At 5 a.m. on a foggy Sunday morning in late October, Doug Grande climbed inside an aerial bucket and was raised some 12 feet or so above the sidewalk to hang a piece of cloth from a Fort 91原创 light standard.

But this was no simple piece of cloth, as he will attest.

The season supervisor of Cobra Electric, and his crew, were tasked with placing 26 customized Remembrance Day banners, each one sharing the name and photograph of a First World War soldier from 91原创 who lost his life fighting for this country鈥檚 freedom.

鈥淥h wow. We install for a lot of municipalities. All I鈥檝e seen, mostly, is just a poppy banner. When doing this鈥� it kinda hit us,鈥� Grande said.

Suddenly, the team started Googling the names of each of the soldiers portaited on the banners, and they were 鈥渏ust saddened by the stories and timelines of their service,鈥� said Grande.

What started for the crew as a typical job turned into much more, Grande shared.

鈥淚t opened our eyes,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ore importantly, made us remember and continue the discussion.鈥�

Last year, Fort 91原创鈥檚 Remembrance Day committee introduced the specialized banners to the village thanks to a grant from Veteran Affairs. And since the inception of this program, committee chair Andy Schildhorn said he has been fielding nothing but compliments for the initiative.

RELATED: Village adds visual reminder of fallen soldiers

鈥淚 do get a lot of comments that they鈥檙e very special and meaningful because they are so very local,鈥� he explained.

In fact, the response has been so positive, the committee is looking at creating and hanging more such Remembrance banners in future 鈥� maybe a series that portrait local soldiers from the Second World War, he said.

There鈥檚 room, Schildhorn noted, for about 25 more banners, since the existing tribute banners are currently hung along the main streets and alternated with general Fort 91原创 banners.

鈥淚t brings a bit more realism to Remembrance Day,鈥� Schildhorn said, noting that many people seeing the banners during a walk or drive through the village have no direct knowledge about these soldiers, beyond recognizing a few of the local streets bear their names.

鈥淭oo often, we move forward without thinking about our past,鈥� Schildhorn said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something that鈥檚 really reflective of our community roots and of our past鈥� We need to remember. These help.鈥�

Fort 91原创 isn鈥檛 the only area of town where veteran banners are hung, leading up to Remembrance Day.

RELATED: Sixth annual Murrayville Remembrance Day services growing

Eleven years ago now, the Downtown 91原创 Business Association (DLBA) created 27 distinct Remembrance banners, each featuring a current day (at that time) photograph of a different 91原创 City veteran.

Then, in 2019, when needing to replace the aging banners, eight additional images of local veterans were added, explained Teri James, DLBA鈥檚 executive director.

鈥淧eople really do appreciate them and what they stand for,鈥� James said. 鈥淭he banners are a wonderful remembrance about the sacrifices that were made.鈥�

With some duplication of images, there are now 50 banners hung from light posts around the City core.

鈥淓very time they go up in mid-October, other communities contact me to see how this program works, because they want to duplicate it,鈥� James said. She鈥檇 like to see more and more communities develop this or other types of tributes that recognize local soldiers/veterans for all they鈥檝e done.

READ MORE: PHOTOS 鈥� 35 veterans honoured for Remembrance Day with DLBA initiative

.