Riverhead’s ‘Hometown Heroes’ banners cleaned and ready for display, thanks to NJROTC

Riverhead’s Hometown Heroes banners are cleaned, refreshed and ready to be installed along Main Street in time for Memorial Day, thanks to the efforts of the Riverhead High School NJROTC.

The cadets cleaned the banners last week, Riverhead NJROTC Commander and Senior Naval Science Instructor David Chiaro said. The unit was happy to help prepare the banners for display, he said. The request came in from the Riverhead Town Veterans Advisory Committee, which sponsored the banner project. 

The banners depict the images and names of Riverhead residents who served in the United States military, along with their branch of service. The banners, produced by Wedel Signs of Riverhead first went up in 2021.

Grime accumulates on the vinyl banners from vehicle exhaust pipes, and the banners had not been cleaned since their initial installation. Cleaning the 110 banners was quite a task and a daunting one for the town’s Veterans Advisory Committee, which only has a handful of members, Veterans Advisory Committee member Keri Najdzion said. The committee reached out to the NJROTC for help, and — true to form — the cadets rolled up their sleeves and cleaned them on Thursday.

“All 110 of them,” Najdzion said.

Najdzion and fellow committee member Kimberly Judd attended the Riverhead NJROTC inspection this morning to thank the cadets for their service.

“There are only four or five of us on the committee and we would have had to do this by ourselves,” Judd said.

“We are so grateful for your help,” Najdzion added.

“It’s certainly a community service event we can do annually,” Chiaro said. “The cadets learned community history and did community service at the same time. They enjoyed learning about the Riverhead men and women who served.”

That’s one of the goals of the Hometown Heroes banner project — providing an opportunity for residents and visitors alike to learn about the hundreds of Riverhead residents who served the nation in times of war and peace over the course of the town’s 232-year history.

Another goal of the project — and its primary goal — is to pay tribute to Riverhead’s hometown heroes.

The banners will be attached to the light poles before Memorial Day, which the Riverhead community marks each year with a parade down Main Street, with solemn services held at each of the war memorial sites in town. The NJROTC participates in the parade and services each year.

The unit is a credit to the high school and the district, Riverhead High School Principal Sean O’Hara said.

“The Riverhead NJROTC consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to community service, and their dedication fills us with immense pride,” O’Hara said today. “Their involvement in cleaning the Hometown Hero banners not only beautifies our town but also honors our veterans in a meaningful way,” he said. “I am immensely proud of the Riverhead NJROTC and the positive impact they make on our town and school community.”