriors, a fundraising initiative of the Australian SAS Association.
Mick Donaldson, Quentin Masson and others drove down from Armidale and laid a wreath at the Bellingen cenotaph in honour of their mate.
Both men served with Matthew in Afghanistan, Mick was his patrol commander and Quentin a fellow soldier in his unit.
Now retired, the men have joined other veterans from Australia's military conflicts over the last 50 years and together they have formed the Wandering Warriors.
Right now the group are walking from Brisbane to Canberra in their quest to raise funds to help for wounded, injured or ill veterans and their families.
Last year the group walked from Brisbane to Birdsville, a mere 1600 kilometres, and raised $120,000. They are setting their sights even higher this year.
"The money we raise goes to veteran charities such as Young Diggers (who train companion dogs to support those suffering for the effects of war) and the White Cloud Foundation (which offers clinical services to people suffering the effects of depression, not only military personnel)," Quentin said.
"We came here today to honour Matthew and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice."
Matthew's sister, Debbie Locke, was also present at the ceremony.
"We are always honoured by the respect that Matt's name receives and we are extremely grateful for the many ways in which others remember him," Debbie said.
"He is always special in our eyes ... but with him we also honour all those who have made those sacrifices from the Valley. We are always very mindful of that."
To find out more about the Wandering Warriors or to donate go to www.wanderingwarriors.org.