Veterans honoured on special banners in N.B. town

As Remembrance Day approaches, a New Brunswick town is honouring its veterans in a unique way.

Dozens of colourful banners will adorn streetlights in St. George, each will include the name and service photo of a local veteran.

“I love them. I swear I’m going to have an accident because every night when I drive home I look up to see if they’ve changed,” says local shop owner Winnie Paul. “I think it’s wonderful.”

Robert Melanson says his father is among those honoured on the banners. Edward Melanson served in the Second World War.

“What I like about it is they’re just ordinary people, they’re local people,” says Robert Melanson. “They made a big difference in the world but they’re just ordinary Joe Blow citizens from the local area.”

Melanson got the idea for the tribute during a recent visit to a town in Pennsylvania. He thought a similar initiative would work well in St. George and gained support from the local Masonic Lodge and St. George Legion.

The legion says the banners are piquing curiousity among all ages.

“A lot of kids are reading this stuff too, eh,” says Legion Branch President Jim Hanley. “You’d be surprised how many children are reading it from elementary up to high school, so they’re thinking ‘that may be a relative of mine’ if they see the last name.”

Every streetlight on Main Street is now spoken for.

“Initially, we put up just 22 of them, but since then we’ve had such a demand that we’ve ordered another 36 and we’re still getting orders,” says Melanson.

He has also been taking calls from other communities across the country that want to pay a similar tribute to their veterans next year.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron