As we remember the veterans from the great world wars, Korea and Vietnam on Anzac Day, are we forgetting the sacrifice of younger service men and women who served in more recent conflicts?

Young Australians who served overseas and return with physical and mental scars in wars are not being celebrated with the ceremony afforded to diggers from Gallipoli and the Western Front.

Many are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with some finding their so-called peacekeeping missions just as traumatic, or more so, than time spent in combat zones.

Sean Martin, 28, served in the Army infantry for six years from 2007-2012 in WA and Queensland and deployed overseas in East Timor in a peacekeeping role, and in Afghanistan, training the Afghani army.

He said his experience in the Army changed him as a person.

"Afghanistan — that was a very tough nine months," he said.

"You are going to war basically, and you get to see some pretty horrifying things; you lose a mate, see a mate shot, blown up, and then you come back here and it makes you realise how different the world is compared to the way you've seen it.

"I was diagnosed with PTSD; it's had an effect on my personal life, my family life. When I got back I was a different human being than before I left."

"I split up from my wife. One of the hardest things for me was trying to adjust. I still have a different outlook on life that other people do.

He said one of his fellow diggers was killed by an Afghan solider, in a so-called green-on-blue attack.

"You would think this would change your whole outlook of it, think it would make you hate them, and think why am I there. But you can't just blame one bad egg," he said.

"Did I think what I was doing [in Afghanistan] was right? Yes of course, but I can see why people might think it isn't our war. But at the end of the day, what I thought I was doing was right."

"Anzac Day is a way of paying respect to those that have sacrificed their lives for our country, it lets me remember my friends, those who have passed away, those who have committed suicide. It's an important tradition.

Peacekeeping missions 'worse than combat'

Kirrilly Patrick served with the Air Force for 19 years. ( ABC New: Louise Merrillees )

Kirrilly Patrick spent 19 years serving in the Air Force in communications. She is now a reserve at an Air Force training school in Perth and previously served in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

She was deployed in combat communications in Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2012, and in Pakistan in 2010 as part of a humanitarian aid mission post the catastrophic floods.

Ms Patrick said for her, the worst experience she had was in Pakistan.

"We were providing humanitarian aid after the floods — we were not in a combat role — we weren't allowed to take weapons, but we were under constant threat and told we weren't welcome," she said.

"Where we were, was a Taliban safe place, so we were told we were allowed to go in for a certain period of time, and then we had to be out."

"They were allowing us to help them out, and because they thought we were bringing Western medicine, they expected us to fix everything, and when we couldn't it got very hostile."

Ms Patrick said her PTSD stems from the time she spend in Pakistan.

"One little girl we couldn't fix, she had broken her hip and she had an intellectual disability, and they fed her to the dogs in front of us. To teach us that this is what they thought of disabled female children, she is no use to us, she is a girl," she said.

"So seeing that as a mum of four girls, was horrific."

Ms Patrick said the incident occurred in the middle of the night and the Australian military hierarchy had their hands tied, and the officers were told not to get involved.

"When we spoke to them, they said we are not to get involved, we are here to do this, and we are just here to provide them with aid," she said.

"I didn't know it at the time, but there were two guys who held me back. My instinct was to help the girls, and I apparently went psychotic and was screaming and throwing rocks at the dogs. The girl died of her injuries."

Ms Patrick said she struggled to get counselling after she returned from Pakistan.

"They didn't feel that we needed counselling because we weren't in a war zone, so it took about three years before I got someone to say 'yes, we will give you some help'," she said.

"My husband kept saying, it's not right, a mother doesn't come home and not touch her children for six months.

She said there was a time she felt she "needed" to end her own life.

That was after my third deployment to Afghanistan, when I started talking about Pakistan, and they went 'whoa', I've got to get some help," she said.

"A lot of people that I served with, they reckon it was worse in peacekeeping roles because you don't have weapons and you can't intervene and the locals know that and do terrible things in front of you," she said.

"The Pakistani Government wanted us there, but the Pakistani military didn't."

PTSD caused from life outside the army

Aidan Reynolds said his PTSD stems from trying to adjust to life after the Army. ( ABC News: Louise Merrillees )

Aidan Reynolds is 27 and spent five years serving with the 5th battalion Royal Australian Regiment, some of it in East Timor and Afghanistan. He got out in September 2011.

"My time in Afghanistan in 2010 was a unique experience, good and bad, especially for someone my age. I turned 22 over there so I didn't have a lot of life experience," he said.

"There were several deaths from our battle group who went over there, so in that regard I am quite lucky.

"Once you get there, even if you realise you are there for the wrong reasons, or pointless reasons, you still give it everything you have because you still want to come home with all your mates."

Mr Reynolds said his PTSD did not kick in until some years after he left the army and was living in Perth.

"The last three years I've had trouble, not initially though, when I first left I was on a bit of a high," he said.

"I came back without any physical injuries, so I was lucky. Thought I had my whole life ahead of me. Never occurred to me people coming out of the military would have a hard time re-adjusting.

"Because it is such a unique institution, everyone follows the same rules, has the same belief systems, and then when you get out, it's gone.

"My PTSD is more related to readjusting to life outside the Army than about the things I saw over there. Even though I saw horrible things over there and other guys saw worse."

Mr Reynolds said it was important for people to realise there were ex-servicemen and women of all ages.

"I think people now are more ignorant of the more recent wars, everyone knows about WWI and WWII, a lot of people think WWII was the last conflict, but they are still happening now," he said.

"That was the main thing I think about when I go over there [East Timor and Afghanistan]. I had the choice of whether I wanted to serve, but the only reason I had the freedom to make that choice is because of those people before me.

"People say war is stupid, but if we didn't do what we did in WWI and II, then people wouldn't have the freedom in this country to do anything.

"Especially for those that didn't have a choice, but did it anyway, for those diggers, I have the utmost respect."