Nov. 17, 2009 — The holiday we know as Veterans Day began as Armistice Day when an agreement between the Germans and the Allies to cease hostilities was implemented at the 11th hour of the 11th day of November 1918, essentially ending the war to end all wars — the Great War, World War I. That dream of eternal global peace has stumbled many, many times over the last 91 years, and Armistice Day officially became Veterans Day in America thanks to a June 1, 1954 proclamation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of World War II and Korean War vets fighting in the 1940s and 1950s. The holiday now honors all of America’s veterans.   

Of course, when Veterans Day arrived in Susanville on Wednesday, Nov. 11, we celebrated the holiday with the traditional parade and patriotic speeches, but we added a new homegrown twist — 10 large Blue Star Banners with images of our local warfighters hanging up and down both sides of Main Street above light poles adorned with huge bows tied in bright yellow ribbon.   

The sun had barely arced above the grey native stone facades of the old buildings in historic Uptown Susanville, casting a hard line of light and shadow, when Lassen Municipal Utility District’s Craig Lima and Tim Slater arrived with a boom truck around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to remove the Welcome to Susanville banners and hang the first of the 10 new Blue Star banners in their place.   

Lassen County District 2 Supervisor Jim Chapman, who funded the first round of banners from his discretionary funds, Blue Star mothers and the parents of several warfighters braved the chilly, early morning temperatures at the corner of Roop and Main streets to watch the banners go up and tie the yellow ribbons.   

When Chapman unfurled the first banner, honoring the family and service of Tim Hanson, serving at sea in the U.S. Navy, the emotions of the moment nearly overwhelmed his mother, Catherine Hanson. Tim’s brother, Dan Hanson, also is deployed at sea in the U.S. Navy. His banner hangs at the corner of Gay and Main streets.   

Lima, an LMUD troubleman (a lineman who serves as a first responder in the event of a power outage), said he deliberately shuns publicity whenever possible. He said he’s uncomfortable having his picture or his words in the newspaper, but since this story involves the Soaring Eagle Blue Star Mothers, he was happy to make an exception and talk with a reporter.   

“The Blue Star Mothers are doing some really neat things,” Lima said. “So when I heard about this project, I knew I wanted to be involved. LMUD was good enough to let me be involved, and they let us use a boom truck to hang the banners. I feel really honored to be able to do this for these kids.”   

Lima said he understands the emotions felt by the family members whose children have chosen to join the military and live in harm’s way defending America.    

“It was very emotional with the Blue Star Moms out there when we hung the banners,” Lima said. “Each of the mothers cried when they saw their banner, and most of them followed me and Christine (Boyd, president of the group) around as we hung the rest of the banners.”   

Lima said his son, Samuel Lima, currently serves as an infantryman in Southern Iraq. His son will be honored with a Blue Star banner when they’re rotated in a couple of months. So far Blue Star Banners honoring about 50 local warfighters are planned. Chapman said the banners and a plaque commemorating the time they hung on Main Street will be given to the veterans when they end their service. In the meantime, Chapman expects they will also be on display all round town, in government offices such as the supervisor’s chambers and the Veterans Memorial Hall.   

“I never thought being the parent of a soldier would affect me so much,” Lima said. “Sam joined the infantry when he was 17, so I knew he’d probably go to war. But I wasn’t prepared for how scary it is.”   

Lima enjoyed a couple of weeks with his son in October when he came home on leave during his one-year deployment.    

“He’s doing really good,” Lima said. “He doesn’t complain a bit. All of these kids are heroes to me. Men and women, deployed or not, they’re all incredible to me, and I have respect for all of them.”   

Because Main Street is also a state highway, a permit from Caltrans was necessary before the banners could fly, even though they were simply replacing the Welcome to Susanville banners on the light poles.  

The seemingly simple permit application apparently got snagged in the state bureaucratic nightmare that is Sacramento, and when it looked as if a permit could not be issued in time, Assemblyman Dan Logue was asked for his assistance pushing the application through. Logue not only obliged, he succeed. The permit was issued just a couple of days before Veterans Day.   

That wasn’t the only potential project-busting snafu. Lima said after the Andy Warren, owner of the UPS Store, placed an order for the material used to create the banners, the shipment was lost.   

Luckily, thanks to the UPS tracking system, the material used to create the banners was found misplaced at a processing center.   

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Chapman said a set of 10 banners costs about $500, and he’s looking for donors to help finance the next set. Chapman pointed out the banners honored the warfighters and their families.   

“That’s what this program is all about,” Chapman said.

For more information, call Chapman at 257-6009.