From right to left, are Mrs. Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Mrs. Kelly Cotton wife of commanding officer, Ron Bhalla, Admiral Vance Fry, Mrs. Admiral, Ramesh Appareddy, Dr. Vijay Appareddy.
From right to left, are Bulla Bhai Patel, Mrs. Patsy Henry, Mr. Larry Henry, Circuit Court clerk, Ron Bhalla, Mr. Wilkinson, deputy administrator of City of Chattanooga, Ishwar Patel
From right to left, are Mrs. Sharmista Bhalla, Patsy Henry, Larry Henry, Mr. Wilkinson
The Asian Indian community took time on Oct. 16 to honor the families of those who lost their lives on duty during the July 16 attack in Chattanooga.
"This unexpected tragedy shook not only the town of Chattanooga but the whole nation," organizers said.
Ranjit (Ron) Bhalla, a past president of India Association of Chattanooga, took the initiative to bring the attention of the Asian Indian community together to help the families by giving moral and monetary support.
"The whole community got together. Some of them attended the memorial service and parade on Sept. 16 and the funeral procession to pay their respect. They also donated blood as needed," officials said. "As usual, the Asian Indian community never stayed back when such calamity hit the nation. We are always there in the good and bad times of this country. At the time of the sad tragedy that happened on 9/11, our community raised $36,000 to hand over to Sen. Bob Corker, then Mayor of Chattanooga."
During the Oct. 16 event, the Asian Indian Community invited the families of Staff Sgt. David Wyatt and Petty Officer Randall Smith so they could hand over collected funds to them.
Admiral Vance Fry accepted a $7,200 check on behalf of the two families. There was a crowd of almost 400 people.
Among the guests list were Congressman Chuck Fleischman, Admiral Vance Fry, Mayor’s official Deputy Administrator Nick Wilkinson, Mrs. Kelly Cotton, wife of Commanding Officer, Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry and wife Patsy, Commissioner Marty Haynes, City Councilman Larry Grohn, City Councilman Ken Smith, Retd. State Representative Bobby Wood and spouse, City Councilman Ken Smith, Commissioner Tim Boyed and spouse, and Councilman Russell
Congressman Fleischman was introduced by Mr. Bhalla, Admiral Fry was introduced by Anil Patel, Mayor’s official was introduced by Dr. Anuj Chandra.
The event was supported by many community leaders, including Ishwar Patel, Anil Patel, Pravin Patel, Davel Patel, Bula Bhai Patel, Dr. Lotika Chandra, Dr. Anil Bhatia, Dr. Vijaya Appareddy, Dr. Nisha Surenderanath, Sheila Boyington, Thara Kurien, Sushma Shantha, Ravi Bachala, and others.