"I was waiting for my daughter to finish College when I noticed this disgusting crack in the Memorial Wall at the Launceston Cenotaph," he said.

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The wall is intended to complement the neighbouring Cenotaph, which was first unveiled in 1924 to commemorate the loss of soldiers in The First World War. Since then, plaques have been affixed to the wall to commemorate Australian military service in WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam, among others.

A former Craftsman with Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Mr Anderson resolved to repair the wall. "With Remembrance day coming up on Thursday, I wanted to tidy it up and make it presentable."

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Shucking the usual channels, Mr Anderson put out a call on a military Facebook group to see if anyone would lend a hand. Fellow former RAEME Craftsman James Worely and former Infantry Sergeant David McIntee rose to the task.

Armed with freely donated supplies from Haymes Paint Shop in Invermay, the three men set about sealing and painting the crack.

"If I'd seen this weeks ago I would have made every effort to go through the proper channels but on a short timeframe we decided to just go ahead and do it. We're probably being a bit naughty, but we feel that it's worthy," Mr Anderson said.

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When asked what he hopes this year's Remembrance Day will highlight, Mr Anderson brought attention to the struggles of returning soldiers.

"Support is getting better. There's a lot more focus on younger veterans that are coming back, whereas in the past they tended to get lost." He also highlighted the ongoing issue of veteran homelessness and suicide and urged any struggling veterans to contact support groups like Open Arms, Soldier On and The Returned and Services League of Australia.

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Meanwhile, Mr McIntee hopes that this November 11, the public will take a moment to think of the burden faced by the families of those serving.

"A lot of non-military families might think about soldiers on Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day but for military families it's front and centre all the time," he said.

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