World War II veterans have started arriving in the Top End for commemoration of the Bombing of Darwin services.

Many of them have forged new friendships or hooked up with old mates by attending the event over many years and see it as an imperative part of healing and remembering fallen comrades.

Bombing of Darwin commemoration events will be held tomorrow.

Basil John Stahl has attended the Commemoration of the Bombing of Darwin service since 1992 and says the north gets in your blood.

He was only 19 when he arrived as naive and keen young photographer for an army survey unit, documenting the war on Australian soil.

"Singapore had been taken and they got us to dig trenches," he said.

"The next thing we knew the planes, about 188 of them, flew over, went north.

"Next thing they turned around and just started to fire and belt everything.

"One of the first bombs dropped was at Larrakeyah barracks."

Mr Stahl says they were all a bit naive at times about the bombings.

"Like a silly young photographer I start walking down to The Esplanade and right down [where parliment house is now]," he said.

"I took photos of where the bomb went straight into the middle of Stokes Hill Wharf.

"Then I walked back not knowing and then again they bombed at three minutes to 12 and I just got back to Larrekeyah."

He even remembers getting operated on during a raid.

"I had my appendix out at the Kahlin hospital during a raid," he said.

"All they did was put a spare mattress over my head.

"They [the Japanese] were dropping daisy cutters, which splattered metal around me."

Mr Stahl makes it his mission to come to Darwin every year for the commemoration.

He says it is important because there are fewer surviving veterans.

"I am the last of my 66 unit now," he said.

"There are no more; my last fella went in December three years ago.

"I like coming up.

"I don't know what it is but it seems to get in our blood."

Larrikins in the ranks

Jim Yelling was 22 when he arrived in Darwin.

He had just joined up in Western Australia, along with several mates.

He worked in transport and has been attending the commemoration service for several years.

He says there were tough times but also some larrikins in the ranks who provided much fun.

"It was pretty grim in the beginning because it was just after the bombing began," he said.

"There was no good going to the RAAF base because that was destroyed.

"So we moved on and went into camps along the track towards Darwin.

He says the biggest challenge was day to day survival.

"We had no established camp at the time," he said.

"We just had to camp anywhere, with whoever we could find.

"We scavenged things from around Darwin, around town and took them back to camps, whatever we could scrounge.

"I finished up being called 'scrounger' ."

He says there were tough times but also some larrikins in the ranks who provided much fun.

"[There was] no alcohol to drink ... some of the guys would pick up a pumpkin from somebody's market garden ... and make a drink."