The post's first Vietnam Veterans Honor Dinner drew some 600 veterans and guests.
A dinner to honor Vietnam veterans drew some 600 veterans and their families to American Legion Hardin Post 113 in Elizabethtown, Ky., on March 29.
“It’s long overdue to honor that era’s veterans,” Post Commander John Saunders said. He noted that the post has hosted events each year to honor veterans of World War II and Korea, and this was the first Vietnam Veterans Honor Dinner at Post 113.
It certainly won’t be the last.
The veterans were met with a receiving line which included U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, Elizabethtown Mayor Edna Berger and officials from nearby Fort Knox, who thanked the veterans for their service.
“There were people waiting over 40 minutes to go through the receiving line, but nobody complained,” Saunders said. “It was very emotional for some of (the veterans).”
Some of that emotion could be traced to the event’s décor, as Hardin County Schools students made banners and thank-you cards.
Given the turnout by the veterans and the support of the community, the dinner will likely become an annual event, Saunders said. He said both the post’s parking lot and a nearby parking lot that the local medical plaza allowed use of were both full.
- Honor & Remembrance