Decorated combat veteran and retired U.S. Navy submariner Evangelo "Vann" Morris will be the featured speaker for Florida State University Panama City’s observance of Veterans Day.

Morris will speak at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8, in the Holley Academic Center’s St. Joe Community Lecture Hall, 4750 Collegiate Drive, Panama City. Admission is free and open to the public.

“I have to give credit to the Navy,” he said in a conversation presented on his website. “But I give credit to my mom and dad because they raised us right. That is extremely important. You have to applaud the parents who give the kids the core values that they need.”

Raised with 14 siblings in a small town in Louisiana, Morris went on to serve aboard a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, was deployed to Afghanistan and retired as a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer (SWO). He also earned his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Technology from the University of Memphis (Tenn.).

During his 30 years of service, he traveled to 45 countries and conducted major operations with personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Special Operations Forces. In his last two tours of duty, he served at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa. His wife, Rita, and their three sons are also U.S. military veterans.

Morris has a stated mission of “Healing America,” which includes spreading a message of patriotism and public service, inspiring young people to become the best versions of themselves and raising awareness about the epidemic of depression and suicide afflicting American veterans.

“More than 30,000 service members and veterans committed suicide during (the 20 years from Sept. 11, 2001, to 2021),” he said. “That’s more than four times the number that died in combat in the line of duty during that same time span. … I am raising awareness and supporting organizations that are helping to lower these numbers.”

Morris’ appearance is part of the ongoing Illumination Event Series at FSU Panama City. For a complete list of upcoming Illumination programs, visit pc.fsu.edu/students/events-programs/illumination.