BATON ROUGE – Gold Star families, the surviving family members of military personnel who died while in an active-duty status, often times fear their loved ones will be forgotten. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) is committed to ensuring that does not happen for Louisiana Gold Star families.
Gold Star families, veterans, service organizations, and community members to attend the Louisiana Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day recognition ceremony being held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park, located beside the Old Arsenal Museum on the State Capitol grounds.
“LDVA’s mission is not only to take care of Louisiana service members and veterans, but also to care for their families,” said LDVA Secretary Joey Strickland. “Our new Gold Star Representative Jennifer Hahn, a Gold Star spouse, is moving us forward in accomplishing that mission.
Leading one of the first state department-led Gold Star programs in the nation, LDVA’s newly-hired Gold Star Representative knows first-hand that freedom comes at a price.
On May 24, 2005, her husband, Louisiana Army National Guard Sgt. First Class Peter J. Hahn was killed-in-action while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
“We want to let Louisiana’s Gold Star families, like the Hahns, know they will always be connected to their military family, and that we will help take care of them,” said Strickland.
All Louisianans are encouraged to help recognize the sacrifices that all Gold Star Family members make when a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, or other loved one dies in service to the nation by attending the Louisiana Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day recognition ceremony on Sept. 29.
For more information on this event, please contact LDVA’s Gold Star representative, Ms. Jennifer Hahn, via email at: Jennifer.Hahn@la.gov or by calling: (225) 219-5006.