LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — During lunchtime, Dale Punch has a routine that involves meeting with his buddies, Perry Cashion and Jim Mayhew, to find out which local Lincoln County restaurant they're going to pick for lunch.
When the location is decided, they meet and order the usual because there's not a restaurant in the county they haven't visited several dozen times.
What You Need To Know
Dale Punch is commander of the Lincolnton American Legion Post 30
Punch wanted for Lincoln County veterans to be recognized and honored with a public display
He started Hometown Heroes, individual banners which will include veterans' pictures and years of service and will be hung on flagpoles in downtown Lincolnton for Veterans Day
On Monday, they picked Captain Pete's and after ordering their sweet teas, they began making plans for the weekend, which included attending the American Legion World Series in Shelby.
Punch is the current commander of the American Legion Post 30 in Lincolnton.
After graduation from Lincolnton High School, Punch enlisted in the Marine Corps and went to Vietnam.
Punch and Cashion followed each other in the service. Cashion served in Okinawa, and when he came home, he and Punch worked together and have been inseparable ever since.
Mayhew met Punch and Cashion when he moved to Lincolnton after serving in the Navy for 20 years.
He stopped by the American Legion Post to find a community.
All three men do what they can to honor veterans, and Punch said he wanted something more visible for the public to enjoy.
So this year he came up with "Hometown Heroes."
It's a banner display that will include veterans' pictures and their years of service.
“It's a great idea. We can honor many of our veterans, active duty, or deceased veterans," Punch said. "I want it to be a walk down Lincolnton thing, and look at it and say, 'Hey I didn’t know he served, or I didn’t know that she served.'"
Each banner will cost $100 and will be displayed on the flagpoles in downtown Lincolnton. They will go up in October and stay up until Christmas decorations go up.
Cashion's wife, Sandy, bought two banners, one for her husband and one for her father.
“They gave a part of their life to serve their countries, so I think the hometown banner program that Dale Punch and the other veterans are putting together is an awesome way to show our respect to all of the veterans, not only our loved ones, but all the Lincoln County veterans for their service," Sandy Cashion said. 'And I think once the banners go up, it will be something that Lincolnton can be really proud of."
To order a banner call Dale Punch at 704-477-8829 or email him at dalepunch@charter.net