People driving through the center of town may have noticed the new banners hanging from light poles, each one honoring a Barrington veteran who died while serving this country.

The banners include the names of Barrington veterans and arrived just in time for the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday. 

Barrington United Veterans Council President Paul Dulchinos said the BUVC approached Barrington Town Council member Carl Kustell during the summer with the proposal. During its September meeting, the town council voted 4-1 to approve the display of the banners.

“We came up with the designs and used our own funding for the fabrication of the signs,” Dulchinos wrote in an email to the Barrington Times.

The BUVC worked closely with Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey during the process. The Barrington Department of Public Works installed the banners on the light poles on Oct. 25. 

“There are 56 banners in total representing each Barrington citizen who lost their lives fighting for freedom, from the Revolutionary War through today,” Dulchinos wrote. 

“Going forward the intent is to make this a recurring event for the Month of May every year in recognition of Memorial Day.”

Vote explained

Barrington Town Council member Jacob Brier cast the lone vote against the display of the veteran banners. When asked why the councilor voted against the action, Brier offered this statement:

“The banners hanging throughout town center listing the names of veterans whose lives were taken while serving our country are a symbol of the appreciation and respect Barrington has for their service and sacrifice. I support the banners being hung, which I expressed during the discussion at the Council meeting. I believe it was a project worthy of Council contingency funds and suggested that the Town pay for them. My colleagues preferred accepting funds from the United Veterans Council/Coalition. 

“The town could have invested in this project without rebuilding a partnership that shouldn’t be maintained. The UVC is a private, political organization that has positioned itself against the Town, and has been dishonest in its dealings. Were antagonism its only flaw, they could overcome it. But something far worse prohibits them, as they currently operate, from being a worthy partner for our town. The UVC is led by a person who regularly uses racist and bigoted language, personally and under the mask of his organization. He does this and also claims to speak for all veterans while criticizing veterans who do not align with or participate in his activities.

“There are nearly 500 veterans in Barrington. They come from diverse backgrounds and have varied political leanings. They deserve more from Barrington than to be represented under a cloud of bigotry. All of Barrington deserves better. The Town should fully sever the relationship with the UVC and establish a municipal veterans board so that the other ~490 patriots who served their country and live in our neighborhoods aren’t reliant on an exclusionary organization that abuses its position of prominence.

“Had the hanging of these memorial banners been voted on separately from the source of funding for the project, I would have voted in favor of the banners. The motion on which we voted combined both elements, and I could not vote in favor with integrity. To do so would be turning my back on residents who are put in harm's way, my family included, by the rhetoric espoused under the guise of that organization. It would be condoning the very actions we’ve invested so much in overcoming.

“My voting record on the Council and my personal actions over many years demonstrate how highly I value our service members and how much respect and appreciation I have for all they have done and will do. This vote was not about Barrington’s hundreds of veterans, living or lost. It was not about me or my personal views of the UVC or of its leader. The vote was about the Town Council holding an organization and its leader, a loud voice in our community, at least somewhat accountable for their harmful and divisive actions. It was about distancing the Town, even if only by one-fifth, from an unhealthy partnership. And it was about voting in alignment with the values of inclusion and antiracism.”