North Third Avenue generated a lot of buzz this past week.

Thanks to the planning, efforts and hard work of the members of Pacific Project Heroes, a total of 31 banners bearing the faces of Oakdale soldiers were put up on the downtown lamp posts.

The Military Banner Project, first launched earlier this year, was the brainchild of PPH President J.R. McCarty and his board. The non-profit received approval from the Oakdale City Council to implement the hardware, earlier this year. Then the call went out to the community for submittal of names of active military or veterans who call Oakdale home.

“We decided now’s the time to go forward. We decided to do it on Third Avenue for this moment. There are different phases that we want on this project that we hope will eventually happen. But Third Avenue was our main focus, because it’s a beautiful new road,” McCarty said in a previous interview with The Leader.

Now with the initial 31 banners up, they will remain there through Veterans Day.

McCarty said they are looking at a potential second phase, extending the banners to other areas of town.

“Our board will be discussing this at our next meeting in June,” McCarty shared late last week. “A future date is to be determined.”

As photos of the banners going up flooded social media last week, it became quickly apparent by comments that the community was receptive to the honoring of the local heroes.

“They look amazing,” McCarty said of seeing the idea come to life. “Harold from Function Graphics brought our vision to life. They are very inspiring and I’m so happy we were able to do this for our local heroes.”

Guidelines for nominees to be placed on display are: they must be able to verify the nominee is a resident or native of Oakdale; proof of active duty or veteran status and a proper military photo which will be used on the banner.

Nominations for the next phase may be submitted by friends, family members or the service member themselves, as long as the guidelines are met.

Persons interested in submitting an application will find the form on the organization’s Facebook page, Pacific Project Heroes, which has a link for the nomination form. There is an additional link which may be printed for those interested in submitting a nomination through the mail.

Any questions may be directed to McCarty at 209-985-7567 or Katie Jaycox via e-mail KatieLJaycox@gmail.com or 209-985-3832.