The Town of Dartmouth will commemorate its fallen heroes in a new way this Memorial Day.

The Dartmouth Hometown Heroes will commemorate the town's 34 veterans who lost their lives in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism with banners along Elm Street from Prospect Street to the police station, along the route of the Memorial Day parade.

The 18-by-36-inch banners are screenprinted with the project's name, a photo of the veteran (if available), the veteran's name, rank, branch of service and unit, and era of service.

The initial idea came from Select Board chair Shawn McDonald, who saw similar banners while visiting a town in New Jersey. He reached out to Veterans' Service Officer Roy Oliveira to take set the project in motion.

“The Town of Dartmouth has had thousands of veterans serve our country honorably. Since World War I, we have lost 34, whether killed in action or killed in a POW camp," Oliveira said. "I think it’s appropriate that the town honor those veterans for their ultimate sacrifice."

Oliveira and the Veterans Advisory Board worked on collecting photos of each of the veterans, collecting 14 of the total 34.  Oliveira said he hopes that the posters, once on display, will attract enough attention that someone may recognize the name of a person without a photo and help the Advisory Board track down a photo for future use. An image of the U.S. flag is displayed on the banners of those without a photo.

The posters and hardware cost about $6,500, Oliveira said. This fell within the estimate of $7,000 that was given to the Select Board when the project was approved in December.

A permanent fixture to honor the fallen veterans, the Veteran's Grove, is currently being developed at the Council on Aging. Phase one of the grove is made up of a bench and a bronze plaque to commemorate prisoners of war, with upgrades to the existing gazebo and landscaping donated by Home Depot. Phase two, for which donations are currently being sought, includes a stone monument that will have the 34 names of the fallen veterans engraved on it. People will also be able to purchase bricks to to honor an active military member or a veteran, Oliveira said.

The Memorial Day parade will assemble on Monday, May 30 at Apponagansett Park at 9 a.m.

The fallen heroes to be remembered on the Dartmouth Hometown Heroes banners are World War I veterans James M. Boomer, Randolph Erlandson, Edward McConvill, Charles W. Plummer, Thomas R. Plummer, Clifton O. Thacher, and Robert Whalley; World War II veterans Robert T. Atsatt, John Arthur Barnes, Leslie Norman Barry, Edward Cunha, Edward Herbert Dubois, Donald Albert Gravel, Milton Helfand, Anthony Medeiros, Joseph Duarte Medeiros Jr., William Mello, Gilbert Francis Motha, Anthony Pacheco, James Roderiques Quintino, George Henry Reis Jr., John J. Sheehan Jr., Anton Dias Souza, Joseph B. Souza, Harold Viera, Francis Xavier Wilcox Jr., and Alphege S. Yergeau; Vietnam War veterans Gary M. Cohen, Robert A. Desrochers, Jeffrey A. Pinheiro, Wayne John Sylvia, Russell V. Almeida, and Cleaveland F. Bridgman; and Operation Iraqi Freedom/Global War on Terrorism veteran Peter G. Enos.

All Dartmouth veterans of the Korean War and Persian Gulf War returned home.