Myrtleford RSL members welcomed Myrtleford P-12 College year 9 students last Friday to peruse their historical displays and further their understanding of military service from the local region.

The visit followed up students' recent trip to the cenotaph at the Myrtleford War Memorial and the cemetery to help clean up some of the WWI graves, ahead of an individual WWI presentation in class where students became experts in a certain area to speak to their fellow students, family and community.

Student Louis Sanderson, whose forebears served in the Vietnam War and World Wars I and II, said he had broadened his understanding of local participation in military service through the visits.

"We've learned lots about the wars and have been really involved with the RSL, which has been really good," he said.

Club memorial custodians Deb Blackburn and Christine McCracken, who were the driving forces in arranging the displays and who catalogued all pieces the club received, were in attendance to explain historical details to the teenagers, alongside club members former Army nurse Mary Downey, ex-British Armed Forces serviceman Mike McGurkan, Vietnam veteran Trevor Isherwood and former Royal Australian Naval officer Mark Blackburn.

Mr Isherwood told the visiting cohort he was just over 20 years old when he was in Vietnam.

"It was an experience not, I believe, as mind-throbbing as those who served in World War One or Two, or even Korea," he said.

"We served all people in all situations.

"However, you are here today because of the life-threatening and the ending of life of citizens in the first, the second and perhaps the Korean War.

"Don't forget your history: these are men and women who served, so you [can] be sitting here today.

"Take all the notes you can: don't be irreverent and certainly, don't be blasé."

Myrtleford RSL president Brian McDonald invited the group to investigate all available displays, from Albert David Lowerson's medals from the first and second World Wars to the complete uniforms of servicemen and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Army Medical Corp and everything in between.

"Most of what's on display here is stuff from locals who have donated it to us," he said.

"Into the future, there may be continued programs and educational opportunities to try and make sure it continues on a year on year basis.

"We're happy to help out, so they get the facts and history is maintained in its correctness, because there's so much false information out there these days.

"We'd like to make sure the kids are getting the actual facts, whether they're good or bad.

"We need history to be maintained as true, to pass on.

"Thinking about Trevor's comments earlier: we're not glorifying war, but the reasons we continue to remember it is because of the sacrifices all these previous veterans have made is why we have the country we have now."

Teacher Serena Russo said they were hoping to build on the excursion for next year.

"We want to increase our community connections," she said.

"The Myrtleford RSL suggested next year they could host the expo, which would be a great experience.

"As opposed to reading about the history from a textbook, here they get more of a sense of what it really meant [to serve in the wars]."