It was standing-room only at The Kate on Dec. 9 for the honoring of more than 40 Old Saybrook Vietnam veterans, an event First Selectman Carl P. Fortuna called “a celebration of your service in an effort to make partial amends” for the “betrayal many felt” upon their return home.

The ceremony was part of a program Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz put in place to recognize all those in Connecticut who served in the armed forces in any capacity during that conflict, whether at home or abroad. Each veteran received a lapel pin and a certificate of appreciation from the state.

Along with Bysiewicz and Fortuna, state senators Norm Needleman (D-33) and Paul Formica (R-20) and State Representative Devin Carney (R-23) addressed the veterans. Department of Veteran Affairs Commissioner Thomas Saadi, who was serving in the National Guard that evening, was represented by his executive assistant, Joe Danao.

The program was opened by a posting of the guard by members of the Old Saybrook Police Department and a performance of the National Anthem by the Goodwin School Welcome Choir with Chris Listori on guitar. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Goodwin student Nadia Roslonek.

Bysiewicz herself made the rounds of the audience with a microphone, offering the veterans a chance to speak publicly about their experiences.

Mike Eagle, who served from 1968 to ’69 with the 100th Engineer Company in the Army, recounted being treated with great respect upon his discharge by a taxi driver who drove him from the Oakland Army Terminal to the San Francisco airport. When they arrived at the airport, the driver delivered his bags from the cab and said, “Welcome home.” Yet for many years, Eagle didn’t wear his uniform or anything else indicating that he had served in the conflict. Until recently.

“Since I’ve been wearing Air Command and Vietnam hats or shirts...I’m really impressed how many time people come up to me, young and old, and say, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Eagle said. “And I say to them, ‘Thank you very much. It’s much appreciated.’ And it really is.”

Howard “Hal” Farrington, Jr. served in the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam from 1967 to ’68.

“I was wounded three times,” he said. “And I was taken great care of by the military, by the V.A. and, as a matter of fact, I came back here to the States...and Walter Reed [National Military Medical Center] was a super facility. They really took great care of me there.”

Farrington said he has had several “operations, a heart attack, and two bouts of cancer. And I’m still here.” This statement was met with applause from the audience.

In June 1968, Farrington met former Army general and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was at Walter Reed for his physical.

“We went through the parking lot and former President Eisenhower...motioned for me to come over and he said, ‘Were you injured in combat, young man?’” Farrington said.

“What do you say to a five-star general and a former president?” he continued. “The words wouldn’t even come out of my mouth. I gestured with my head.

“Eisenhower said, ‘I want to thank you for serving your country.’ And I felt like a million bucks at that time. I really felt appreciated,” he said.

In 2011, Farrington was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame. According to the program for the induction ceremony, he is the recipient of a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, Vietnam Civil Action Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and Combat Infantry Badge.

“For 34 years, he has served as a veterans benefits advisor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and, in that capacity, he has assisted thousands of his fellow Connecticut veterans in accessing the state and federal benefits they earned by their service to the nation,” according to the program.

Another veteran, Dan Walden, said that he didn’t tell anyone about what was going on in Vietnam.

“I’m still pretty closed mouthed about it,” he said, “as it can be painful. It can be just plain wreckage. But I am blessed to be here.

“Every month I meet with about 20 guys in a post-traumatic stress disorder support group sponsored by the V.A.,” he continued. “I’m an only child, but these guys are my brothers. We had a sister for a while, but she died of cancer about three years ago. In fact, roughly one-third of the members of the group have passed away, usually by cancer or cardiac problems, since I’ve been a member of the group.

“I managed to get dosed up with Agent Orange and that led to 8 ½ hours of brain surgery about 20 years ago,” he said. “I’m lucky to be alive. Every day is a gift...I don’t spend a whole lot of time with military people anymore but that doesn’t mean they don’t have my respect, my admiration. Anybody who can go through, in my case, 365 days of schlepping around the boonies can tell you about it.”

Walden then shared a story from the war about a supply sergeant, Barry Miracle from Kentucky.

“He did some wonderful things for us,” he said. “We were right up in the north part of the country, right on the DMZ, demilitarized zone. We would take our captured weapons and give them to Miracle every once in a while, and he would take the guns to the Marine base in Danang and trade them for pallets of beer and a bottle of Scotch for me.

“It worked,” Walden added.

The ceremony concluded with a presentation to each veteran of a lapel pin and certificate of appreciation. Bysiewicz paused to acknowledge JoAnn Eaccarino, who served during the war as an Air Force nurse.

“[I]t was my great joy and a privilege to be an Air Force nurse,” Eaccarino said. “I started out as a hospital nurse up in Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire—which is now an industrial park—and then I had the opportunity to go to flight school and I was a flight nurse. So I was stationed in the Philippines and flew on a number of commissions around there. I got all over that part of the world and it was wonderful.

“So I am a Vietnam-era veteran,” she said.