Geelong’s St Marys Basilica will host a commemoration of the ill-fated WWII 2/22nd Battalion.
The Geelong and South Barwon Salvation Army bands will perform classic Anzac songs and tributes on 24 April.
The 22/2nd Battalion consisted of a regimental band and 23 members were originally members of Salvation Army bands who enlisted in 1940.
Famed soloist Sarah Hepworth will also be performing and there will be speeches from key members of the community.
The Battalion served as a garrison force at Rabaul, New Britain, until 23 January 1942 when Japanese troops stormed ashore in the early hours of the morning, capturing and killing many soldiers.
Most of the band died at sea on 1 July 1942 when the Montevideo Maru, carrying an estimated 845 prisoners of war and 209 civilians from Rabaul, was sunk by torpedo off Luzon in the South China Sea by the US Navy submarine USS Sturgeon.
Of the 24 band members who enlisted, Private Frederick William Kollmorgen was the only one who survived the deployment to New Britain.
The St Marys Basilica event is on 24 April at 7.30pm.
