More banners honoring military members going up in Rohnert Park

A Veterans Day ceremony will honor five active-duty members of the military from Rohnert Park by adding banners saluting them to a collection on display around the city.

There are currently 23 banners on display, each bearing a likeness of the service member and mounted on lamp posts at City Center Plaza and along Rohnert Park Expressway.

The city will decide where the new banners go, said Coast Guard veteran Andy Durkee, who started the program — the first in Sonoma County — last year after the city agreed to make space for the display.

"I just said, 'Give us a fair shake,' and the only thing I would ask is make them visible," he said.

The new banners will recognize Philip Swensen, Air Force; Korey Rylance, Navy; Ely Nelson, Marines; John Morhman III, Navy; and Nicole Aunapu Mann, Marines.

"There's no downside," Durkee said of the program, which he described as nonpolitical. Each banner costs $175 to $200 and the costs are borne by individuals and businesses.

It's marching right along here," Durkee said.

The Monday ceremony is at 11 a.m. at the city's community center, 5401 Snyder Lane.

For more information about the banner program, go here.