Wars have drastically changed and new allegiances have been carved in the decades since Matt Taylor was fixing up US warships damaged during a battle off the Queensland coast in 1942.
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But his great-grandson, Major General Roger Noble, says one thing has stayed the same since Japanese, Australian and United States forces fought during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
"I'll tell you what's stayed the same, is the centre of it, the people," he told reporters gathered on the flight deck of USS Wasp in Brisbane on Saturday.
"The quality of the people, their training, their education, their experience, the way they behave, that is the same as it was in 1942 as it is now."
The story of Matt Taylor was shared by General Noble, Deputy Chief Joint Operations of the Australian Defence Force, as officials brought a major joint military exercise to a close.
Over the last few weeks 34,000 personnel from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, UK, Canada and Japan have trained side by side off the Australian coast as part of Talisman Sabre.
The eighth edition of the biennial war games took in 200 aircraft and 36 ships in operations costing millions of dollars.
Troops stormed a central Queensland beach, scores of combat jets roared over the bays and submarines moved silently under their surface.
But this year's talking point lurked on the outskirts of Australia's territorial waters.
A Chinese spy ship.
Defence officials say the interest was expected and that the ship has since moved on.
"We anticipate international interest in a major event like this," Major General Robert Noble said.
"Nobody interfered with the exercise in any way."
Meanwhile, relations between Australia and the US are being touted as stronger than they've ever been, so much so Prime Minister Scott Morrison will head to the White House as a guest of President Donald Trump.
"There's something special about, for us, to be able to be deployed forward, operating with a partner and ally that we have a century's worth partnership with," Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, Commander Expeditionary Strike Group Seven and Commander Amphibious Force US Seventh Fleet said.
"The realism of being out in one of the most pivotal areas in the world, there's nothing like that, so we're very grateful for being here."
Rear Admiral Kacher said the Indo Pacific region was poised with tremendous potential that could shape the world's future.
"But it's also a region with challenges that more than one nation is going to be able to address itself, so I think it's wonderful that we're all working together," he added.
Australian Associated Press
