Gov. Laura Kelly paid tribute to fallen service members and their families during the third annual Kansas Gold Star Family Remembrance and Recognition ceremony on Thursday. 

Kelly was joined on the south lawn of the Statehouse by service members and state and local officials, including Erik Rohleder, deputy director of the Kansas Office of Veterans Services, and Brig. Gen. Michael T. Venerdi. 

Kelly, whose father earned a Purple Heart for service during the Korean War, said she has always harbored “a deep and abiding respect and admiration” for those who have served in the armed forces, as well as their families. 

Kelly noted that it was an honor to be in the presence of Kansas’ Gold Star families, “all of whom have lost a husband or a wife, a sister or a brother, a father or a mother, a daughter or a son — a  family member who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.” 

“When a person joins the military, the entire family embarks on that journey with them,” the governor said. “They all recognize the inherent risks that come with the duty of protecting our country and our liberty. None of them wants to become a member of the Gold Star family, but plenty of them do — including 6,500 or more here in Kansas alone.” 

The event also featured a wreath laying ceremony and the laying of yellow roses by members of Gold Star families in honor of loved ones. 

The inaugural remembrance ceremony took place following Kelly’s signing of Senate Bill 330 in 2022 — establishing the Kansas Gold Star Families Memorial, located within the “Veterans’ Walkway” on the south lawn of the Statehouse. 

Matt Resnick is a statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected]