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Fishers Memorial Day ceremony honors fallen as keynote recalls family’s Holocaust survival
Summary
Fishers’ 2026 Memorial Day ceremony opened at the municipal amphitheater with a POW/MIA remembrance, musical tributes and a keynote by Dr. Alex Corr, who recounted his family’s Holocaust survival and his father’s liberation by U.S. forces. The program included readings, a moment of silence and a planned missing-man flyover.
The City of Fishers held its 2026 Memorial Day ceremony at the municipal amphitheater on Monday, opening with a POW/MIA remembrance and a series of musical tributes before a keynote address by Dr. Alex Corr.
Dr. Alex Corr, introduced as the keynote and identified as a Carmel resident, told the audience a multi-generational story of survival and service. He described his father’s experience in the Riga ghetto, imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps and ultimate liberation by U.S. forces, saying his father later wrote that “Coca Cola was his first taste of freedom.” Corr read passages from letters written by his father and emphasized the personal cost of war and the importance of remembrance.
The keynote linked personal memory to national service and the ceremony’s purpose. The moderator opened the event “on behalf of Mayor Scott Fadness and the City of Fishers Armed Services Commission,” asked the audience to honor Gold Star families and explained the evening’s program: colors presented by the city police honor guard, the Pledge of Allegiance led by George Stephropoulos, the Fishers Community Choir’s national anthem and a POW/MIA remembrance conducted by American Legion Post 470.
Commander Dave Key of American Legion Post 470 described the traditional POW/MIA table set for one and explained the symbolic elements — a white cloth for purity of intent, a single rose for blood shed, a slice of lemon for bitter fate, salt for tears, an inverted glass and an empty chair to represent those missing from our midst. The program noted ongoing recovery efforts and cited an estimate given during the ceremony of about 38,000 recoverable U.S. service personnel among roughly 81,400 still unaccounted for from past conflicts.
Pastor Medley offered a benediction asking for comfort for families who have lost loved ones in service. The White River Brass Troop performed an Armed Forces medley and the ceremony included a poem reading by local resident Paul Eisnerhoe titled “Honoring the Brave.” Mayor Scott Fadness reflected on quiet, hometown expressions of patriotism and thanked volunteers and veterans for their service.
The program closed with a moment of silence and announcements inviting attendees to lay carnations at the Gold Star Families Memorial and attend a post-ceremony American Legion lunch. Organizers also noted a planned missing-man formation flyover by Indy Biplanes.
The ceremony combined ceremonial traditions with personal testimony to underscore remembrance and community gratitude; no votes or formal governmental actions were taken at the event.
