They marched along Picton's High St to that familiar beat of a military drum with the same pride and discipline expected of them six decades ago.
Korean War veterans commemorated the 60th anniversary of the war, which began in July 1950, with a parade and ceremony at the Picton War Memorial on Saturday.
Minister of Defence Wayne Mapp was at the ceremony, which was led by Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman.
A rowboat waiting on the Picton foreshore took two wreaths from the veterans out into Queen Charlotte Sound and dropped them into the water. The wreaths symbolised the two Royal New Zealand Navy ships sent to Korean waters.
Mr Sowman said those who served on the HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Tutira left a proud legacy that should not be forgotten.
"When we lose the past, we lose the anchor which stops us from drifting," he said.
Commander Andrew Nuttall said New Zealand had only a small force throughout the war, but they were "strong in heart and strong in commitment".
Veteran Grattan Lyng , an engine-room artificer in his late 80s, was on the Pukaki when it left Devonport for Korea on July 3, 1950. He also served with the navy duting World War II.
"We were just told where we needed to go," he said.
Mr Lyng's wife, Mavis, remembers the night her future husband had been recalled to action.
"We were watching a movie in the Civic Theatre in Auckland. We saw on the screen that all personnel from Pukaki were to return immediately, but we waited until the end of the movie," she said.
That was on a Saturday night and they left on the Monday.
Mr Lyng, then in his early 20s, spent about six months around the waters of Japan and Korea escorting supply ships to the Korean port of Pusan, as well as escorting "expeditions of Yanks" to a strategic landing in Ansan, southwest of Seoul.
Mr Lyng returned to New Zealand in time for Christmas that year, after buying presents for his family in Hong Kong.
"We had to spend our money somewhere", he said, laughing.
The Korean War began on July 25, 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea along the 38th parallel, a border between the two countries created in the aftermath of World War II.
A total of 4700 New Zealanders served under United Nations command in what was known as K- force between 1950 and 1953.
Another 1350 New Zealanders were deployed with the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Forty-five New Zealand men lost their lives during the war, 81 were wounded and one was taken a prisoner of war.
Springlands Sea Scouts rowed on Picton Harbour to drop off wreaths after the commemoration service for Korean War veterans.
Minister of Defence Wayne Mapp attended the ceremony, which was led by Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman.
Springlands Sea Scouts leader Stuart Daddy said the boys rowed a cutter called Pelorus to the Interislander and the Blue Bridge wharf. They carried two wreaths, and gave one to each ferry company which later released them in Cook Strait.
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