The Rutherglen RSL Sub-branch will use an Armistice Day grant from the federal government to install a Victory Cross and flag pole at the town’s Carlyle Cemetery.
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It will be the first addition of its kind to the cemetery, where numerous ex-service personnel are buried.
Sub-branch secretary David Martin said the cross was hoped to be unveiled on Remembrance Day.
“We thought it important to do this at Carlyle, especially with the Armistice, and there’s nothing out there currently,” he said.
Memorials in Stone in Wodonga will construct the two-metre cross with a plaque, weighing about two-and-a-half tonnes.
They also designed a granite soldier, which was unveiled in February last year in a ceremony attended by Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson.
Mr Martin said the cross and plaque had been a project since the start of 2017.
“It’s going to be dedicated to all ex-service personnel buried at Carlyle,” he said.
“The Australian War Graves have approved five graves last year and one other grave before that – one had been a dirt grave for 60 years.
“There’s World War II blokes, World War I, Vietnam and some who didn’t serve overseas.
“Over the years there have been people who weren’t killed in the war that came home and lived in the community, and were also buried at Carlyle.”
Mr Martin said the cross could also be used for commemorations unrelated to the RSL.
“There are other people who might have served in the cemetery and it will be available for community use as well,” she said.
“We’ve been quite successful over the years in receiving grant funding for the memorial park and other projects.”
The Rutherglen RSL Sub-branch received a $5000 federal grant, Mansfield $5000 for maintenance, and Bright $6500 to produce a video about the sub-branch and show six World War I films on and around Armistice Day.
Sub-Branch president Kevin Black said the films would be shown at Cloud 9 Cinema in Bright.
“The RSL has never been in the business of glorifying war; it’s been in the business of looking after people who were badly damaged by the war and remembering those who never returned,” he said.
As part of the Armistice Centenary Grant Program, up to $50,000 of projects are approved in every federal electorate.
