Jack Sealey AFSM OAM was awarded the medal for his service to the community, particularly through a range of veterans welfare groups.

Mr Sealey was born in Victoria - "to be Australian you have to be born in one of two places: Wagga Wagga or Wodonga. I was born in Wodonga." - in November, 1924.

His father died when he was aged two, and the same year his mother moved the family to Sydney where Mr Sealey attended school.

They lived with his mother's family during the Depression, and when Mr Sealey turned 18 he signed up to fight in the war. On his 19th birthday he sailed out of Sydney Heads as an air gunner in the Royal Australian Air Force.

He has been told that at 91, he is the last surviving member of his squadron.

After being overseas for almost two years, two days before he turned 21 he returned home.

Weeks before his return, Mr Sealey married Grace, then a member of the Britain Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

The couple was together for 53 years, many of those spent in Queanbeyan, before Mrs Sealey died in 1998. She passed away just a year before Mr Sealey was awarded an Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM), recognised for his volunteer service as a communications technician with the Rural Fire Service.

In 2012 Mr Sealey was named Queanbeyan Citizen of the Year, and this year, he received his OAM particularly for his work with Legacy.

"I was pleased, but I don't think what I do is worthy of recognition," Mr Sealey said.

"We all do what we need to do; caring for our widows is a labour of love."

Mr Sealey, while modest about his achievement, said he was happy to accept the honour and wear it with pride.

"I will now wear the badge for all my colleagues," he said.