''We Will Never Forget''

Who is a Gold Star Mother?

During the early days of World War I, a Blue Star was used to represent each person, man or woman in the Military Service of the United States. As the war progressed and men were killed in combat, others wounded and died of their wounds or disease, there came about the accepted usage of the Gold Star. This Gold Star was substituted and superimposed upon the Blue Star in such a manner as to entirely cover it. The idea of the Gold Star was that the honor and glory accorded the person for his supreme sacrifice in offering for his country, the last full measure of devotion and pride of the family in this sacrifice, rather than the sense of personal loss which would be represented by the mourning symbols, formerly wearing a black band on the left arm with a gilt star on the band for each member of the family who has given his life for the Nation.
On June 4, 1928, a group of twenty-five mothers residing in Washington, District of Colombia, met to make plans to organize a national organization to be known as American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., a non-denominational, non-profitable and non-political organization. On January 5, 1929, the organization was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. Today there are over 1,200 active Gold Star members.
American Gold Star Mothers