By Debby Hepburn
One of my favorite public celebrations of our local shared history is currently on beautiful display, which I adore seeing, as I walk and drive around Oneida County.
Beginning in May, in time for Memorial Day and ending after Veterans Day in November, our Hometown Heroes greet us as we live our lives in whatever ways we choose, beneficiaries of their selfless service.
Their faces, all so young, look out at us; some smile, while others solemnly stare at the camera.
I wonder about and want to know what they had experienced or what they were about to experience and how their lives be would affected by what they did, by what they saw, by what friends they would lose, and by what those years would do and mean to them, if they were able to survive and to return home one day.
For most of them, we, their fortunate families, know what happened to them: They came home, married, had children, as many of us are lovingly aware, worked, and lived their lives, while contributing to their communities, crucially and caringly.
Often, they were heroes who didn’t particularly feel like heroes because they knew how terrible war truly is, with its ultimate cost at its core, in ways the rest of us will never understand or experience.
They didn’t glorify war, for they lived its sad and tragic necessity, or did as their country decided, bearing their burdens valiantly and humbly.
These Hometown Heroes could never have imagined or envisioned that they would be honored in such a respectful and profoundly moving way.
I love looking at their red, white, and blue banners festooning the light and utility poles in the towns I most frequently drive to or through, including New Hartford, specifically, Washington Mills where I live, Clinton where I taught, and Waterville, home of our illustrious Times, as well as Utica, Rome, Whitestown, Whitesboro, and New York Mills, to name some Oneida County locations.
In Oneida County alone, there are over 750 banners, as of January 2024, with ...
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