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Date: 4/12/2022
EASTHAMPTON – Orders are now being accepted for military banners displayed throughout the summer in downtown Easthampton as part of the city’s Military Banner Program.
Each year since 2017, Easthampton has honored veterans, active duty, reserve and National Guard members with military banners that are displayed from Memorial Day weekend until Veterans Day. Residents can sponsor a banner for $150, according to Easthampton Police Sgt. Chad Alexander.
The program in Easthampton began in 2017 after Alexander learned of a veteran-owned and operated company in Florida that made banners for families with military members in mind. The program is conducted all throughout the country, and has grown tremendously over the years.
According to Alexander, the banners sponsored in Easthampton are raised and scattered throughout downtown on Cottage Street, Union Street, Main Street, a short stretch up Park Street as well as Northampton Street until the Pearl Harbor Bridge.
“[The Florida company] creates the banners, they all get shipped to us, we hang them up the weekend before Memorial Day, so they are up before the parade,” said Alexander. “The families [who sponsored] get to keep the banner and do as they please with it once they come down after Veterans Day.”
Alexander told Reminder Publishing that some families donate the banners to the American Legion Club of Easthampton, while others choose to hang them up in their own house. Around 90 to 95 percent of sponsored banners are for people who are or were residents of Easthampton.
As for the money, Alexander said that most of it is donated to specific organizations in Easthampton that support veterans and active-duty members.
“Last year, we donated money to the Community Center, American Legion and a couple of other different charities that give back to veterans in town,” said Alexander. “Our veteran liaison actually went out and bought boots and socks for one homeless veteran in town.”
People who would like to sponsor a banner through this program have until May 1 to do so. Residents can visit https://militarytributebanners.org/massachusetts/easthampton-ma.html to learn how to sponsor one. Anyone with questions about the sponsoring process can contact Alexander at Calexander@easthamptonma.gov or 527-1212, ext. 1092.
According to Alexander, there are about 50 new spots for banners in this year’s program. He anticipates that the spots will be full within the next couple of weeks.
“We get to see so many people in town benefitting from this program,” said Alexander. “It’s always exciting to see.”