Hometown Hero banners make their debut in downtown Oregon

Vietnam veteran Lee Ossmann only has to look up a bit now to catch a glimpse of his younger self when he travels downtown on West Washington Street in his hometown of Oregon.

Ossmann, the senior vice commander for Oregon VFW Post 8739, watched Thursday morning, April 23, with his fellow veterans, family and friends as a banner recognizing his service in the Air Force was hoisted onto a city street pole as part of the Hometown Hero banner project.

The project is a cooperative effort by the city of Oregon and Oregon VFW to recognize military heroes with 20 banners currently planned for installation on city light poles.

Each banner features a local veteran with a photo and a tagline of when they served.

“That was taken in 1967 when I was 18 years old,” said Ossmann as he watched Josh Pickering of the Oregon Public Works Department climb into a bucket to install his banner.

“I do remember that day. I was just out of basic training and headed down to Chanute Air Force Base, going to jet school.”

Ossmann served as a jet technician from 1967-1971 in Vietnam and took up the reins for the banner project after Bob Coulter, a former commander for the VFW Post, first presented the idea after learning about one in DeKalb.

Oregon VFW member Lee Ossmann (center) watches with two VFW volunteers as a banner acknowledging his service is installed on a city light pole on Thursday, April 23, 2026 in downtown Oregon. (Earleen Hinton)

“Bob brought the information and everything over from DeKalb,” said Ossmann. “He was very busy with other things so it kind of the laid dormant for a couple of years. Then I asked him about it at a meeting one night and told him I could give him a hand with it.”

Ossmann reached out to Oregon City Manager Darin DeHaan to see if the city could help make the banner project a reality.

“Darin and I had a little meeting. We talked and he took it where we had to take it to get it done. They stepped right in and thought it would be good,” Ossmann said referring to support from city officials.

DeHann presented the idea to the city council and Oregon Mayor Ken Williams, who is also a member of the VFW.

The first phase of the project, DeHaan said, was to utilize existing visuals that were already in place on the historic Ogle County Courthouse lawn.

“We felt the banners really fit with the memorials that are around the courthouse,” DeHaan said. “This location provides a fitting backdrop, complementing the beauty of the courthouse and the nearby memorials.”

The banners will stand on light poles along West Washington Street (Illinois Route 64) from the Oregon Post Office one block east to the intersection with Illinois Route 2 and then south along the 100 block of South Fourth Street (Illinois Route 2).

“They’ll be on each side of the street. We’ll surround the courthouse in the downtown square,” said DeHaan.

The process to get a banner in recognition of a veteran begins at the Oregon VFW.

“The person has to be a veteran and have a DD214 discharge paper and at least a 5x7 picture, and, if necessary, some kind of ID photo,” said Ossmann. “The cost is $130. The banners will be up for at least three years, unless they become too weathered or tattered, then they’ll have to come down.

“As to where they get hung and how many…everything is up to the discretion of the city,” said Ossmann.

DeHaan said the city is pleased to showcase veterans by providing space for the banners to be displayed and providing the labor to install them.

“My thought is we leave these up year round,” said DeHaan. “I know there’s a request to expand the program and I’m going to bring that to the city council.”

Perfect weather complete with a sunny, blue sky greeted officials and onlookers as they watched the public works crew start hanging Ossmann’s banner.

Because the new banners are a tad shorter in length than previous banners the job required some minor adjustments.

“They actually don’t meet the specifications of our normal banners, which is why the guys are making adjustments with the brackets,” DeHaan said. “If we do expand the project, we’ll work even closer with the VFW and the banner company to make sure that they meet our specifications.”

DeHaan thanked the city’s public works team of Bill Covell, Jordan Plock, Josh Pickering, Aaron Montoya and Andy Bonilla for their work installing the banners.

Ossmann said he’s happy to see veterans acknowledged for their service.

“I appreciate everything all the veterans have done,” Ossmann said. “I think when people are out having their cookouts and barbecues and beer parties and stuff like that they need to keep in mind it was a veteran that made sure they could do those things.”

And he doubts he’ll be fixated on his own banner.

“I can remember him,” said Ossmann laughing. “I have to look at him every morning, but he don’t look the same.”

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Oregon Public Works employee Josh Pickering adjusts the first veteran banner featuring Lee Ossmann on a city light pole in downtown Oregon on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Ossmann served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and is an active member of Oregon VFW Post #8739. (Earleen Hinton)