IN the winter of 1946, less than a year after the end of World War II, a soldier from the last great conflict died as a malnourished alcoholic.
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The bleak expiry of Gustavus Lundgren in Wangaratta was mirrored in his burial.
Bereft of family his plot in Carlyle cemetery, west of Rutherglen, went unmarked for decades.
But this Friday, 98 years to the day that World War I ended, Private Lundgren will be officially honoured with a grave marking his service.
Its headstone states: “His duty nobly done.”
The vigour of Rutherglen’s RSL sub-branch history officer, David Valentine, has driven the acknowledgement which has seen the Office of Australian War Graves fund a $5000 grave.
He used a 1952 survey map of the cemetery to find there were 10 unmarked graves of World War I soldiers.
The former army cartographer then established Private Lundgren’s war record, death details and lack of family which entitled him to an official war grave.
“Once I was sure that’s when I started chasing the war grave,” Mr Valentine said.
“We had to be able to prove his family was all deceased, which we did, I had to provide a stat dec saying there was no family.
“That was the first one, there’s nine more to go, so it’s not a ‘yeah’ moment, the ‘yeah’ moment is when we’ve got the 10th one.
“I would like to finish by the 11th of the 11th 2018, in time for the 100th year of the Armstice.
“I don’t know if it’s possible but we’re certainly going to have a go at it.”
Mr Valentine said other soldiers buried still had family, meaning those plots would not be covered by the war graves commission.
Private Lundgren was considered a rogue before he enlisted, having faced a Rutherglen magistrate for passing suspect currency.
Ten days later he had joined the army and later found himself on the Western Front.
“He started to have serious disciplinary problems in the army before he came back – he was very disrespectful and swore at everyone,” Mr Valentine said.
“Then he got seriously wounded in the right leg.”
Back home on a service pension and suffering depression, Private Lundgren turned to grog.
His siblings died young and he was unable to maintain relationships, dying on June 30, 1946, aged 53.
The service to unveil the grave starts at 1.30pm Friday with a cataflaque party of Bandiana soldiers to feature.
