A BANNER PROJECT
Banners to be hung that honor area’s veterans
TROY, N.Y.>> The Collar City will soon show its patriotism in a new way, with banners lining the streets honoring local veterans.
A Troy Military Banners kick off party was held Sunday afternoon at American Legion Post 1489 in Wynantskill, at which supporters celebrated the city’s veterans, along with the success of this new project.
The initiative started last fall as an idea from District 6 city Councilman John Donohue. At the time, a committee was formed and there were a few dozen veterans in mind to feature through the program.
Since then, the number of banners ordered has grown to more than 200. They will start popping up in neighborhoods around the city later this month in time for Memorial Day. The banners will be on display through Veterans Day, then re-hung for the season in 2018.
In collecting applications for the Troy Military Banners, which cost $150 each to be made and displayed for three years, committee member Joanne McCarthy said she’s seen generations of veterans, as well as sib-
lings.
So far, veterans on the banners have served in almost every major war in American history, dating back to the Civil War.
Some of the veterans, like Jim Margo, still live in the community today. Margo served in the U.S. Army and National Guard from 1970 to 1994.
“We truly have heroes quietly walking among us,” McCarthy said.
Margo and his sister Lynda Miele are also sponsoring a banner for their father, U. S. Navy veteran Frank Margo, as a way to honor him.
The Margos’ banners will hang next to each other in Troy’s downtown district.
Through this new initiative, McCarthy said, committee members are pulling a piece of Troy history together that hasn’t been presented before.
“It’s been a labor of love, and we’re very, very happy to honor your loved ones,” she said to the crowd at Sunday’s event.
This party served as an opportunity to raise funds, morale and awareness about the Troy Military Banners. The hall was full with supporters, including veterans,
The Margos’ banners will hang next to each other in Troy’s downtown district.
their families and sponsors. Donohue recalled howthe project started, when he noticed a similar banner display in Watervliet and wondered if it could be done in Troy. “Well guess what? We did it,” he said, thanking the committee for making it happen. “I’m so impressed,” he said of the city’s patriotic spirit. “Every banner we put up, there’s a huge story behind it,” Donohue continued. “This is how we can show what they’ve done, show the world, show the city of Troy.” At the event, The Record announced that every Sunday from Memorial Day through Veterans Day, it will feature some of the veterans honored on the new banners, by running their banner images and biographies in the newspaper and online. “This is amazing how far it’s come from last fall to now,” said Troy’s Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski, thanking the committee for their work over the past several months. “It’s really kind of great to see this history being displayed in our city,” she said, noting that it will help residents understand how many locals sacrificed for their country.
Later in the event, Kurzejeski won a banner in the Chinese auction, then donated it to honor a homeless veteran.
One special banner will showcase a non-military member: Troy native Samuel Wilson, better known as the patriotic symbol of “Uncle Sam.”
For more information on the program or to get an application for a banner, visit the committee’s Facebook page email TroyBanners@gmail.com.