A large crowd gathered at Fishers City Hall Wednesday for the city’s annual Veterans Day ceremony, which featured a retired Army major general who spent more than 37 years in uniform and a mayor who remembered when the event drew only a handful of people.
El Ahlwardt, Chair of the Fishers Armed Services Commission, served as master of ceremonies. The program included a POW/MIA remembrance, and the city handed out pins to every military veteran in attendance.
The guest speaker was retired Maj. Gen. Timothy Winslow, executive director of the Indiana War Memorials and assistant director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs. Winslow is a Master Army Aviator with two combat deployments. He served as interim adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard and was chief of staff of the 38th Infantry Division.
Winslow began by drawing the line between the two military holidays.
“Memorial Day honors those who died while serving our country,” he said. “Veterans Day honors all who have served.”
He told the crowd that service is not measured by how long someone wore the uniform. He pointed to young sailors aboard the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. Some had not yet attended boot camp or been issued uniforms, but they had already accepted the responsibility of service.
“It’s measured by the commitment to serve, and the willingness to accept the risk,” Winslow said.
He said he had heard some veterans that morning describe themselves as “just” having served, and he rejected the idea.
“Everyone serves, and it takes everyone to complete that mission,” he said. “So don’t allow anyone to say, ‘I was just.’”
Winslow mixed in plenty of humor. He noted he served more than 37.5 years and has been married for 34, and he wanted to leave neither. Senior leaders finally told him it was time to retire, he said, which he took as the military’s way of saying someone else deserved a turn.
He drew laughs describing lessons every branch shares: five minutes early is merely the minimum acceptable level of punctuality, “hurry up and wait” is a complete description of military time management, and anyone who says a task “will only take a minute” deserves suspicion.
He also recalled the smells and sounds veterans never forget, from diesel fuel and gun-cleaning oil to boots in the hallway and engines starting before sunrise.
Winslow said families carry the burden of service too, through deployments, moves and uncertainty. He urged the crowd to listen to veterans’ stories, support the organizations that serve them and remember that returning to civilian life is not always easy.
“‘Thank you for your service’ means the most when it’s followed by genuine respect and meaningful support,” he said.
Mayor Scott Fadness called the day “doubly special.” His oldest son was born on Veterans Day and turned 12 Wednesday. Driving him to a 7:15 a.m. basketball practice, Fadness said, they passed about 50 American flags and a sign at his elementary school saying “we love our veterans.”
Fadness said he and Ahlwardt remembered the early years of the city’s veterans programs, when about 10 people came if you counted the two of them and city staff.
“To see what we’ve got is incredible,” he said.
The mayor credited a new veterans Hall of Fame inductee, FASC Co-Chair Eddie Rivers, and a newly-minted veteran, Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren.
Fadness, who is not a veteran, said speaking to the group is probably his most humbling experience each year. He referred to the recent election as more contentious than most.
“I doubt any of you went off to war to fight for a Republican Party or a Democratic Party,” Fadness said, “but rather for the things that unite us as Americans.”
He thanked veterans on behalf of city officials and community leaders and invited them back for the city’s Memorial Day service.
Here a some additional photos of Veterans Day in Fishers:
