It’s time to move the banners celebrating our war veterans to a permanent place of honor.

As a veteran, the first time I saw the banners I was filled with pride and felt compelled to stop and salute each one; but I regret that they lose their impact on a commercial street where people are shopping, eating, and loudly expressing a variety of emotions. As I was enjoying a good Italian meal near the corner of College View and Raymond Avenue, my mood became somber when I looked up at the banner. I could not help wondering whether the enlisted man I was looking at would want his image hanging from a lamp post. They deserve a more suitable place of honor.

Placing them outside a dry-cleaning establishment, a vaping store and a jewelry store feels like we are taking advantage for their images for commercial purposes.

After waving from street lamps for years, these banners have become something we look past. Like Christmas lights during the summer, they stop being special. This is why we have memorial celebrations and parades once a year. It’s not that we forget them for the other 364 days, but that in the midst of pursuing our own life’s purpose, we mindfully pause to honor those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. Let’s not cheapen it. Let’s reserve these for appropriate times and places of honor.