Earlier this month, three veteran RAAF airmen from Albany in Western Australia were presented with the French Legion of Honour for their bravery in World War II, 70 years after they flew bombers over Europe.

But it has now emerged that another veteran, a West Australian bomber pilot who would qualify for the award, has been overlooked.

The oversight has prompted veterans agencies to begin a search for other living World War II aircrew who deserve recognition for their service.

Albany war veteran Doug Groome is a quiet man who does not talk much about the terrible war he survived.

At 93 years old he is now just one of a handful of remaining WWII pilots who served in Britain's Bomber Command, arguably one of the most dangerous military assignments of the war.

He migrated to Australia in 1957.

In his house overlooking the port city of Albany on WA's south coast, there is little to say Mr Groome was one of the lucky ones to fly 32 operations into the heart of Germany and come out alive, other than a couple of paintings of Lancaster bombers.

Bomber Command crew members had a worse chance of survival than an infantry officer in World War I; 75 per cent of crews died before they completed a tour, or 30 flights, nearly 330 aircraft were lost and more than 1,400 aircrew were killed, missing or captured.

The organisation was made up of squadrons of British and Commonwealth aircrew who were credited with destroying Hitler's war machine but after the war were controversially vilified for killing thousands of German civilians in the process.

For decades the Commonwealth crews were never acknowledged for the role they played in shortening the war.

However, earlier this month at the Anzac convoy commemoration in Albany, French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian presented three of Doug Groome's fellow surviving Bomber Command air crew with France's highest award for bravery, the Legion of Honour.

While RAAF aircrewmen Tom Lofthouse and brothers Eric and Murray Maxton, also in their 90s, were lauded by the minister for their courage and dedication in helping to liberate France from occupation, Doug Groome sat at home and watched it on television.

Hurt at being overlooked

Despite being a founding member of the Royal Australian Air Force Association, and having been recognised by British bomber command for his role as a royal air force pilot, he was not included in the roll call for the Legion of Honour.

Not a man to make a fuss he was nonetheless hurt he had been overlooked for an honour that was bestowed on his friends and brothers in arms.

"I was upset for a short while to think that I had been missed, but as time went on similar things were occurring and people were phoning me up, asking me did I get invited and why wasn't I there and these sorts of questions," Mr Groome said.

President of the Albany RSL Peter Aspinall said inquiries were made to find out why Mr Groome had been left out of the nomination of names offered to the French for the award.

"Here was a fellow who had served in Bomber Command, they met the criteria that obviously the French government were looking for in being able to award the French Legion of Honour and the question was of course, why not Doug?" he said.

The French have already awarded British Bomber Command aircrew from World War II and are now looking to find RAAF crew to do the same.

Doug Groome was in the RAF, not in an Australian squadron in Bomber Command.

He did receive a European star and bar for service over Germany and France, but no Legion of Honour.

However, he was a founding member of the RAAF association in Albany, and had just recently received a note of thanks for his 15-year membership, so clearly he is on association records as being a former pilot who has served an important role in the liberation of France.

Peter Aspinall said the question was not about why he was not awarded the honour, it was how did he miss out in that process.

"They were doing what they were asked to do or required to do in fact, there was no asking about it, they were ordered and they did it under horrific circumstances and tremendous courage," he said.

"They would have been witness to so many of their own fellow aircrews going down that it must have been a tremendous psychological impact upon them and of course they have lived with that ever since the second World War.

"I would love it to go to the point that Doug would be appropriately recognised, whether or not that would involve him being awarded the Legion of Honour then rests with the French government."

Search begins for others overlooked

West Australian Senator Dean Smith now wants to broaden the search for other veterans across the Australia who may have been missed by the veterans' agencies.

This week he wrote to Minister for Veterans' Affairs Michael Ronaldson asking him to see what could be done.

Doug Groome in his flying days. ( Supplied )

"I think it would be remiss of us, of the Government and political representatives like myself if we didn't do everything we could to make sure that service recognition was recognised while they were still alive and active in their communities," he said.

"I think the Government and the RSL could work cooperatively together to make sure there was a better level of awareness about what types of recognition are available how that recognition can be applied for.

"I'm confident the Government would want that particularly with the centenary of Anzac events.

"I'm confident the friends and families of war veterans would want that and importantly I'm confident our international allies and friends at this particular point in time would be pleased to join with us in making sure that service recognition was properly recognised.

"In a way Doug Groome and others in the Albany and the Great Southern region could actually end up being pioneers for other silent people that haven't yet got that service recognition that they deserve."

Mr Groome said he was not speaking out just for himself but hopefully to raise awareness among others who deserved recognition.

However, if the powers that be chose to bestow the legion of honour upon him "it's not really going to change anything, but if someone thinks that perhaps it's a good thing to do, I'd be pleased to accept," he said.

Acknowledgement will be enough.

With a quiet chuckle the former pilot says: "I'm not strong enough to carry any more medals now."