TodayCounty honors hometown heroes
Banners to be flown from Memorial Day through Veterans Day
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Article RatingCumberland County commissioners were confronted with a dilemma late last year when Peggy Morrison asked them to honor her son and other county residents killed while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How can you honor men and women who died for their country during an ongoing war without establishing a potentially difficult precedent?
They unveiled their solution Thursday, announcing that seven banners displaying the names of those killed will be flown on lampposts in the Carlisle Square from Memorial Day through Veterans Day.
It will mirror the “Hometown Heroes” display that flew in Harrisburg from May to October last year.
Morrison, who lives in Newville, thanked the commissioners during their meeting Thursday morning. Her son, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Morrison, was killed in Iraq in 2001.
“I’m not going to let anybody forget my son or anybody else who died,” she said.
The seven banners, each about 30 by 60 inches, will list the soldiers’ service, rank, hometown, age, day they were killed and where they were killed. They will also display their pictures.
Morrison is part of American Gold Star Mothers, a national organization for mothers who have lost a son or daughter serving in the military. Its Pennsylvania chapter is asking every county to help honor the fallen men and women.
Local veterans’ posts will pay for the full cost of the banners.
Initial concern
The commissioners were concerned in December that creating the display would set a difficult precedent.
An open-ended commitment could mean trouble later, especially if the country fought a war that killed thousands of county residents, they said.
Commissioner Rick Rovegno said the commissioners never hesitated to honor the troops, they just needed to think through a way “to honor all veterans in a consistent and uniform way.”
Neal Delisanti, county director of veterans affairs, said after talking with Morrison and local veterans’ groups, he found a solution he was happy with.
“It’s always a good to honor someone’s service to the country, especially when they give the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.
Morrison originally asked for nine flags to fly in honor of deceased soldiers, but Delisanti said the county decided to fly seven for the proper degree of recognition.
One of the requests came for a person who had long since moved out of the county, he said, and another was killed while serving in the military but away from a war zone.
The banners will be unveiled as part of the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Veterans’ Memorial Courtyard.
