'We just wanted to honor them': Carpentersville banners feature 59 local veterans

Carpentersville is going to the streets to honor veterans.

Banners paying tribute to 59 Carpentersville veterans line Main Street and will remain on display through November.

Veterans Day is Nov. 11.

"We're proud of them and the history of veterans in our community," Carpentersville Village President John Skillman said. "We just wanted to honor them."

Skillman said he was inspired by similar banners he saw in Wilmington, about 75 miles south of Carpentersville.

The banners, which hang from light poles and are organized alphabetically along Main Street, cost about $7,000 to make and were covered by the village's general fund. They feature local veterans, including some Carpentersville employees.

"It's great," said Randy Brockmeyer Jr., vice commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2298 in West Dundee. The post serves veterans in Cook, Kane, and McHenry counties.

He said he hopes the banners remind people to remember veterans and the sacrifices they've made and show gratitude to veterans.

"Remember the ones who are out there right now," he added. "Just keep them in your prayers and on your mind."

This is the first year the village has displayed banners in honor of veterans. Skillman said he expects to make the banners an annual feature in November.

"There's been all kinds of people taking pictures of them," Skillman said of the banners hung on Wednesday.

They are two-sided, featuring a veteran on each side.

Skillman said the village plans to rotate the banners so each veteran has a spot on the Main Street Bridge during the month.

He said he's already received calls from residents who missed the initial deadline. He added, there are available light poles for banners on side streets and he expects to grow the program next year.