There were few empty seats and plenty of people standing at the Fishers City Hall Council Chambers Friday morning as the city took time out to honor military veterans of the Vietnam War.  Lapel pins were presented to the vets on hand for the ceremony.

The Guest Speaker was George Stavropoulos, a Fishers resident and a Naval Hospital Corpsman in the Vietnam War.  He became emotional when describing some very brutal battlefields during his time stationed in Southeast Asia, where he lost many good friends.  He also described an encounter with Vietnam War protesters once he was back in America, and he said bitterness remains over that.

Mayor Scott Fadness talked about memories of his grandfather, a veteran of Wold War II.

“We owe all of you a tremendous debt of gratitude”, said the mayor.  “Today is just a small token of appreciation.”

Navy Veteran El Ahlwardt served as master of ceremonies for the event, as he has done many times at such events held in Fishers.

The ceremony was originally scheduled to be held outside at Liberty Plaza, but a rainy weather forecast forced the event inside City Hall.