A Royal Canadian Legion branch in Windsor is remembering local veterans.
Branch #255 on Wyandotte Street at Villaire Avenue has put up 50 banners on both sides of Wyandotte Street East, between Thompson and Glidden to commemorate veterans with ties to the Windsor area.
Marty Flanagan is with The Veteran Banner Project Team and says this is the second year for the initiative after 25 banners were installed in 2022.
Flanagan says the banners can be seen on light posts and in store fronts.
"We asked some of the families to give us a bio of some of the veterans and that bio is going to be in the window as well, so not only will you see the banner maybe up on the pole or in the store but you'll get an idea of what this veteran had done," he says.
50 banners have been installed on both sides of Wyandotte Street East, between Thompson and Glidden to commemorate veterans with ties to the Windsor area, September 12, 2023 (Photo by AM800's Rob Hindi)
Flanagan says he would like to work with the city to expand the project.
"My overall dream is to have it from the legion here, all the way down to the Cenotaph, in front of Metro or where the old Riverside Arena used to be," says Flanagan. "That is my goal."
Flanagan says Windsor's military history is deep.
"It's something that we should be proud of," he says. "When you sign up for the military, it's that old cliche line, you sign a blank cheque to your country up and to including life and the fact that these folks have done that, it should not be forgotten."
The banners went up last Sunday and will stay up until Nov. 12.
The legion worked with The Olde Riverside BIA, ENWIN Utilities and the city on the project.
50 banners have been installed on both sides of Wyandotte Street East, between Thompson and Glidden to commemorate veterans with ties to the Windsor area, September 12, 2023 (Photo by AM800's Rob Hindi)