It’s been 106 years since Hope McFall made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for his country in World War I.

Pastor Mike Dillman and those who helped stage the Memorial Weekend commemoration for 15 years at Woodward Park want to make sure the community never forgets that McFall gave his Ife for their freedoms.

The same goes for the 65 men from the Manteca area that fell in wars after McFall did.

To make that happen, 40 double-sided banners will be displayed from street light poles along Yosemite Avenue and Main Street in downtown Manteca in May each year.

Of those, 33 will contain the names of the fallen. In addition, the first to die in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Global War on Terror will have their portraits gracing their banner as well.

A commemoration to mark the launch of the annual annual display of the banners is set or Saturday, April 29, at 1 p.m. in the Bedquarters parking lot at Yosemite and Main Street.

It is an appropriate site.

That’s because it is where the community three times has launched major efforts  to remember those that have served their community from Manteca.

First, it was during World War II where a massive billboard listed the names of those who were serving or who had returned from war.

It graced the side of the then Turner Hardware where the five Manteca Mural Society veterans murals are now placed.

As Manteca residents reported for duty, their names were dutifully added to the billboard.

By war’s end, the billboard contained 985 names.

That represented almost a fifth of the population of the Manteca-Lathrop area back in 1940 when the City of Manteca had 1,981 residents and more than that living in the countryside.

For that reason— plus the fact the wall was the premium spot for murals in downtown — was why it was selected by the mural society for their salute to veterans.

The Manteca Chamber of Commerce when they launched their Flags Over Manteca effort in 2002 following the terrorist attacks on the United States, chose to use Main and Yosemite for the epicenter of efforts that place 2,400 flags along the city’s streets eight times a year including Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

In selecting the name for the project, volunteer Roz Cruz noted Dillman was insistent that the word “our” be in the name of “Avenue of Our heroes.”

It was to drive home the point the 66 men were Manteca residents. They went to Manteca schools. They worked in Manteca. They had family and friends in Manteca. And they left Manteca and placed their lives in harm’s way making the ultimate sacrifice.

In other words, the 66 men were not abstract figures. They were men who walked and drove many of the same streets Manteca residents do today.

The April 29 ceremony starts at 1 p.m.

It will include speakers, a proclamation presented by Mayor Gary Singh, the reading of the 66 names along with the traditional tolling of the bell as each is read, and the unveiling of the banners.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6311 and American Legion Post 249 in Manteca along with many in the community are providing the funding to make this project possible.

“I did not want to close the book on our efforts to remember the fallen,” noted Dillman, founder of the Not Forgotten Foundation, said in a release last month “We wanted to insure that every year in Manteca those who have given the ultimate sacrifice would continue to be remembered and honored.”

There will also be free hot dogs served.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com