'A man of honesty, straightforwardness and very high values.”

These are the words of Graeme Munro eulogising his father, Dambuster and wartime flying hero Les Munro, who died in Tauranga Hospital early this morning.

Les Munro, who died this morning aged 96. Photo: File.

Graeme says his dad was 'an absolutely unbelievable father, grandfather and great grandfather.”

Les was part of the legendary Lancaster bomber 617 Squadron which dropped the skipping bombs on three dams in Germany's industrial heartland in the Ruhr Valley in May 1943.

'They took some of the very best crews for that raid” says Ron Mayhill, president of the New Zealand Bomber Command Association.

'And Les was amongst them. He was a wonderfully modest man, never boastful and wouldn't talk about the war unless you pressed him.”

Les was patron of the association, taking over from another distinguished wartime pilot and Chief of Air Staff Sir Richard Bolt.

Ron will always remember the tall, big man with a commanding presence who never wanted to be the centre of things. That was despite his wartime exploits being written into books and a celebrated movie.

'He was a very considerate man and someone you would want as a friend,” says Ron, 'and he will remain in our hearts and minds.”

Son Graeme says his Dad was an extremely humble man.

'And although he will always be remembered for his wartime adventures,” he says, 'I think its overlooked about what he put into the community during 30 years in local politics in Waitomo, Te Kuiti and King Country.”

Les himself, it seems, had an enormous sense of pride in what he did for those communities.

Graeme says the Dambuster never dwelled on his war exploits. 'He was a humble man and he was more focused on his friendships and family,” he explains.

'Dad had very high moral standards and we as a family are honoured and proud to have that passed down to us.

'We will always look up to those values.”

And the rest of us will remember with pride and respect that wartime raid 67 years ago and the man who piloted one of the Lancaster bombers.

Les Munro died at 6.15am today after suffering heart problems for a couple of weeks. He was 96-years-old.