Surrounded by friends and family, Gerald L. Beeman of Elizabethtown smiled broadly as his picture was taken with a banner bearing his image and dates of military service. Beeman was one of many veterans present at St. Paul's United Methodist Church when the Elizabethtown Lions Club revealed its last batch of banners prior to their installation around town.

"I got drafted, but I'm glad I went because it was a privilege serving," said Beeman, who served in the Army in Germany from 1966 to 1968. "I never regretted it."

The banner reveal, held in mid-December, marked the 11th batch of banners since the Lions Club began the project in 2023. Each offered an opportunity for the veterans to view their banners up close and celebrate with family and friends.

"Prior to the banners going up on the poles 10 feet above the ground, we wanted people to be able to see them and share their service experience with their families," said Chuck Brewer, president of the Lions Club. "You get to hear some great stories."

Among those stories are tales of two Medal of Honor recipients, a veteran who had Gen. George Patton serve as his best man at his wedding, and the tale of the sole survivor who bailed out of his B-17 after it was shot down over Germany.

"We also get to take quite a few pictures of families - kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews - with the veteran," Brewer said. "Once the banner goes up on the pole, there's not much you can do but look it at from afar. This has also been a great opportunity for veterans' families to surprise them with the banner."

That's what happened in Beeman's case.

"I didn't know anything about this," he said with a laugh, noting that his daughter just told him to be ready to go somewhere at 5:45 p.m. "I thought they were taking me to a nursing home."

Beeman's son and daughter and their families attended the event, along with two of his neighbors.

For daughter Kimberly Neff, honoring her father in this way was important.

"We've always admired his time in the service," she said. "He raised us to be patriots and to promote patriotism. We're very proud of him, and we just wanted to honor him in a way that he would be totally surprised."

Veteran Diane Bretz, who served in the Air Force from 1977 to 1979, also attended the banner reveal with members of her family. Bretz served in Okinawa, Japan, as well as in Korea, working as a cook.

"My family told me they were doing a banner, but I was surprised when they said that," she stated. "They also did a banner for my husband, too, who was an Air Force veteran. He passed away two years ago."

Brewer noted that the banner project required a lot of teamwork to pull off. The members of the Lions Club relied on help from other service organizations, including the Rotary Club of Elizabethtown. Rotary member Glen Bootay installed all of the banners, with help from his son Bailey and Rotary member Matt Schwartz. A "pole cat" committee of volunteers scouted locations to hang the banners throughout Elizabethtown, and community members came together to help each other.

"There was a lady who gave us a call in about October last year, and she said her daughter was coming home on leave for Christmas and she wanted to get a banner," recalled Lion Greg Hitz, who spearheaded the banner project. "The process of the banners takes about a month and a half to two months. This is how the community came together. We contacted everybody on the list for that batch of banners and said, 'We need you to approve your banner now, so we can get her banner here in time.' Her banner showed up about a week before Christmas. We just made it. She had no idea, and her whole family met her here. It's a great example of how everyone came together to make this happen."

This batch of banners will be installed over the next two months or so, weather permitting, and for now, the banner project is complete. Brewer said the Lions Club members were overwhelmed by the positive response to the project.

"I got calls from North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia about this, saying, 'I'm from E-town' or 'We lived in E-town when I was growing up,'" he recalled. "We were optimistic that we'd sell 150 banners, but it just took off." In total, the Lions sold 350 banners.

He and other Lions also made sure everyone who needed help getting a banner received assistance. Lions members went to people's houses to take pictures of old photos to use on banners, and others brought banners to the homes of veterans who couldn't travel to the reveal events.

At each banner reveal, no formal program was held. Veterans and their families were free to mingle, view the banners that were laid out on tables, take pictures and chat with each other.

"One of the greatest things about this project and the way we've done it is the vets just start talking," Brewer said. "Some of them know each other, some don't. But we've heard them tell stories, and then a family member will say, 'I never knew that.'"

For Neff and other children of veterans, the banners have provided an opportunity to thank veterans for their sacrifices.

"I think it's great that the Lions Club has done this," Neff said. "I love driving down the road and seeing everyone who served, because that's what makes our country great."