Salisbury will soon join the ranks of cities and towns across America with banners on display to honor veterans from all branches of the military.
Banners with the names and photos of military members with a connection to Salisbury will be hung from the light poles along Eastern Shore Drive beginning in May. Organizer Nicole Bozman, who lost her son, Army veteran Cody Bozman in 2021, said she wanted to provide a way for service members to be remembered and celebrated.
Thirty double-sided banners will be hung and people can purchase one or both sides to display their loved one’s photo, full name, branch of the military and the era of service. Salisbury Hometown Heroes banners will be displayed from Memorial Day through Veterans Day each year. To purchase one, families will fill out a form, submit a photo of their veteran in uniform to Gardner Sign in Salisbury, and pay at the time of order. Gardner will scan photos to ensure the best quality for duplication, and return them right away. Applications will be accepted through next April. To qualify, a veteran, living or deceased, must have a connection to Salisbury, whether it’s through having resided, worked or attended school there.
Bozman said she first reached out to County Executive Julie Giordano, then Mayor Randy Taylor, Wicomico County Councilman Jeff Merritt and other officials about the project, and after discussion, they settled on the Eastern Shore Drive location. She added that Salisbury city administrator Andy Kitzrow said the city will take care of hanging the banners which will be stored each winter to protect them from the elements.
Bozman said her son Cody Bozman joined the Army at 18, attending boot camp and advanced individual training. He wanted to be a calvary scout. “It’s the only thing he ever wanted to do since he was 11,” she explained. “There was no backup plan.” His dream, however, drastically changed when he was medically discharged for “military-induced diabetes,” she continued. He returned home to Salisbury to figure out his next steps, started working, attending Wor-Wic Community College, and decided to buy a motorcycle. A few months later, he was in a tragic accident when his motorcycle hit a dip in the road at Salisbury’s “s-curve” on route 13 in the heart of town. Cody then spent six months in the hospital, with too many complications. He was only 22 when he passed away. You might recall #CodyStrong fundraisers and benefits from that time, as his Salisbury hometown raised money for medical costs and for his newborn son, born only a couple of months before Cody died.
“I want to put his face out there so people don’t forget him,” Bozman said. But it’s not only Cody as her inspiration for the banner project. Her father was in the Army and her brother was in the Marines. As Bozman said, serving in the military “is not just a sacrifice for the soldiers. It’s a sacrifice to their families.”
The charge per banner is a one-time fee, and banners are guaranteed to last for three years. When a banner is showing signs of age, Bozman said she’ll contact the purchaser to see if they’d like to buy another one. Banners are on a first-come, first serve basis, until all 60 sides are filled.
Each banner will include “sponsored by” along the bottom, and the family can choose whose name to include. Under Cody’s picture, it will list his son Jaxon’s name. Jaxon is now three and next summer, he’ll see his daddy’s picture hanging high, no doubt hearing stories of his bravery and sacrifice.
For more information on Salisbury Hometown Heroes, follow their Facebook page, or contact Nicole Bozman, SalisburyHometownHeroes@gmail.com.
