We acknowledge individuals who have served in the Armed Forces from time to time during the year, specifically on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. This recognition is meant to remind us of the time many have committed to service. The number of veterans from this area is quite significant and their service reminds us of the extent to which members of our communities have contributed to America’s Armed Forces. We all have friends and family who deserve recognition for their efforts.

Recently a project being run by a volunteer committee through American Legion Post 36 in Boothbay has taken recognition a step further, establishing the “Boothbay Region Veterans’ Banner Program.” The program is designed to honor all veterans who served from 1941 through the present day, particularly those Killed in Action. All veterans are welcome to participate from the four peninsula towns – Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb and Southport. A banner in recognition of a loved one, friend or relative, can be purchased by contacting a committee member listed below.

The banners are 30” x 60” and cost $125 which includes hardware for mounting. They will be mounted on telephone poles before Memorial Day and will be taken down after Veterans Day annually, starting in May 2024. However, 62 banners, already produced, will all go up Nov. 1 for a month and come down for the winter. To date, 110 banners have been created or ordered for the May 1 date.

Well-known local veteran Jim Singer and Southport resident Sarah Sherman, shown in the accompanying photograph, have been instrumental in the promotion of this program. Jim served as a Marine Corps infantry officer on active duty from October 1966 through December 1969 and the active reserves until 1976. Sarah now works with the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services as director of strategic partnerships.

If interested in the Banner Program, contact: Jim Singer, chairman, Southport (207-751-8540); Sue Burge, Boothbay and East Boothbay (207-350-1581); Phil Chapman, Boothbay Harbor (207-380-7020); Joel Morley, Edgecomb (207-798-1288); and Sarah Sherman, Southport (207-633-7161).

This program is a remembrance project and is an opportunity for our community to honor our neighbors who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both living and those who have passed away. 

Please contact one of the representatives if you are interested and be on the lookout for banners displayed this November.