Banner project: Mt. Morris community pays tribute to its veterans
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Banners hung along the streets of Mt. Morris pay tribute to residents who served our country from World War II through today.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Banners honoring Mt. Morris veterans Donald R. Eddy and his son, Norman Eddy, hang on a telephone pole outside Norman’s home. Just down the street, a banner pays tribute to Eddy’s father-in-law, Charles T. Bellis, who served in the U.S. Army.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Frank Basile, Mt. Morris fire Chief, stands in front of the veterans memorial outside the fire hall. Basile was inspired to launch the town’s veteran banner project after seeing similar tributes in Bobtown and neighboring communities.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Frank Basile, Mt. Morris fire Chief, stands in front of the veterans memorial outside the fire hall. Basile was inspired to launch the town’s veteran banner project after seeing similar tributes in Bobtown and neighboring communities.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A veteran tribute banner honoring Mt. Morris Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Frank Basile’s father, Carl Basile, hangs near the fire station in Mt. Morris.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Along with 132 banners honoring specific veterans, a military tribute for all Mt. Morris vets hangs just outside the town’s fire station. The fire station is also home to a memorial for all townsfolk who have served this country.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The streets of Mt. Morris are lined in military tribute banners honoring residents who have served the country.
Courtesy Ruth Haines
Seven of the eight Long brothers of Mt. Morris served in the U.S. military, including four who served during World War II.
On the main street and side roads in Mt. Morris, tall blue banners hang two by two from utility poles and streetlights.
Each banner – 132 in all – bears the picture of a military veteran from the Greene County town, along with their name, military branch, and the conflict in which they served.
For Mt. Morris, the banners are a way to honor the people who served and to keep their stories alive.
Frank Basile, a Mt. Morris supervisor and assistant fire chief, spearheaded the veterans banner project after seeing veterans banners on display in Bobtown, a neighboring community. He kept noticing them in towns he drove through.
Basile, whose father, Carl Basile, is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army, was moved by the banners.
“I thought this is something Mt. Morris needed. It was a way to honor and thank those who served, and to commemorate our folks who aren’t around anymore,” said Basile.
Beginning in June, Basile and Christy DaFonzo, manager of the James T. Maxon American Legion Post 992’s Sons of the American Legion, encouraged veterans’ families to sponsor banners for their loved ones, and the community enthusiastically embraced the project.
“We basically put it out on Facebook, and Christy and I carried registration forms around. Word got out and the response from people was incredible,” said Basile. “It really took off. The more banners we hung, the more orders we got.”
Basile carefully chose the placement of each banner, making sure it was positioned near the veteran’s home or former home, place of business, or paired with other family members who had served their country.
Driving through town and looking up at the faces is an indescribable feeling, said Laura Lemley, whose late husband, Robert M. Lemley, served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later was assigned to the U.S. Constabulary.
“It’s just something that’s unbelievable. I look up at the pictures and I know every one of those people who are up there. When I look at them, I can hardly control myself,” said Lemley.
The banners will be on display through Veterans Day, and then will be taken down to limit wear and tear until Memorial Day.
Through the project, Mt. Morris has rediscovered the role some of its hometown heroes played in history.
On Locust Avenue extension hangs a banner of Paul Hughes Sr., who survived the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Beside it is a banner featuring his son, Paul Hughes Jr., a Vietnam War veteran.
One special banner bears the names of seven Long brothers, the sons of the Rev. Walter and Fannie Long, who served in the armed forces. Four of the brothers served during World War II, including Joseph Long of Oregon, who survives. The oldest of the brothers, Joseph Long was a member of the West Virginia National Guard and was assigned to the U.S. Atomic Plant in Richland, Wash., and served in Casablanca, French Morocco.
James Long, who went on to be a pastor, served with the 97th Chemical Co. is Europe, where he participated in five campaigns.
John Long served with the 96th Division in Leyte and on Okinawa, where he was twice wounded and received the Bronze Star.
David Long served in the U.S. Navy and also was at Leyte, where he was wounded by an exploding shell while serving as a pointer on turret guns.
Another banner bears the name of James T. Maxon, who was killed in action in World War II and for whom the Mt. Morris American Legion is named.
Basile also created a banner in honor of all veterans from the Mt. Morris area that features the veterans memorial located in front of the Mt. Morris Township Volunteer Fire Department.
“We wanted to make sure that not one single person wasn’t recognized,” said Basile.
Basile marvels that a town that is home to about 625 people fields so many banners.
Basile credits Lemley and Ruth Haines, whose late husband, G. Russel Haines, served in the U.S. Army as a Morse code translator during World War II, for sharing stories about veterans from the World War II generation – stories he didn’t know.
“We learned some neat things and ran across a lot of facts we didn’t know. There are people in Mt. Morris who I didn’t have a clue that served in the military. There are families whose fathers, sons, and grandsons have served,” he said.
Basile said FASTSIGNS in Uniontown worked to restore many of the banner photos, which had been worn and tattered, and he thanked Perry Township for lending its lifting equipment so that Basile could install the signs.
Over the past months, the banner project has become a source of pride for Mt. Morris residents.
Though many of the veterans from Mt. Morris are no longer alive, the banners help ensure they won’t be forgotten, said Lemley.
“I’m so glad we can honor them. The whole community is grateful to Frankie for taking this on. It means so much to us,” said Lemley. “I hope everyone will come and see and it love it as much as we do.”