GALION — Do you enjoy seeing the several dozen commemorative banners honoring Galion veterans atop lampposts along Harding Way? If so, thank the American Legion this year.

Courtesy of the nonprofit organization on South Market St., the banners dedicated to area servicemen from major 20th and 21st century conflicts began donning poles May 13 in downtown.

When several hundred people line the streets for the annual Memorial Day parade a week from Monday, they’ll be able to look at veterans who helped provide their current freedom.

“The banner project is very popular, and I am glad the Legion continued it,” Pam Cole, co-chair of the Memorial Day organizing committee, explained. “It’s a program that’s really gone well, and people from all over know we’re the town with the banners.”

Starting in 2018, the patriotic effort was run by the Galion Historical Society on a three-year basis, before the Legion picked up the baton. The banners can also be seen throughout Heise Park. New additions arrive each spring, and they remain up throughout the summer months.