Lifelong Otisville resident and Vietnam War veteran Phil Adamson has long dreamed about putting up pole banners honoring veterans on his hometown streets.
Now, that dream is just a few short months away from coming true.
Last fall, Mr. Adamson and his wife, Lois Adamson, along with Mount Hope Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5497 Commander Mike Phillips and his wife, Heidi Phillips, finally got the ball rolling.
“Veterans have served all of us and enabled all Americans to enjoy the freedoms we hold today, so it is just the right thing to do,” Ms. Phillips told The Epoch Times regarding why she signed on as a volunteer.
Mr. Adamson, who joined the Navy at 18, told a personal story to drive the point home.
On the day his ship landed in Saigon during the Vietnam War, Ms. Adamson, a high schooler at the time, was having a good time at the popular performing arts center in Woodstock, New York.
“I was fighting there so that she could have fun here,” he said jokingly.
The veteran banner program, the first of its kind in the local area, gained the strong support of Otisville Mayor Brian Carey, who worked with VFW members to get the village and utility company on board.
“He really jumped on it for us, and he made sure that we got answers quickly,” Ms. Phillips said.
The program is open to any veteran, and each participating family will pay $100 for one banner, which will be made in high-quality vinyl with prints on both sides.
Hardware costs, between $25 and $50 for each banner, will be covered by donations.
Mr. Adamson said he aims to get 50 banner orders by March 1—20 or so have been received so far—so that he can have them installed on Highland Avenue before Memorial Day.
Poles around the Veterans Memorial Park will be reserved for veterans killed in action, he said.
The banners will be up throughout the summer until Veterans Day, when they will be taken off for protection during winter; the same banner schedule will repeat yearly.
Village public works staffers will assist with putting up and taking down the banners.
“Once people see them up there, we will get more banner orders,” Mr. Adamson told The Epoch Times, adding that he hoped to cover the poles in Howells in the future, too.
“For this program, there is no end date in sight,” Mr. Phillips added.
VFW Post 5497 members meet at 7 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month at the Mount Hope Senior Center.
