Dunbar veteran Donnie Lowry said that he is proud to be from a town that is so dedicated to its veterans.
“Dunbar does a lot for its veterans,” Lowry said. “We have one of the nicest honor rolls in the state and people really support us.”
Now the members of the American Legion Hughes Post 146 have found a special way to honor their veterans, both past and present.
They will be taking applications for special banners that they are having made that then will be hung throughout the borough.
“We thought it would be nice to have these banners that could be in honor or in memory of our veterans,” post member and Vietnam veteran Frank “Bucky” Wallace said. “They can be for any veterans, past or present, and from any branch of the military.”
The vinyl banners will measure 2 feet by 3 feet and will feature a photograph of the veteran with their name, rank and service branch.
The banners will then be hung from telephone poles in the borough from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.
They will then be taken down, stored and then rehung the following Memorial Day.
“This is going to be an ongoing thing for us,” Post 146 commander Perry Russell said. “We aren't just doing this this year. We will keep doing it.”
In addition to the large banners that will be hung in the borough, family members can also purchase smaller banners that measure 12 inches by 18 inches.
“The small ones are really nice and can be for the families to hang at home,” resident and program assistant Cindy Moag said. “It would be something nice to get to honor the veterans in your family.”
Russell said that he got the idea for the banners when he was transporting other veterans in the Pittsburgh area.
“I saw them hanging in Jefferson Hills, and I thought that they looked nice,” Russell said.
The group has officially launched their campaign to get families and residents of the Dunbar community interested in their program dedicated to the further honoring our their brave hometown heroes.
“We have three so far and we hope to get a lot more,” Russell said, adding that they would like to get enough to hang on every pole along Connellsville and Woodvale streets, which is the route that the veterans walk for the annual parade held on Memorial Day.
Banners will cost $90 and order forms can be obtained by calling 724-277-8554 or 724-366-8150.
Families ordering the banners need to supply the information about the veteran's service and photograph.
All photographs will be returned.
Wallace said that it is very touching to see the community come out to support the veterans as they walk in the parades for the special holiday.
“They line up and applaud,” Russell said. “It's really something to see.”
Orders for banners to be hung Memorial Day will be accepted through Feb. 15.
Orders will still be accepted after that date, but the group can not guarantee that the banners will be ready in time to hang that spring.
The members of Post 146 also wish to extend an open invitation to veterans in the area who would like to join.
The group meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at the Dunbar Library.
Marilyn Forbes is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
