A chance for New Zealand's Vietnam veterans to reconnect ahead of the war's 50th anniversary.

Veterans have gathered in Wellington before a delegation of 39 head over to Canberra for a special dawn service at the Australian War Memorial on Thursday.

Veteran Chris Mullane said there's a feeling of nostalgia catching up with the pals he made in the war.

"There's a shared experience among all these people. Even if they weren't in Vietnam at the same time, even if some of them were gunners and some of them were infantry, or in support roles or the air force or whatever."

About half of Mr Mullane's 36-strong platoon either died in battle or from illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure.

"Many of them were quite young, in their 30s or 40s," he said.

He said they died "from various things, but a lot of it was cancer and stuff related to Agent Orange exposure."

"The sad thing really is that's the case, they've died well before their time and left behind families."

Veteran Barry Dreyer said a lot of the guys he shared the hot, sweaty, uncomfortable and difficult experience with in '66 and '67 are travelling to Canberra.

"Some of them I've seen, but others I haven't seen for a long time. It's always really good to catch up with them."