LONDON – Michael Woods has been visiting his wife, Mary, every day since she moved into the nursing home two years ago.

But on Sunday, the 100-year-old Royal Air Force veteran will skip the daily meetings so he can carry out another mission: honoring the men he served with during World War II.

Woods will attend Britain’s national Remembrance Day ceremony for the first time since leaving the RAF in 1947, joining thousands of veterans marching past the Cenotaph war memorial in central London to remember those who died during the world wars. the conflicts that followed.

“It’s a great privilege to do this,” said Woods, a mechanic who kept Lancaster bombers flying during the war. “And I guess I’ll never do that again.”

The annual ceremony is a solemn event marked each year by the laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph by kings and ambassadors of Commonwealth nations who fought alongside Britain in two world wars. It culminates with nearly 10,000 veterans parading past the monument, many with medals shining on their chests and regimental berets on their heads.

Until now, Woods had been watching the footage on television from his home in Dunstable, 30 miles (50 kilometers) away. Mary always watched with him.

Woods had a lot on his mind beforehand. For many years he was busy with his family: two daughters, a son, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. And lately he’s been caring for Mary, his wife of 68 years.

But there was something else holding him back. He did not feel he deserved the honor because he was “merely” a mechanic working on the 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that powered the Lancaster bombers. He changed his mind after connecting with other veterans through Blind. The charity Veterans UK, which helps him fight macular degeneration and glaucoma.

He felt it was time to remember the men who roared into the skies in planes he certified as airworthy and never returned home. Each Lancaster carried a crew of seven, most of whom were in their early 20s, so it was difficult to endure such large numbers of casualties at once.

“It’s very, very sad to see a Lancaster take off and not come back,” Woods told the Associated Press.

“I couldn’t forget it even if I wanted to,” he added. “It’s just etched in your mind, you know.”

According to the International Bomber Command Centre, the RAF’s Bomber Command was responsible for World War II. It had the highest attrition rate of any Allied unit during World War II; 44% of the aircrew were killed in action. Of the 125,000 people who served in the aircrew, 55,573 died during the war.

Adrian Bell, chief executive of Blind Veterans UK, said he had met many Second World War veterans who described themselves as cogs in a huge machine. But that’s what it took to defeat fascism. Everyone was needed.

Come Sunday, Woods will walk.

Woods insists that he will not use a wheelchair in an effort to preserve the independence that comes with turning 100, because he has never used one before and he will not start using one now. His son Eddie will also be there to provide guidance, and friends from the charity will be nearby to provide emotional support.

Bell said he will be an inspiration.

“I think the most important thing is the courage of a 100-year-old man who fought in the Second World War and beyond, who will be physically there on Sunday to march in remembrance for those who lost their lives. It’s kind of a sign of hope and a sign that there is life after all this,” Bell said. “It’s an embodiment of something that I think is really important.”