The Lake Gaston region is home to many veterans who have served in the U.S. military.
The Roanoke Valley Veterans Museum is launching the Hometown Heroes program, an opportunity for citizens to personally honor a veteran’s military career.
Hometown Heroes participants will have their veterans honored with a double-sided 2.5 X 2-foot yard sign for display in the mural-side yard of the museum at 102 East North Main Street in Littleton on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day for a week.
(The form can be downloaded at this link)
The signs are $35, with the proceeds helping to maintain the museum, preserve veterans legacies, and continue the museum’s educational programs.
“The sign will have the photograph of the hometown hero, say who you are honoring, which branch of service, for how long, and a couple of key points from the career of the one being honored,” Roanoke Valley Veterans Museum curator and retired Air Force Brigadier General David Johnson said. “This could be a great grandpa, a grandpa, a dad, or yourself. For an extra $20, we will post it for three years.”
Greg and Maggie Stowe of Lake Gaston Sign & Graphic Company are assisting the museum in the Hometown Hero campaign. The company has played a vital role in assisting the museum through the years.
The museum signs are only part of the campaign.
Participants can purchase a second museum sign for their yard for $25. The museum is also offering an insulated Yeti-style tumbler with a lid, a mouse pad with a museum sign image, wooden dog tags with the Hometown Hero information, and a slate tile coaster/trivet.
The Lake Gaston Gazette-Observer will print the museum sign image and associated information about the Hero in the Veterans’ Day Issue.
Note that editing is at the newspaper’s discretion, depending on the number of entries.
Participants must send their digital photos and up to a 100-word paragraph with the service member hero’s branch and dates of service to the Roanoke Valley Veterans’ Museum at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by October 15.
The digital photos need to be sent at the highest resolution possible to ensure a quality photo for the sign.
“One of the missions of the museum is to honor veterans, and another is to educate the community, and provide a place to display memorabilia and the kinds of things you would expect from a museum,” Johnson said.
Order forms are available at Warrenton Furniture Exchange, Locorum, Warren Record, RR Discount Auto and Tire, Weldon Mills, Lake Gaston Pizza & More, Ace Hardware, Timber Waters Brewing Company, Littleton Hardware and the museum.
More information on the museum can be found at its website or by calling 252-586-1900.
