A Vietnam veteran was 94 years old before he felt strong enough to ask for help dealing with the demons of war.
James Dallas from RSL LifeCare, which provides support services and accommodation for the defence community, said that man's story shows how far things have come in caring for veterans.
"It was heartbreaking but now we're more aware of the impacts of mental health," he said.
"It's a very different culture than it was after the Vietnam conflict."
The organisation this week opened the Veterans' and Families' Hub in Nowra, on the NSW south coast, the state's first federally-funded centre providing health, education and welfare services to 20,000 people in the defence community.
Programs at similar centres have allowed ex-servicemen and women to access long-awaited mental health care and find critical social connections.
"Within the service, they have a sense of community," Mr Dallas said.
"They're surrounded by their mates and they look out for each other.
"When they transition out of service, they will often lose that connection so these centres are a place to feel safe."
The Nowra hub opened as the royal commission into veteran and defence suicide continued to uncover the layered trauma of military service and the challenges of returning to civilian life.
The federal government set aside $46.7 million in the October budget for 10 extra hubs including in Ipswich, Queensland, northern Adelaide, southwest Perth, Victoria's Geelong region and the NSW Hunter.
There are also centres in Perth, Adelaide, Townsville, Wodonga and Darwin.
Veteran James Morris, who spent almost three decades in the Australian Defence Force, said the south coast centre is a place to avoid the judgement of others.
"Service is difficult for a lot of people to understand. Unless you've done it, it's unlikely there will be empathy," he said.
"If people see somebody sitting in a park on their own, they will put a label on that person.
"Going into the centre, you know full well nobody's going to say, 'what's he doing here again?'."
The quality of life for veterans was measured for the first time in the 2021 Census, which revealed the most common long-term conditions reported among service members were mental health conditions, arthritis and asthma.
The national survey also showed half of former ADF members lived in regional areas.
Mr Morris said affordability and a sense of escape drew many veterans to the country, making health and social services essential.
"When I left Canberra and came to the coast, there was virtually nothing here so I had to do a personality change," he said.
"You can either sit back on your armchair with a book and do nothing or you can get out there and be involved.
"There's a personal benefit and a mental benefit in doing that."
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