In a little over a month, Margate visitors will see banners lining its promenade honoring local veterans and sharing powerful stories of service, sacrifice and humility.
James Savio, who is coordinating the initiative known as “Margate Heroes,” said he got the idea when visiting his daughter and son-in-law in New York, where he saw banners on light poles.
He then went to the City Commission and suggested Margate adopt a similar program there.
Though not a veteran himself, Savio has a personal tie to the project.
“My father and my uncle were veterans, and I have a lot of respect for veterans,” he said. “Each of the veterans deserve to be recognized with a banner.”
Jewish partisans who fought the Nazis in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania during World War II and later settled in Margate are also being honored with banners.
The program launched in summer 2025 with banners recognizing decorated veterans. A fundraiser held around Veterans Day helped expand the effort to also honor non-decorated veterans. Savio said $8,000 was raised to cover the costs for the banners because of support from local businesses and residents.
The banners are displayed seasonally, going up before Memorial Day and coming down after Veterans Day to preserve them.
“This meaningful initiative is a wonderful way to honor Margate’s heroes who have served in our armed forces,” Margate Mayor Michael Collins said in an April 1 email. “I encourage everyone to take a walk and read the stories of our friends, family members and neighbors. Learning about their service and connection to Margate is truly humbling and speaks to the strength of our community.”
This year, Savio said the banners will be arranged in a more organized sequence, starting with recipients of the Silver Star and Navy Cross, followed by those awarded the Bronze Star, then Jewish partisans, and finally all other veterans from Margate who were not formally decorated.
The display will span the bayside promenade along Amherst Avenue, extending to the Washington Avenue Pier and continuing along Washington Avenue toward Ventnor Avenue and All Wars Memorial Park to accommodate the growing number of banners, now roughly 80 to 85.
Savio personally verifies many of the veterans’ ties to Margate, relying on decades of local knowledge. For decorated veterans, however, he requires official military documentation.
Beyond the logistics, Savio said the most striking part of the project has been the humility of those honored.
“I was amazed at how many of the veterans that I spoke to — or their families — said, ‘Look, I didn’t do anything special. I wasn’t shot at. I don’t deserve a banner,’” he said. “And my response was, ‘Yes, they do.’”
For Savio, the banners serve as a way to recognize those in the community who risked their lives for the country, as well as connect generations. He said he hopes families will stand before the displays and better understand the sacrifices made.
“The point is that you agreed to serve and to do whatever you ordered to do,” he said. “And to me, that’s enough to result in being recognized as a hero.”
If you would like to recognize a friend or loved one, please contact Anthony Edge at aedge@margate-nj.com.
