Gold Star families to be honored in Sept. 25 ceremony

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, in partnership with The Kansas Office of Veterans Services (KOVS), will recognize and honor Kansas Gold Star Families at a ceremony set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 on the Kansas Statehouse grounds in Topeka, it has been reported. 

The ceremony will take place on the Statehouse’s south side walkway by the Gold Star Family Memorial. All Gold Star Family members and members of the public are welcome to attend the ceremony.

“There is no tribute or ceremony that can erase the heartache Gold Star Families carry. But by honoring them, we remind ourselves of the profound cost of freedom and of our duty to remember the sacrifices made by the fallen and those left behind,” Gov. Kelly said. “Their strength, resilience and enduring devotion to their loved ones are powerful reminders of what it means to serve something greater than yourself.”

In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved mothers of fallen service members to wear a black arm band affixed with a Gold Star, originating the term “Gold Star Mothers.” The United States began observing Gold Star Mother’s Day on the last Sunday of September in 1936.

The Gold Star Lapel Button was established in August 1947. Today, the nation recognizes the pain and sacrifice that all Gold Star Family members face when a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter or loved one dies in service to the nation. Gold Star Families Day is recognized on the last Sunday of September.

Kansas formally began recognizing Gold Star and Survivor Families in 2022 after the passage of Senate Bill 330, with subsequent placement of a statewide memorial at the “Veterans Walkway” on the State Capitol Building’s South Lawn.

In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will move inside to the first floor of the Statehouse rotunda. For questions or comments please contact Michelle Sweeney, Director of Public Affairs, at (785) 940-1121 or michelle.sweeney@ks.gov