Photos by Matt de Simone
By Matt de Simone
When traveling through Buchanan’s downtown district, look up to see tributes to Buchanan’s Hometown Heroes. There are currently 136 banners honoring the town’s military veterans that can all be seen along Main Street and Lowe Street and other surrounding areas downtown.
Last month, Buchanan resident and U.S. Army veteran Carroll Boblett, with help from S&N Communications, completed the banner project.
The banners were purchased by family and/or friends of Buchanan’s military veterans who are honoring them for their service. Each banner includes the veteran’s name, photograph, service branch, rank, era of service, and any special commendations or awards received.
A decade ago, Boblett visited White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. and it was there where he came up with the idea to display banners honoring Buchanan’s veterans in town. After getting permission from town and from local communication service providers to use the poles, it took Boblett and company about two years to complete the project, which finished up last month.
“I noticed (White Sulphur Springs) looked just like Buchanan does now with all of the banners hung up everywhere,” Boblett said in a recent interview. “I called the town and asked them about the banners. I assumed that the town had put them up, but they said, ‘No, we didn’t do it. The town’s veterans did it.’”
Boblett said the town gave him the names in charge of the program in White Sulphur Springs. After speaking with the town’s veterans who helped raise its banners, Boblett spoke with Buchanan Town Council and Buchanan’s Hometown Heroes program officially began.
The banners were made by Holiday Outdoor Décor based out of Bethlehem, Pa., the same manufacturer who made the veterans banners in White Sulphur Springs.
“When you see something like this in another town, you start thinking, ‘Why don’t we do this?’” Boblett added. “I couldn’t have been the first person to ever think about that, but it made a lot of people and that’s the main thing. A lot of the descendants and veterans were overjoyed to see it.”
Charles Alphin, a local veteran and member of American Legion Post 93, recently shared his appreciation for the town’s banner project. “Carroll Boblett and the members of American Legion Post 93 are very pleased with the community’s overwhelming support for the banner program. The banners serve as a source of pride for our veterans’ families, friends, and the Buchanan community. The banners are an excellent way to ensure our veterans’ service and sacrifice are appreciated, not forgotten, and inspire our youth to consider serving in the defense of our great nation.”
Bill Price, co-founder of local non-profit organization Sirens and Salutes, also shared his admiration for the town’s banner project. “It’s a great way to show our veterans, especially our Vietnam veterans, that attitudes have changed since they’ve returned home and projects like this show how much care, respect, and thanks we should and do give our veterans each and every day. The residents of Buchanan should be proud that we as a town have participated in this project.”
In addition to the banners, a website (buchananhometownheroes.wordpress.com) is now available for people to learn more about Buchanan’s honored veterans. Meade Stull worked with Boblett to design the website.
“I just thought that the banner program was a nice tribute for Buchanan’s veterans and wanted to do something to help spread awareness of the project that Mr. Boblett spent so much time on,” Stull said when recently asked about the website. “The website is pretty basic, but it gives family members a way to see the banners that they purchased for their loved ones, especially for those who live out of town and can’t easily see them in person.”
The website was created to share the details of the banner program and to help spread awareness of the many veterans from Buchanan that have served their country over the years. A map is available to find the location of each veteran’s banner in town.
The Buchanan veterans banners currently honor the following veterans:
Walter L. Alexander, Horace E. Alphin, Dr. Guy L. Alphin, Lawrence “Jake” Austin, Ronnie Austin, Sherman L. Austin, Thomas E. Ayers, Robert E. Bankert, Lawrence G. Barger, Janis E. Barrett, Ronald E. Beckner, John F. Berry, Brian W. Boblett, Carroll E. Boblett, S. Jared Boblett, William L. Booze Jr., Allen “Pedro” Brooks, J. Kenneth Broughman, Malcolm W. Broughman, Randy L. Brown, Henry L. Bryant, Roy Woodie Bryant, Michael D. Burton, Donald E. Camper, Henry M. Camper, Frank L. Cash Jr., Chelsea D. Cannaday, Robert D. Clark, Pam and Mike Coloton, Shields D. Compton, Robert F. Conlon, James C. Conner, Bernard B. Deacon, Curtis C. Deacon, Kenneth L. Deacon, Thomas J. Dudley
Larry M. Edwards, Harry T. Eubank Jr., James B. Eubank, John B. Eubank, George E. Flint Jr., Clyde S. Floyd, Carl J. Fowler, H.D. “Dave” Fultz, Golden G. Grice, Sabrina L. Hambrick, Tyler L. Harlow, Dustin M. Harper, Delbert Dean Harris, Harry B. Harris Jr., Robert R. Hartley, Roy Lee Hensley, John E. Hill, Lester L. “Chopper” Hodges Jr., Paul N. Hubble, Walter F. Hutchens, Jack L. Jackson, Gail W. Jasper, Thomas W. Jasper, Thomas J. Johnson, Emmit H. Jones, Gerald E. Keith, Clarence T. Kennedy, Jack W. Kern, Hollis G. Kessler, Chester V. Layman, Walter L. Linkenhoker, James F. Linkenhoker Sr., Howard R. Linkenhoker, Larry Linkenhoker, Leonard W. Linkenhoker, Samuel B. “Sam” McGhee, Michael F. Monaghan
Charles I. Montgomery, Paxton T. Montgomery, Cecil D. Mountcastle, Garry “Buckshot” Mundy, Deanna K. Newcomb, Don Peery, Kevin S. Peery, William L. Peery, Gerald M. Petty, Joseph L. Prease, Roger L. Prease, Steven P. Prease, Bill Price, Kenneth W. Proffitt, Ronald M. Radford, William L. Ramsey, James B. Rickman, Cody H. Rookstool, Phoebe O. Rookstool, Howard W. Shanks, Charles S. Sink, Ricky W. Sink, Irvin W. Sloan, Robert C. Smith Jr., Stuart W. Sorrell, Connie A. Sparrow, C. Richard Sprinkle, Dorothy H. Sprinkle, Clarence A. Stinnett, Henry F. Stinnett, James S. Stinnett, Joe E. Stinnett, Charles W. “Bill” Stull, Lorenzo B. Swartz, Henry D. Thomasson, James L. Thompson, Wayne L. Thompson
Atwell “Buster Thrasher Jr., James R. Tolley Jr. James R. Tolley Sr., Joseph H. Tolley, Joseph S. Tolley, Sidney M. Tolley, Lawrence E. Vines, Russell “Buddy” Vines, Leon Waldron, Charles M. Ware, Frank M. Ware, Thomas R. Watts, William W. Watts, James A. Welch Sr., Louis E. Welch, Marion A. Welch, Kenneth R. White, Marvin D. White, Ray F. White, Dennis N. Williams, Homer B. Williamson, Kenneth Wirt, Robert M. Wirt, Christopher B. Witt, Lloyd L. Wood, and E. Thomas Wright Jr.
