LDVA to Honor Louisiana’s Gold Star Families at 2026 Gold Star Mother’s & Family’s Day Ceremony

By Daniele Palen, Director of Communications, LDVA

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) Secretary Charlton Meginley, Col (Ret), USAF, together with the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, invites the public to Gold Star Mother’s & Family’s Day on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Gold Star Monument in the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park, adjacent to the State Capitol in Baton Rouge. The ceremony honors Louisiana’s Gold Star families, those who have lost a loved one in military service.

This year’s ceremony comes just over a week after the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Many of the young men and women who serve today were still in school on that morning, and went on to take the oath of enlistment, choosing to serve and protect the nation they watched come under attack.

“So many of the men and women who wear the uniform today were sitting in classrooms watching the events of September 11th unfold, and they answered that moment by taking the oath to serve and protect,” said Secretary Meginley. “In this anniversary year, we remember and we honor the Gold Star families who have carried the cost of that service, and every Gold Star family across every generation who has given a loved one in defense of our freedom. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

The program will include the posting and retiring of colors, the national anthem, opening remarks from Secretary Meginley, and keynote remarks from Grant McCurdy, a Gold Star sibling and Marine Corps veteran who serves as Co-Chairman of Honor Flight Louisiana. The program will close with a Name Reading Ceremony in which a bell will be rung in honor of each fallen Louisiana service member as their name is spoken. Following the ceremony, all guests are invited to a free picnic lunch and fellowship.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP is recommended to help ensure lunch is available for everyone, and can be submitted at https://bit.ly/GoldStar2026 or by contacting Larry Williams at larry.williams@la.gov or 225-276-8626.

Parking at 300 Capitol Access Road and the Insurance Lot on North Fifth Street.

Louisiana is home to approximately 250,000 veterans. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs serves those veterans and their families through a network of benefits counselors, state veteran homes, and state veterans cemeteries.

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