Deadline for inaugural veterans banner project approaching
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on June 30, 2022.
Herald photo by Al Beeber
Glenn Miller of the Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch No. 4 discusses the Salute to Veterans banner program.LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
It’s not too early to honour Canadian and allied military veterans. But it will soon be too late to pay tribute this year to those who have served in the inaugural Legion Banner Project.
The project, run by the Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch No. 4, is similar to others run in other Canadian communities.
Veterans, living or dead, are being honoured with banners that will be displayed on city street lights from Oct. 1 until Remembrance Day. The double-sided vinyl banners are 26 and 60 inches in size and are expected to withstand several years of Lethbridge weather.
Banners will include a name and photo of a veteran. People who pay the $225 to have a veteran honoured will also be asked to provide a brief biography of the person of 100 to 150 words length which will be put on the Legion website.
Glenn Miller of the Legion said Wednesday the goal is to raise 91 banners and about half that number have been purchased so far.
People who miss July’s deadline can still put in applications year-round, he said.
“The Lethbridge Legion is proud to have finalized the first year of the Salute Our Veterans program. As we start to enjoy summer, we want to just remind the community that now is the time to plan for Remembrance Day,” said Miller noting a lot of planning needs to be done in advance just like with a wedding.
For the Legion to fabricate and deliver the banners, July 15 was chosen as the cut-off date, he said.
“Once the banners are put up, people will start seeing a tangible, visible reminder of Remembrance” and ask how they can become involved, said Miller.
Banner will be located in several places with military connections, including the Cenotaph at City Hall, Galt Gardens around the old train station, the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Legion and at the airport.
“Once we’ve got our critical mass, then we can expand to other areas in the community,” added Miller.
Veterans just need to have a Lethbridge connection, he said of banners. They can also include members of the RCMP which served as Canada’s military police during the Second World War.
“We want to honour veterans period,” said Miller, who is sponsoring his wife’s two great-uncles from the First World War.
“Putting a face to a name is another way of passing the torch for remembrance for the next generation, and for the school kids, every year they’re going to be doing research and this helps to put a tool chest in the Social Studies teachers education for history,” said Miller.
He said the $225 price secures the banner’s raising for about four or five years depending on how it wears. After that time, the sponsor will get first right of refusal to buy another one. If a person doesn’t, someone on standby will get a banner raised.
The City of Lethbridge purchased the hardware for the banners and granted permission to use light posts for the banners.
“Everyone is eligible as long as they’ve served,” added Miller.
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