Bill Taylor, who did three tours in East Timor with the Royal Australian Regiment, was ecstatic the traditional march had returned.

There was no Anzac Day march in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Read more: In Kiama, thousands stand together again to mark Anzac Day 2021

So this time last year Mr Taylor and a fellow veteran did a motorbike ride and attended the Wollongong cenotaph.

"It felt good to be able to march with everyone we've served with and be together and not feel like you are alone on the day," he said.

"It is good to be back with these guys.

"It is very important for vets to be together and remember the guys we've lost and those families who have to deal with the loss."

There was a good mixture of young and old in the crowd, including sisters Cody Breasley, Jade Jefford and Jesse Price.

The siblings from Mount St Thomas came with their respective husbands and two children each.

"It is great to be here. I'm so happy the march is on this year," Jesse said.

Jade added the families always attended the Anzac Day march.

"Last year we did the dawn service from our driveway. It's something we always look forward to," she said.

Cody said getting the kids involved was also important.

"It is always a family thing. We all get together on Anzac Day and pay our respects to those who have sacrificed so much for us and our nation," she said.

Ray and Dale Page were also in the crowd.

"We come every year. I'm so happy the march has returned," Ray said.

"My father Allen Page served in the 19th battalion in Malaysia and Singapore.

"He was a prisoner of war.

"We always come to pay our respects. Usually our son and his five sons also come but they are in Queensland at the moment."

Wollongong siblings and veterans Mona Parsons and William Nicholson also got the opportunity to take part in the march.

While they couldn't walk, they "loved" being part of the "special day".

Mona served for nearly 40 years and was a sergeant of the Australian Women's Army Service in World War II.

"It was lovely. I didn't think I'd make it for awhile," Mona said.

"We both went in a car. I'll be 99 this year."

Aged 86, William Nicholson is the baby in the family of eight children. "I served in the National Reserve for five years and I saw the first atomic bomb in the Montebello Islands in 1952."

Irene Nicholson added the government to this day hadn't done enough to help people like her husband William.

"The government hasn't done enough for the guys who saw the Montebello explosion," she said.

"My sister's husband was there and came back but he died at age 30. My sister was left three little boys.

"William also has a lot of issues. He needs help."

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