AGAWAM – On Memorial Day, the town and the Agawam Veterans Council will gather to recognize Agawam residents who died in service to their nation.

In an ongoing project, however, the Veterans Council also makes sure that fallen servicemembers’ names stay in sight all year. Council Chair Aldo Mancini told Reminder Publishing that his group is about one-third of the way done in its program to place memorial markers on street signs in the home neighborhoods of the town’s war dead.

“The signs go up on the street that the soldier resided on when they enlisted,” said Mancini. “The sign has the soldier’s name, rank, and group they were with.

The soldier needed to live in Agawam at the time they enlisted – if they moved during their enlistment or after, it does not matter.”

Signs up so far honor servicemembers who died in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War.

Mancini said there are about 50 names left to go on the Veterans Council’s list, which is the same as the list of fallen servicemembers on the bell tower at the Veterans Green, at Main and School streets. The list does not include anyone from the war on terror or the Korean War, he noted. Anyone who believes the list is missing a name should call the Veterans Council at 786-4985.

The signs cost about $85 each, paid by the Veterans Council. The signs are made from metal with a shiny black surface, white lettering and a symbol denoting the branch of service. Mancini said that if the family of the servicemember wishes to be there when the sign is installed, they are more than welcome.