Hometown heroes

Some onlookers took cell phone photos. Others recalled their loved one’s sacrifices and wartime heroics. Overall, it was a time to pay tribute to current and former Middlesex Borough residents who have served in the military on Friday, July 11 when 30 Hometown Heroes banners were unveiled outside of the Ronald S. Dobies municipal building.

About 50 people, including borough officials and family members of the service members depicted on the banners, turned out for the debut and brief comments by Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk.

For display purposes, the 18-by-36-inch banners were hung on a railing at the ceremony. Next week, the Department of Public Works (DPW) will hang them in their formal home on the new Route 28 streetscape poles in the Middlesex High School vicinity.

The banners incorporate gold into a red, white and blue color scheme giving them an eye-catching quality. Hometown Heroes banners have been hung on streetscapes in other Central Jersey towns in recent years.

The thirty banners include six World War II veterans and four active duty service members, with other honorees running the gamut of U.S. military operations during the years in between. Those conflicts include the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War and Global War on Terrorism.

All of the veterans depicted live currently in Middlesex Borough or resided here in the past. Families paid about $100 apiece for the banners, with the borough supplying the manpower to hang and care for them.

“These veterans deserve our gratitude for their service and sacrifice,” Mikolajczyk said, while addressing attendees. “This banner program is a way to acknowledge their contributions to our freedom and the nation’s well-being. These honorees are ordinary people who responded in extraordinary ways when duty called. As a community, we have a responsibility to ‘never forget.’ “

Councilman Robert Dessino advocated for the banners in recent years after other towns hung them. He credited Borough Administrator Michael LaPlace, the Recreation Department and DPW Superintendent Len Vidal for their efforts to bring the program to Middlesex.

“Lenny rally ran with this,” Dessino said of Vidal.

Vidal said the banners will be temporarily taken down in the closing months of each year to allow for holiday decorations, but then be rehung.

The banners were clearly a hit with those gathered for the unveiling. Officials said they see Hometown Heroes as an ongoing project with expansion potential.

The borough intends to pursue funding to expand on the completed Route 28 streetscape improvements. If successful, that will add more light poles on which additional banners could be hung.

Banners might also be hung at Victor Crowell Park and along Lincoln Boulevard, according to officials.

Reminder

Subscribe to Inside – Middlesex. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It is absolutely free.

Visit Inside – Middlesex on our Facebook page.