LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Sunday was the 14th annual Survivors Day at Churchill Downs Racing. This is one of the largest annual events in the country for Gold Star families and pays tribute to fallen military members from all branches of service.

Gold Star families from across the country can enjoy a day of horse racing on Millionaire’s Row while remembering loved ones they lost in active military service.

“Everybody is standing there, remembering what they lost, and they can express that with all the noise and cheering and flags waving,” senior and Gold Star father Mark Roland said.

Roland is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who served 30 years in the Air Force.

His son, Matthew, attended the Air Force Academy and became an Air Force special tactics officer. He was killed in action while on duty to Afghanistan in 2015.

For Gold Star parents like Roland, Survivors Day is a chance to connect with others who understand his loss.

“This gives all of us, other families, who are grieving the loss of a loved one serving in the military, an opportunity to share, an opportunity to be in the same room with people who understand each other,” Roland said.

Lynn Romans’ son, Sergeant Darrin Potter, died in Iraq in 2003 while serving with the Kentucky Army National Guard.

He is one of approximately 113 Kentucky military service members who have given their lives in active service since 9/11, according to Kentucky Survivor Outreach Services.

At the time of his death, Potter was the first Kentucky guardsman killed in action since the Vietnam War. After his death, Romans says he found community among other Gold Star families.

He currently serves as a Green and Gold Congressional Aide on U.S. Congressman Morgan McGarvey’s staff and works with military and veteran constituents.

“Even though the deaths are very different, it is very important that there are other people who may feel the same loss and that these people can be reached,” Romans said.

Since 9/11, nearly 20,000 Kentucky National Guard soldiers and airmen have deployed in support of the Global War on Terror. The Kentucky National Guard currently has more than 250 soldiers and airmen serving worldwide.

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