Every day for the next three years or so will be Veterans Day in Herculaneum.
The city has installed banners featuring veterans and current military members on light poles around the city.
Mayor Bill Haggard said 35 of the banners, each 24-by-42 inches, have been installed, with another 45 on the way and 20 more on order.
“We just need to get brackets to put up on more poles,” he said. “But we still have room for more.”
Haggard said he first envisioned the banners lining Joachim Avenue, one of the major thoroughfares through the city.
“But this has gotten so big it’s spilling onto Main Street, Broadway, St. Joseph, Mott Street, Hill Street and Scenic Drive,” he said.
Haggard said he got the idea for the banners about five years ago, but shelved it because he didn’t think many people would participate.
“Then, last summer, after we formed our community events committee, they were looking for a fundraising idea, and I suggested the banners,” he said. “The idea is that we wouldn’t make a lot of money, but we will get some to pay for community events like Movies in the Park.”
Veterans, current military members or their families may arrange to have a banner printed up for $75. The banners include a photo of the subject in uniform and information about his or her military service.
After the banners are displayed for three years, they will be given to the people who purchased them, Haggard said.
“I had no idea this would be this popular,” he said. “And people should know they can order more than one banner. One person ordered four more for her grandchildren.”
The city gets the banners from Precision Graphics in Pevely.
“If you’ve already ordered one and want one for yourself, you can go to them and they can arrange it for the same ($75) price,” Haggard said.
He stressed that banners can be purchased for any veteran, regardless of whether he or she ever lived in Herculaneum.
“We have some from Festus, Crystal City, Pevely – and Arkansas, Texas and Ohio,” he said. “We’ll take them from wherever we can get the word out.”
Banners hit around town
One of the honorees, Tim Ohnesorge, 76, of Herculaneum, said he’s pleased with his banner.
“I think the banners came out great,” said Ohnesorge, the second vice commander for the state Amvets organization. “I didn’t have a photo of me in my uniform, but they used one of me in my Amvets uniform in front of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.”
He said he served in the Army from 1965 to 1967, the last two years stationed in Vietnam.
“I was 21 years old and excited,” he said of his service. “But I soon learned I was in a world that I didn’t want to be part of. I worked on military aircraft and was in a combat situation everyday while I was there.”
Ohnesorge said his wife, Mary Lynn, arranged for the banner. It’s next to one for her brother, Billy Naucke, and her father, William Naucke.
Ohnesorge said the banners are a definite hit.
“I think they’ll fill just about every light post in the city,” he said. “The other day at the Amvets, a lady was looking out the front door and said, ‘This is pretty cool. My husband’s out there.’ These banners mean something to people.”
Jim Bates, 69, of Herculaneum, agreed.
“I think Bill Haggard hit it out of the park with these banners,” he said.
Bates, his brother, Bill, and sister, Joan Hill, went in together to get one for their dad, the late Nicholas Bates, who served in the Navy during World War II and was the first municipal judge in Herculaneum, serving in that post for 25 years.
“It’s great to see him honored in this community,” Jim Bates said. “I see it every time I go by on my way to home.”
Nicholas Bates’ banner is next to one for his brother, Paul, who also served in World War II, Jim Bates added.
Leonard Worley, 61, of Festus, commander of the Herculaneum Amvets post, said he also is pleased with the banners.
“We’re very fortunate to live in a community that really respects veterans,” he said. “Bill Haggard as mayor has always remembered the veterans. The city’s Veterans Day parade just keeps getting bigger.”
Worley served in the Air Force from 1987-1994 during the Operation Desert Storm era and was stationed in Germany for four years and the state of Washington for three years as a civil engineer.
He said he plans to arrange for his own banner, adding that at least 15 members of his post already have done so.
“I’ve heard a lot of great feedback on the banners. I think more of our members are going to sign up for them,” he said.
“It’s important that they’re being honored in their community. When we all signed up for the service, we did so not only out of duty to our country, but to protect our communities.
“That’s why the Amvets is not just a veterans organization, but a community organization. We give scholarships to local high school students. We have a Helping Hands program that helps put in handicapped ramps for people. This town’s been through a lot, with the Doe Run (buyouts). But I think we’re on the upswing.”
Banner applications are available at Herculaneum City Hall, 1 Parkwood Court, or can be downloaded from the city’s website at cityofherculaneum.gov.