‘Hometown Heroes’ starting to appear on New Philadelphia light posts
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (June 5, 2023) – The New Philadelphia VFW was trying to line Broadway with images of local military veterans for Memorial Day but missed the goal by a couple of days.
Post Commander Steve Chenevey says their inaugural batch of Hometown Hero banners will still be going up but arrived too late to debut for the holiday.
“We got ’em back Friday at noon and got them over to Phila but by then since it was a long weekend they didn’t have enough employees to put them up.”
The VFW printed 31 Hometown Heroes banners for veterans whose loved ones nominated them for the honor. City workers were out in the heat later last week hanging them on the light posts south of the square and have been working their way toward Fair Avenue. Service Director Ron McAbier said the display was shaping up nicely Friday and should be well worth the wait.
“What a nice way to come into downtown on the Broadway side.”
The banners will come back down after Veterans Day in November and go on display at VFW’s Park Avenue headquarters. Chenevey says they’re planning to keep the recognition going and honor another batch of Hometown Heroes next summer.