Leeton's Michael Cowdroy-Ling shares the story of his late father, World War I veteran Private Oswald Ling

Private Oswald Ling was in the Australian Infantry Force (AIF) during World War I and, while he made it home from the war, he died when Mr Cowdroy-Ling was a young boy.

However, his story and legacy continues to live on and it is one Mr Cowdroy-Ling is proud of every day, but in the particular each Anzac Day.

While he certainly wishes he would have had more time with his father, Mr Cowdroy-Ling said being able to share his story now was a privilege and honour for not just him, but his family.

"Because I was so young when dad died, I really gravitate towards what I remember," he said.

"It's amazing what you can remember even when you're three or four."

Private Ling attempted several times to join the AIF. His first attempt was when he was just 14 years and eight months old.

It wasn't until his fourth try he was finally accepted into the AIF at Liverpool, NSW on December 7, 1915.

"It's such a young age ... when you think about it, it's definitely not something you would imagine kids these days doing," Mr Cowdroy-Ling said.

It was only 10 days later on December 17 that Private Ling would be shipped off to war, one month after his 15^th birthday.

He boarded the HMAT A35 Berrima as part of the 8^th Infantry Brigade, 30^th Infantry Battalion, 2^nd Reinforcements that was bound for Egypt for training.

Tough conditions and many tales followed before Private Ling boarded a transport ship that was headed to France where he would fight in The Battle of the Somme on the Western Front.

This journey to France is also one his son has taken in more recent times.

"I went over to France in 2015 for Anzac Day, we went to Villers-Bretonneux, it was a very emotional experience," Mr Cowdroy-Ling said.

"I think even if you don't have a family member who served there or in any war, as an Australian, it's really emotional going there."

Private Ling's first major battle was The Battle of Mouquet Farm. Conditions were terrible and many causalities fell. On August 29, 1916 Private Ling sustained a severe injury to his head as a result of a Mills Bomb.

"A Mills Bomb is kind of like a hand grenade, Ossie has come up out of the trench and the shell has gone off and exploded above his head," Mr Cowdroy-Ling said.

"He copped shrapnel to the left side of his head, as he has fallen back he hit his head, so it looked like he had a gunshot wound to the head. He was unconscious for quite a while until stretcher bearers finally came and got him. They thought he was dead.

"The first time he remembers coming to was in the morgue. He thought he was hallucinating.

From there Private Ling was shipped to a hospital in France and then onto England for an operation.

After that, he did go AWOL several times. He soon returned home to a military hospital in Sydney and then he was released medically unfit.

"They realised at that stage he was only 16-and-a-half ... but he was supporting the family with the wage he was earning, so he tried to re-enlist again," Mr Cowdroy-Ling said.

"In 1919 he joined the Merchant Marine Navy, he must have lied again to get in there, but he was there for 12 years as a wireless operator."

Private Ling first married in the mid 1920s. He met Mr Cowdroy-Ling's mother, Leeton's Elizabeth Ann O'Callaghan, after his first marriage ended in divorce, with the pair marrying in 1951.

They had three children - Michael, Richard and Rosemary.

Private Ling also had three children with his first wife.

The years after the war were tough for veterans, including Private Ling. Mr Cowdroy-Ling himself has struggled in life following his father's passing when he was just a young boy.

However, his father's service to his country and his ongoing legacy is one he is so proud of.

"I wear my emotions on my sleeve, I march every Anzac Day here in Leeton and it's always an emotional experience," Mr Cowdroy Ling said.

"I do it to honour dad and to keep telling his story."

This story first appeared in The Irrigator.