The Voice for Kitsap County’s Veterans, Active-Duty Personnel,
and their Families
Veterans Life
KitsapVeteransLife.com
INSIDE STATE OF THE COAST GUARD The commandant tells of the service’s impacts on drug smuggling — and on the challenges ahead.
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75 YEARS Happy anniversary, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.
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OPINION You’re familiar with Memorial Day and Veterans Day. But there are opportunities to honor and reflect all year long.
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MY VIEW Congressman Kilmer writes: Civilian careers post-service? We shouldn’t keep veterans waiting.
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STEEPED IN HISTORY The story behind the imagery in the poster.
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE Get involved in your community. Here’s how.
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March 2016
Blue Star Banners need a lift Volunteer says some tributes need to be updated or replaced By LESLIE KELLY
lkelly@soundpublishing. com
J
ust about anywhere you travel in Kitsap County, you’ll see them. They’re a significant show of Kitsap County residents’ pride in our military. They’re the Blue Star Banners. But some of them have been hanging proudly since 2006. And they need to be replaced. According to Lynette George, founder of the Blue Star Banner program in Kitsap County, a small group of volunteers have been working to get them replaced. “The wind here has really gotten to some of them,” she said. “Some are torn, or faded, or really look worn. We are trying to make sure that those that need to be replaced get replaced.” But the process hasn’t been that easy. First, she said, they had to do an inventory of the banners and determine which needed replacing. Then, she had to contact the individual or the family of the military member honored on the banner. “If they are still serving, we make arrangements to replace the banner,” she said. “If they’ve left the military, then, we send them their banner and we make room for someone new to have a banner.” The banners, she explained, honor those currently serving. The one exception to that are the Gold Star Banners which
MA2 Sean Brazas, USN, died May 30, 2012 while conducting combat operations in Panjwa’l, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Naval Base Kitsap — Bremerton’s Security Detachment in Bremerton. This banner near Kitsap Mall honors Brazas and his wife, YN2 Allie Brazas.
Left, Blue Star Banner Project / Above, FindAGrave.com
honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and have given their life for their country. There are 19 Gold Star banners in the area. As far as the costs to replace the banners, George said the program has money to replace banners when family members cannot afford to. “We’ve received grants from the Kitsap Community Foundation and Port Madison Enterprises (an agency of the Suquamish Tribe) and we can help when help is needed,” she said. The cost to replace each banner is $100. When each banner is originally purchased, each costs
$350, but $200 of that is for the hardware to hang the banner, which doesn’t need to be replaced, she said. Currently, there are 93 banners in Silverdale and at least 25 need to be replaced. In all, there are 367 banners throughout Kitsap, Mason, Clallam and Jefferson counties, with 112 in Port Orchard, 50 in Poulsbo, 49 in Bremerton, 11 in Kingston, nine in Seabeck, eight in Belfair, 11 in Port Angeles and five elsewhere in Jefferson County. Banners are being replaced throughout all of these locations. Her list includes one in Seabeck, one in
Bremerton and five in Port Orchard. When the banners were originally placed, much of the work was donated by WAVE Cable. “They’ve been great to us,” she said. “But right now they’ve had so much work with storm damage that they aren’t able to do the replacement work.” And that’s where George is in need. “We need volunteers who can help us hang the banners,” she said. “Preferably some company that has a bucket truck, or long ladders. Someone like a tree-trimming company or tree service would be great.” In the past few months,
George and one other volunteer have spent three eight-hour days doing what banner replacement they can, with the ladders they have. But she is hoping someone will come forward with a bucket truck and sign on to help. George began the Blue Star Banner program in Kitsap County after seeing a similar program in California. She is a Navy veteran and has two sons who served in the military. George’s sons, Christopher Weimar, 31, of Seabeck, who served in the Army, and Wayne George, 33, of Longview, See BANNERS, Page 3
“Some [banners] are torn, or faded, or really look worn. We are trying to make sure that those that need to be replaced get replaced.” — Lynette George, founder of the Blue Star Banner program in Kitsap County
Have a story idea or a story tip? Call the Veterans Life newsroom, 360-779-4464 or email rwalker@soundpublishing.com