Corporal Mathew Hopkins, 21, had been married five months and was a new father when he was shot dead during a Taliban ambush while on patrol in March 2009.

His name is now etched in bronze alongside 102,000 Australians who have died in war.

When Mrs Hopkins returned to the site for the first time in four years to mark Remembrance Day, it was with the couple's five-year-old son in tow.

Alex Hopkins was just five weeks old when his father was killed.

On Tuesday he placed a poppy next to the name of the young dad who cradled him as a baby, but who he will only ever know through stories and photographs.

"Now he's of an age of understanding I thought it was time to tell him some things," Mrs Hopkins said.

"I've been telling him his dad was fighting against bad people.

"He knows his dad from photos and that's the best I can do."

Mrs Hopkins, of Singleton, said she was proud to see her husband's name on the wall and to know visitors and school children would learn about him and his story.

"Matt believed in the work he was doing over there and he'd rather be out on patrol doing his job than sitting around at base.

"That helps me know he didn't die in vain."

Mrs Hopkins said the annual service was emotional but provided a good opportunity to get together with other military families and young war widows.

"We're all here for the same reason, to honour our husbands, sons and brothers."

Mrs Hopkins and her son weren't the only family members for whom pride was accompanied by aching loss as they walked through the memorial.

The family of Private Jake Kovco, killed in an accidental shooting in Iraq in 2006, was among families remembering their loved ones.

His widow Shelley, who wore his medals, travelled from Sale in Victoria with their children, who were only toddlers when their father died, to honour his memory.

"It's a day where we think of him, we come up here and take the time out," she said.

"We think of him and all the other guys who have come back who aren't all good."

Parents who brought young children to the service expressed a desire to teach them about the service and sacrifice of Australia's military dead.

Steve Clapham and his three children came to Canberra from Sydney for the service and to take in the Hall of Memory.

"Mum's grandfather and dad both served in the British army, and so did my dad, grandfather and great-grandfather so we have a long history in the war," he said.

Mr Clapham said he felt it was important to teach his children to respect the sacrifices made in war.

Many who attended the commemorative service were there to remember not only the Anzacs, but those who fought in conflicts since, and not only in the Australian military.

Ken Hamilton was on holiday from Scotland and decided to attend as a show of respect.

"My uncle came back from [the Battle of] Dunkirk, but during the First World War my grandfather was a miner so he was down in the mines while the rest were serving," he said.

Defence Department employee Tim Veitch wanted to honour his extensive military family tree.

"My father was in the navy, my aunty was in the navy and my grandfather was an anti-aircraft gunner in the Second World War, so we've got military all through our family."

"It's quite important for me to come out and reflect on it all."