John Fox will recall the deeds of three generations of his family this Remembrance Day

FOR John Fox, Remembrance Day carries a bit more meaning than it does for most.

7/11/14 - John Fox is a 4th generation soldier who can trace his military history to the Boer War - at the war memorial on North Terrace - pic Mike BURTON

FOR John Fox, Remembrance Day carries a bit more meaning than it does for most.

The recently retired RAAF Squadron Leader is the fourth generation of his family to have served Australia in battle. His great-grandfather Colonel Frederick Howland, led the first SA mounted contingent to the Boer War in 1899. His grandfather William Fox was an engineer building trenches on the Western Front in World War I, and his father, Melville Fox, was a gunner in the 2/11th Field Regiment and served in New Guinea and Bougainville in World War II.

“I was very aware of my family history, where they had been and what they had achieved,’’ Mr Fox said. “I guess I always aspired to that sort of career.’’

Mr Fox, now 67, joined the Army in 1965 as an 18-year-old. Two years later, he was in Vietnam, driving an armoured personnel carrier in the 3rd Cavalry regiment.

In 1968 he was involved in the battle to repel the North Vietnamese Tet offensive, one of the biggest campaigns of the war. He left the country shortly after, but returned for a second tour of duty in 1970.

Sergeant William Fox, John’s grandfather.

Gunner Melville Fox, John’s father.

Colonel Frederick John Henry Howland, John’s great-grandfather.

“The overall experience was, shall we say, soul-building,’’ he said with a degree of understatement. “We served with a lot of great blokes.’’

Mr Fox left the army in 1977, but returned to the military life in 1986 because he “missed it’’, but thought he would try a different branch and signed up with the air force. His second career would see him serve in Somalia and on several humanitarian and disaster relief operations, including the Solomon Islands, before retiring from the military in December.

Tuesday will see Mr Fox observe Remembrance Day at Southern Cross Care’s Riverpoint Retirement Estate at Noarlunga Downs, where he lives.

He takes a great satisfaction in how inclusive the day has become, how it has been embraced by the wider community. This was not the case after he returned from Vietnam.

“If we look at the post-Vietnam era, they didn’t really want to know us,’’ he said. “Now we see people rolling out in their thousands to attend functions, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day. It really is a big turnaround and it is rewarding to actually see that.’’

Mr Fox also said Remembrance Day should still serve as a “wake-up call’’ to all Australians not to forget the sacrifices made by Australians on all battlefields.

“Remembrance Day for me is a stark reminder of the trauma and sacrifices that my family perhaps has gone through. But not only my family, but all people who have served in all wars.’’