SOMERS POINT — Mayor Dennis Tapp extended “heartfelt gratitude and appreciation” to American Legion Post 352 Commander Larry Lemieux for his role in the Hometown Hero banner campaign.
Last year, the American Legion and Department of Public Works joined forces to create banners featuring military veterans and hang them from lampposts along Shore Road.
“The Hometown Hero banner campaign has provided a meaningful and visible tribute to these individuals, fostering community pride and remembrance,” Tapp said Jan. 2. “Through his efforts, numerous banners have been displayed throughout the city, ensuring that the sacrifices and service of our local heroes are recognized and celebrated.”
Lemieux, a chiropractor with an office on Shore Road, thanked Tapp for jumping on board with the project and Steve Hornig from Public Works for his efforts to install the banners.
He said the program was about him giving back to his hometown.
“Letting the public know what these men and women have done for their country, know who they are,” Lemieux told the Sentinel. “It added a real old-time hometown feel.”
Somers Point prides itself on its support for military veterans, having chapters and auxiliaries of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Korean and Vietnam veterans and Legion Riders all active in the city, as well as a state AMVETS office on Shore Road.
Its annual commemorations on Memorial Day and Veterans Day are both well-organized and well-attended, with worthy keynote speakers.
There also are multiple monuments, including Richard Somers Park and a War of 1812 marker at the beach, as well as the all-wars memorial at Patriot Park and the Submarine Veterans Memorial outside the VFW.
Tapp said the banners will be displayed each year from just before Memorial Day until just after Veterans Day as part of the city’s extensive tributes to the armed forces.
Lemieux said he had seen the banners in other towns and brought the idea up at a Veterans Advisory Board meeting last year.
“I brought it up and got full support from the legion and the mayor,” he said.
Lemieux then reached out to the Hometown Heroes Banner Program at hometownheroesbanner.com to have them made.
“I’ve been here for 40 years — I love this town — and thought it would be a nice addition to Shore Road,” he said, noting the slow speed limit would give people more time to enjoy seeing them as they pass.
Lemieux said he was hoping to get at least 20 in his first round of solicitations — each banner costs the family $150 — and ended up with 35. A second round added about 15 more, he said, before cutting it off for the first year.
He said he wanted to allow Public Works to put them all up in one shot so they could be up for Memorial Day. Another round of solicitations is coming in February, he said, and about 15 people already have signed up to join the program.
Each banner, which is 5 feet by 3 feet, features a photo of the veteran in uniform, his or her name, rank, service and era. There also is space at the bottom for a short personal message.
Lemieux said they were placed intermittently from the Route 52 causeway to the border with Linwood.
People had the opportunity to request a specific placement, such as near their home, but most were placed randomly.
Hornig said last year they tried to focus on the city’s parade route but this year may have to branch out a bit and even place some of the two-sided banners on the west side of the street as more are added.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
At top, American Legion Post 352 Commander Larry Lemieux, left, poses with Somers Point Mayor Dennis Tapp and City Council President Kirk Gerety on Jan. 2 at City Hall. (Photo by Steve Hornig/Special to the Sentinel)