Editorial: A sign of the times comes to an end

They have adorned bridges and overpasses since just after Sept. 11, 2001 and become a comforting part of our commutes to work and home.

Friends and family have placed "Welcome Home" signs for loved ones returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remembrances of those who didn't return all along the highways of Massachusetts.

To their credit, state officials have allowed the heartfelt displays to remain, understanding the passion - and, indeed, the need - behind the homemade patriotic greetings often festooned with flowers and flags.

But now the Massachusetts Highway Department has announced it will take down the displays as a matter of safety and offered to erect permanent "Welcome Home Troops" signs at all the state's rest stops.

It will not be a popular decision but it is the right decision and one we hope families and friends will come to understand, if not agree with.

Most of the homemade signs are either on cardboard, drawing paper or bed sheets. They are attached to the fencing on the overpasses by wire or plastics ties and over time deteriorate with the harsh New England elements.

Some people hang the displays on the outside of the chain-link fence so the returning soldiers can better see the welcome. That becomes extremely dangerous if the sheet should dislodge and fall onto the windshield of a passing car traveling at 60 mph.

Also, once the soldier is back home and settled in, the displays are often forgotten and remain there until highway crews remove them as they begin to tatter.

In addition, there is a protocol for tending and displaying the American flag and that is often forgotten by those who hang them on the bridges and fences.

When the signs first began appearing, they were a welcome display of patriotism and pride, one that few would argue interfered with the proper functioning of state roads.

We would look to see whose name was on the new sign, did we know the soldier, and we were thankful they returned home safely. We said a silent prayer for the ones whose signs were a memorial.

But as the years have rolled on and normalcy returned, we have paid little heed to the exhibits, their having become just a part of the landscape, no more noticeable than the Route 3 Exit 14 sign that leads to Route 228 that we pass by north and south every day.

Which tells us the time has come to honor the soldiers in more personal ways. This is the right decision.