Banner project honours veterans with local connection

By Lethbridge Herald on October 9, 2024.

Herald photo by Al Beeber Salute Our Veterans banners are seen on 4 Ave. S. on Tuesday.

Al Beeber
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

With Remembrance Day a month away, Lethbridge residents have probably seen banners flying on poles in various locations throughout the city.

Those banners, which recognize men and women who have served the country in its military, is an initiative of the Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch No. 4 and Lethbridge’s 702 Wing Royal Canadian Air Association, supported by the City of Lethbridge.

The “Salute Our Veterans” program acknowledges the sacrifices that Canadian service personnel have made so residents of this country can live in peace and enjoy the freedoms that so many have died to preserve.

It’s also a tool to educate people about those sacrifices.

The project was started in 2022 here with banners sponsored by families, businesses and others to honour and salute veterans who have served past and present.

Any veteran with a connection to Lethbridge can be portrayed on the banners and if a person doesn’t have a family member they can adopt one. Veterans are considered to be people who honorably served in the Canadian Armes Forces, the Commonwealth or wartime allies or as a regular member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or as a Peace Officer in a Special Duty area or on a Special Duty Operation, or who has served in the Merchant Navy or Ferry Command during wartime.

Ray Romses, chair of the project, said this week that in the first year, 80 banners were installed on poles in four different city locations.  Another 53 were added in 2023 and 32 more this year.

Those banners now hang in nine different locations across Lethbridge, including on the west side of the city. The most prominent locations may be on 4 Ave. S. near City Hall, by the old train station next to Park Place Mall and also near the Army, Navy & Airforce club and courthouse downtown.

Banners can also be seen near two high schools – Chinook in West Lethbridge and Winston Churchill on the northside. There are also banners at the north end of University Drive.

“We’re very pleased” with the community support, said Romses, noting the project is nearing its limit. But applications for 2025 are now being accepted; they must be received no later than June 30 of next year. 

The person honoured must have a connection to Lethbridge and if alive must provide consent.

Contact information is available on the project’s website https://lethbridgeveteransbanners.ca

People and groups that sponsored the banners were assured they would be installed for at least three years but so far the material used for them has stayed in good shape and Romses expects they’ll be put up as long as they remain in good condition and the  City lets the project continue. 

Banners are put in different locations each year so every veteran being honoured gets the chance to be seen in a prominent location.

Not only are the banners flown, they can also be viewed virtually at the project’s website which has a gallery of all the people on them. By clicking on a name, a person will see a virtual banner and details of the individual. 

The website also shows where each banner has been hung this year.

The cost of sponsoring a banner is $225 but Romses says donations from individuals and others pays for the cost of the installation which requires a hoist truck so they can be installed on the City-supplied hardware.

Not only does the project honour veterans, it provides a way of ensuring that the community continues to remember their efforts and sacrifices and to promote remembrance in the city.