photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A KU ROTC Color Guard and the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Pipe & Drum Band stand at the ready during the University of Kansas' Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10, 2023.

Lee Norman, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army National Guard and the former secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment who served during the pandemic, told a crowd at the University of Kansas’ Veterans Day ceremony to identify causes to serve and then commit to them fully.

“Every one of us at some point says we are all in, and then you had better be all in,” said Norman, who was the featured speaker at the wreath-laying ceremony at the Campanile on the KU campus Friday, the day before Veterans Day.

In addition to his service as the state’s chief medical officer during the contentious lockdown period of the pandemic, Norman had a long military career, first serving in the Air Force and then joining the Army National Guard when he was 61 years old, receiving a special age exemption from the military.

He told the crowd that he served with many great men and women and that he and others continue to have a responsibility towards them.

“Keep close your battle buddies,” Norman said, using an Army term for those you have served with. “Even when they don’t think they need your help, check in on them.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lee Norman, a retired colonel in the Kansas National Guard who also served as the state’s director of health and environment during the pandemic, was the featured speaker at KU’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10, 2023.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Pipe & Drum Band and the KU ROTC Color Guard both took part in ceremonies at KU’s Veterans Day event on Nov. 10, 2023.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A wreath rests at the opening of the Campanile as members of the military stand at attention during KU’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10, 2023.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

The horn of trumpeter Curtis Marsh is seen atop the Campanile at KU’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10, 2023.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The Campanile, a memorial to KU students killed during World War II, was center stage at the University of Kansas’ Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 10, 2023.