Fresno City College honored veterans in a ceremony on Friday in the auditorium of the Old Administration Building.

Originally scheduled in the Veterans Peace Memorial at noon, the event was moved to the OAB due to rainy weather. The change of venue, however, did not dampen the enthusiasm of participants at the ceremony. The event was attended by four generations of Purple Heart recipients, from Korean War to Iraq veterans.

In a moving gesture, Iraq War veterans supported Vietnam veterans as they walked down the aisle.

Bill Dietzel, grand marshal of the Fresno Veterans Day parade, said, “I’m a very proud person this weekend.”

The 2012 at FCC focused on men and women who earned Purple Hearts for their heroism on the battlefield. The Purple Heart is the “nation’s oldest” award, given to members of the U.S. armed forces who were wounded or killed by instruments of warfare in the hands of the enemy.

During the ceremony, each branch of the U.S. military and a group of the Lao military were acknowledged for their sacrifices.

Gil De la Peña, finance officer of Chapter 106 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, was the keynote speaker. He is originally from Fresno and graduated from Edison High School in 1950. He joined the Marine Corps and fought in the Korean War.

After being wounded in battle, he was released from active duty in 1952. In 1955, he attended FCC and earned an associate degree in science.

This year’s Citizen Soldier Award recipient is James W. Anderson, a Native American who fought in the Vietnam war and earned his AA with honors from FCC in 1963.   This individual award is given by the college to a veteran who graduated from FCC.

Anderson was drafted to the U.S. Army in 1966. While in the Army, he built roads alongside the Filipino military. After Vietnam, he became a professional golfer.

Robert Fox, retired dean of students, who was the recipient of the Citizen Soldier Award in 2010, said, “It’s recognition. It was an opportunity for me to say thank you and that there are other people that should be recognized.”