Military Tribute Banners To Be Displayed This Spring

HARWICH – The town is launching a Military Tribute Banner Program that will honor Harwich veterans and military active-duty members with banners displayed on public utility poles. 

 The program was presented to the select board last June, and the details have now been finalized, according to Assistant Town Administrator Jim Mulcahy. Each banner follows a standard design featuring the honoree’s photograph, name, military branch and years of service. The banners will be displayed along town roadways just before Memorial Day through Veteran’s Day each year, said Mulcahy.

The banners are provided through the Military Tribute Banner Program. Each banner measures 30 by 48 inches and is double-sided, with different graphics on each side. The banners will cost $180 for each seasonal display. Cost will be applied uniformly to every banner regardless of the honoree or sponsor and paid for by the sponsoring family or organization. 

The initial plan was to place the banners on utility poles in Harwich Center and along Route 28 in Harwich Port. But the recent placement of American flags on the poles in Harwich Center, a tight traffic corridor, resulted in larger box trucks hitting the brackets from which the flags were extended and knocking them from the poles, according to Town Administrator Jay McGrail. 

The plan now is to place the flags along Route 28 from Harwich Port to Saquatucket Harbor on poles that are set back from the road lanes, said McGrail. 

Families and sponsors who wish to honor veterans can order banners online, said Mulcahy. The town of Harwich website will include a link to a Harwich page on the Military Banner Program website, where orders can be placed. The payment of $180 per banner can be made by check payable to the town of Harwich, either mailed or delivered to the treasurer/tax collector's office, said Mulcahy. 

Mulcahy said anyone having trouble placing an order can contact him at town hall.