Honoring those who have served our country!
You may have seen banners in South Windsor and Manchester where local veterans are recognized. It’s all thanks to a South Windsor High School sophomore.
A handshake filled with gratitude as Mihika Joshi honors a veteran in South Windsor.
“It’s been a really nice journey and I’ve had a lot of people along the way to help me,” she said.
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A journey that this South Windsor High School sophomore has been on for the past four years leading a program to honor veterans with banners across town. She credits her teachers for educating her on veterans’ contributions to their country and communities.
“From that, I was very inspired, and I was excited,” Joshi said.
Her program has honored 100 living veterans with banners in South Windsor and Manchester, all made at a veteran-owned printing shop using American-made materials with the help of community sponsors. Joshi says the banners have made an impact.
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“The youth were able to see the banners and understand the veterans from a different point of view and I believe it brought the community closer together,” she said.
The banners go up on Memorial Day and are taken down on Veterans Day to be given to the sponsors to display and eventually give to the veterans themselves.
Vietnam-era Army veteran Herb Asplund was moved by the gesture.
“It tells me that there is hope for our younger generation because there’s too few who are true patriots as Mihika is,” he said.
Another veteran honored was Mayor Liz Pendleton who served in the Air Force. She was impressed with Joshi’s efforts.
“For her to have such pride and patriotism for our country and local veterans is beyond me,” she said.
Joshi says her work is not done.
“I intend on continuing until every veteran in South Windsor has been honored,” she said.
