They said each of these veterans, and their families, sacrificed a lot in service to their country in conflicts dating back to the Civil War and that each one of them had a story. SLWCC members got to hear some of those stories in collaborating with the village government to install the banners this spring. They were moved by what they heard and connected “viscerally” with the selflessness it took.

“This is just the beginning,” SLWCC Treasurer Marty Lawthers said.

They’ll continue accepting applications on a rolling basis. Every year, they will add new banners. Each banner will hang for two years and then be returned to the sponsor.

Applications can be found online at tinyurl.com/2p8y8z3z, in person at the Saranac Lake Veterans Memorial Association at 202 Broadway or by emailing womenscivicchamber@gmail.com.

Zoe Bliss and Maximus Martin, both 5, wave flags as they walk in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday.(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“Serving in the military means answering a call to duty, putting aside personal goals and working to protect something much bigger than oneself,” Lawthers said.

She said soldiers’ families make sacrifices, too.

“Their support is just as important as the service itself,” she said.

Patti McGrath, who read through many of the applications, said the process was “so moving.”

One of the first applications she read was for Lawrence A. Roberts, a Saranac Laker who was killed in action on D-Day — June 6, 1944 — fighting on Omaha Beach in the Allied invasion of Normandy, France.

Noah Kramer, Landon Jacques, Fennway Amo and Luke Reynolds from the Saranac Lake Youth Baseball and Softball Association grin as they walk in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“We go around in life, kind of keeping to ourselves,” McGrath said. “But people walk around with a lot of heavy stuff on their shoulders. It makes you realize what people live with.”

On Monday, they read the names of the 117 veterans with local connections — from William P. “Bill” Allen to William “Bill” Wigger.

The only photo the family had of World War II veteran Bill Allen was one of him with his wife Norma. But his family told the organizers to not crop the photo, saying Norma she was “the glue that held it all together.”

During the parade, SLWCC member Diana Gill was meeting people who had sponsored banners. One woman, who bought a banner for her father, said that he visited town on Monday and was surprised with a banner honoring his service.

“He was tickled,” Gill said.

Emmett VanBuskirk plays the national anthem on baritone saxophone with the Saranac Lake High School band at the Memorial Day ceremony in Riverside Park on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

She saw the wives of veterans holding the photos going on the banners to their heart.

“The phone calls were never short,” Gill said, adding that the SLWCC members enjoyed talking to the families and hearing their stories.

One woman who bought a banner honoring Ellsworth Eugene “Red” Wilcox shared a column from Enterprise historian Howard Riley which included a photo of Wilcox and his twin brother Ellwood Gene “Twin” Wilcox grinning in their Navy uniforms. The two look very young to be sailors. Ellsworth’s son Craig told Riley the two had lied about their age to join the military.

Another woman who filed an application said that her family member and many others lied about their age to the military during WWII, left high school and finished their schooling after they returned from their service.

The program also made connections within families.

Wren waves flags as she marches with the Girl Scouts in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Dan Sullivan wrote the SLWCC a letter in which he called the program the “match” that sparked his family to research and find pictures of their relatives they had never seen before. He described how he and his family members were visiting their local libraries as far-flung as Maryland, Puerto Rico and California to dig up old photos and share them with each other.

They also said the program brought about new connections between the VFW and the community.

Lawthers said organizing the program gave her a new, patriotic perspective on veterans’ decision to serve something beyond themself.

“The saying, ‘Thank you for your service,’ is not hackneyed,” Lawthers said.

She also said it gave her a new perspective on the government’s care for its veterans after they return from war.

Shannon Peckham walks LeRoy in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“It makes me even more disturbed at how poorly we treat the veterans afterwards,” Lawthers said. “The low funding of their healthcare, we should be ashamed of.”

Village Mayor Jimmy Williams read a mayoral proclamation commending the banner program and asked the audience to take a moment to appreciate how beautiful life is. He got emotional as he said this is the way to honor the people who gave their lives in the military.

VFW Post 3357 Chaplain Jimmy Law prayed that the families know their sacrifice was not made in vain.

“May we always remember their sacrifices and strive to honor their legacy by living lives worthy of their selflessness,” Law said.

To see a list of the veterans on the banners and where to find each banner, go to tinyurl.com/3yu27mtc.

Sponsoring a banner costs $225 and covers the printing of the banner, brackets to hang it and shipping.

Any military member — currently serving, honorably discharged, retired or deceased — can get a banner.

The banners are not only for village residents. They can be for current or past village residents, family members or someone who means something special to a resident — like a soldier they served with.

To read more about the origins of the Hometown Heroes program, go to tinyurl.com/yu4xmym7.

Emily Bartiss and Abby Walkow play the cymbals with the Saranac Lake High School band as they walk in the Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Kaylee Corris, 10, rides on Ben Clark’s shoulders as they walk in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Isabella Adams, 7, holds hands with Marcy Adams as they walk in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Tomi Pickering waves flags as she marches with the Girl Scouts in the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Michael Kidder plays the trumpet with the Saranac Lake High School band as they walk in the Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Jakkson Kunath, 3, waves a flag with Alexis Smith as they watch the Saranac Lake Memorial Day parade on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)