VETERANS REMEMBERED — Twenty-year-old Joe A. Funk II, who was killed in action while serving in Vietnam, is one of 129 local veterans whose images appear on banners to be flown above Wellsburg streets through the efforts of volunteers with the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation. His cousin, Mary Lou Chambers, accepted a certificate bearing an image of the banner from volunteer Eric Fithyan on behalf of his family. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — From World War I to Operation Enduring Freedom, local men and women who served in the military in wartime and peace will be acknowledged through 129 banners to be flown along state Route 2 and other city streets.

Bearing the faces and brief information about each veteran’s military service, the banners were displayed for the first time Tuesday at the Wellsburg Banquet Hall for the family members who sponsored them.

Each family was presented a certificate bearing an image of the banner by Donna Sullivan, Lisa Chiodo and Eric Fithyan, volunteers with the Hometown Heroes committee of the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation.

Inspired by Paul “Bud” Billiard, an active member of the foundation, the group extended an effort begun three years ago in Follansbee to establish a daily reminder of the sacrifices made by local service members through the years.

Fithyan said through the cooperation of Wellsburg City Council, city crews are slated on Thursday morning to begin posting banners along state Route 2, with others to follow at the intersections of Charles and Main streets, from Sixth to 12th streets.

Brackets for the flags were donated by Main Street Bank.

He said the group will continue to accept sponsors.

After being presented the certificates, each family was invited to have their photo taken with the banner honoring their loved one.

The reactions ranged from smiles to solemn nods, as banners depicting veterans of various ages, living and dead, were unveiled.

Mary Lou Chambers of Bethany and other family members of Joe A. Funk III stepped forward to view the banner for the 20-year-old who was killed in action while serving the Army in Vietnam.

Chambers said as could be expected, Funk’s death was very difficult for his parents to accept. But she looks back now on the boy who served as an usher in her wedding.

“He was a neat kid,” she said.

Flanked by several family members, Karen Wallace Miller of Wellsburg surveyed a string of banners acknowledging the service of her father, World War I veteran John S. Wallace; her husband, Frank; her son, Jack; and seven brothers: John, Robert, Richard, Frank, Roger, Warren and James.

Noting there were eight boys and five girls in her family, Miller said the eighth brother, George, had planned to enlist but was turned away because he was flatfooted.

“He felt bad because all of his brothers were in,” she said.

Miller said Richard and Bob became prisoners of war while serving in Korea.

“My mother couldn’t get in touch with them for months and months and finally she went to higher ups,” and that was when the family learned the two had been captured, she recalled.

“Thank God they got to come home,” said Miller, who recalled seeing the prison numbers that had been tattooed on one brother’s arm.

Don Tredway of St. Clairsville revealed that beneath the sleeve of his business suit, he bore a tattoo honoring his father, Oakey Tredway Jr.

He said the tattoo depicts the Croix de Guerre, the French medal his father received for his service during World War II.

Tredway said his father was a tank commander among troops battling Axis forces led by German general Erwin Rommel in North Africa before assuming a position in intelligence.

Both father and son appear on banners, Don having served the Marines in Vietnam.

Acknowledging the unpopularity of the war, he said his return to the U.S., with a first stop in San Francisco, was not a warm one.

“It was tough coming back. They actually told me I’d be better off taking my uniform off,” said Tredway.

But he added, “I would do it again for my community, if need be.”

Tredway said about the banners, “I really think it’s a wonderful thing for the community to share. It’s not just about the veterans.”

“It’s wonderful what they’re doing,” agreed Howard Lauck, who served as a military police officer for the Army during the Vietnam War.

Like Miller, he has several siblings who also served. They include a brother, Harry, who was killed in Vietnam when he sustained severe trauma to the head when he fell from a truck.

Lauck said having grown up in Wellsburg, he recognized many of the faces on the banners.

“Out of all of the people they named, I knew 90 percent of them.”