Lucas Ward, who drowned in the Waimata river at Gisborne, is being buried beside his uncles who fought with the Maori Battalion.
A full tangi and funeral service for the four-year-old boy began at 11am on Tuesday at Hinekopeka marae at Tikapa in Ruatoria.
Great uncle Brian Hunt says it is an honour to have the boy buried alongside his uncles.
The tangi will be followed by a memorial service at 3pm at St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic church in Gisborne.
