he City of Norwich DPW has begun hanging the Hometown Heroes banners honoring past and current veterans in downtown Norwich. Committee members hope to have all 60-plus banners hung by July 4. An unveiling ceremony for the banners will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 14 in Norwich's East Park. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — More than 60 banners honoring former and current service members will be put on display on light poles throughout the City of Norwich over the next few weeks.

A ceremony to unveil the banners, and explain the past and future of the program, will be held on Flag Day, Wednesday, June 14 at 10 a.m. in Norwich's East Park.

The ceremony will also feature guest speakers as well as biographical information and banner displays of three local Civil War veterans honored on the banners: William Guernsey, Elisha B. Smith, and Benjamin Tillett.

"The Chenango County Historical Society greatly appreciates the opportunity to be a 'Hometown Heroes' partner organization," said CCHS Executive Director Jessica Moquin. "These new banners are essentially public exhibits which pay tribute to those who have served our country."

The 30-inch by seven-foot banners will feature current or former service members both living and deceased, who are current or former residents of the Norwich City School District, and will include their name, branch of service, and photo on the front and back.

The Norwich Hometown Heroes committee received over 100 applications for veterans to be featured on the banners, and estimate they will be able to display more than 60 at a time. The group worked to ensure veterans from the every war, except the Revolutionary War, every branch of service, living and deceased, and male and female, were represented on the banners.

"We covered all the wars, except for the Revolutionary War," said Director of Veterans Services and Hometown Heroes Committee Member Joe Coe. "Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Saudi, Iraq, Afghanistan, War on Terror, and we've got veterans that are deceased, and veterans that are current, or are serving. All branches of service, male and female."

"We wanted to make it as diverse [as possible], and we didn't want all in one family. We wanted to make sure we spread the names of the veterans and not identify just one family, because there's a lot of veterans from Norwich of various families that we'd have a dozen of them, and we didn't want to do that. So we made it as diverse as we possibly can," he added.

Banners will be displayed on every other pole down South and North Broad Street, from McDonald's to the north city limits, along East and West Main Street from the VFW to Guernsey Memorial Library, and in the historic district from the North Broad and Rexford Street intersection down to Silver Street.

The committee has been working on this project since February of this year, after securing funding for the banners and hardware to hang them from a private donor.

The City of Norwich Department of Public Works (DPW) offered to hang the banners at no cost to the community, and going forward the banners will be maintained by the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID). Applications and extra banners will be preserved in the Chenango County Historian's Office for future use.

The DPW began hanging the banners last week. Due to construction beginning in downtown Norwich, there may be some delay in getting all the banners displayed. Hometown Heroes Committee Member John Antonowicz said the goal is to have all banners hung by July 4.

Coe said the committee plans to rotate the banners on an annual basis, putting them up on Flag Day each year, and taking them down for the winter each year on Veterans Day.

"We have selected Flag Day each year to present new banners and rotate the banners on a yearly basis, so that they will be up on Flag Day and down on Veterans Day," he explained. "The hangers will stay in place, and we've got provisions to replace them as needed. We also have provisions to replace any damaged banners."


The Hometown Heroes banner program is completely free to apply and participate. Veterans who would like to be displayed on a Hometown Heroes banner, or individuals who would like to nominate a friend or family member for a banner, can apply for the next round by picking up an application at Wednesday's ceremony.

The nominated or applying veteran must be a current or former resident of the Norwich City School District, and either honorably discharged from a branch of service or currently serving on active duty.

Proof of service is also required, and may include a DD-214, Certificate of Service, death certificate, or obituary. The committee also requires biographical information such as name, rank, awards, branch and years of service, and a photo of the veteran, preferably in uniform. If no such photo is available, formal photos of the veteran or their branch of service's logo may be used instead at the committee's discretion.

Applications can be emailed to norwichnyhometownheroes@gmail.com or mailed to the Chenango County Historian's Office c/o Norwich Hometown Heroes, 43 Rexford Street, Norwich, NY, 13815.

Antonowicz said those who applied for the first round of banners but weren't selected do not need to apply again; Past applicants will be added to the pool of applications for future banners.

"With the offerings we’ve received, and going forward, I don’t see this ever to fail. I don’t see this ever to dwindle. If anything, it’s going to expand," said Coe. "So it’s an interest within those communities to represent and distinguish those veterans in the community. So here we are with that. I look forward to this for many years to come."


The Hometown Heroes program is a nationwide organization that aims to honor past and present members of the Armed Forces, first responders, and their family members. More information can be found at HometownHeroesBanners.com.

The Norwich Hometown Heroes Committee is made up of Director of Veterans Services and Retired Air Force Veteran Joe Coe, CCHS Archives and Collections Coordinator Zachary Greenfield, Hospice of Chenango County Director of Volunteers and Outreach and member of the We Honor Veterans Program Sarah Green, Deputy County Historian John Antonowicz, community member and relative of local veterans Nancy Sawyer, local historian and author Sharon Donahe, Retired Air Force Veteran Tom Ryan, Chenango County Historian Henry Drexler, Retired Army Veteran Jim Cushman, and BID Administrator and Air Force Veteran Tracy Chawgo.

For more information, visit the Norwich Hometown Heroes Program, Norwich, NY Facebook page.