Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936

I hadn't heard of this before... Thanks for posting.
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David, thank you for letting us all know about this day, which I honestly have not heard about. I don't know any Gold Star Mothers, although you can say my aunt was very close, when my cousin went to Iraq to work for the army as a civilian.

Thank you for posting your article to !!!Today's Top Three Photos and Articles!!!@

http://bestoftoday.gather.com/

I was unaware of this. Thank you for the knowledge. :-)

This is wonderful, David. I hadn't heard about it.

That sounds like a great idea to honor mothers for their courage and support for their children. I am definitely all for this.

I personally don't know any Gold Star Mothers, but know a few people who have served in Iraq and are currently serving in Iraq over the last few years.

Great idea, but I don't know any Gold Star Mothers either.

I think this is a good idea...thanks for sharing it!

Ironically, September 30 is also my birthday, so two times the celebration. ^_^

I look forward to some good posts.


Dancing With My Dream (Vote Round 2)"

All, I don't know any Gold Star Mothers personally either. The way I see it, Gather is so fraught with whining, complaining, and finger pointing about one persons views or the other. I think we need a good healthy cause to rally behind. Let's just get the word out to express our honor and gratefulness to this special group of people.

Never heard of this one before, we usually celebrate Mother's day in May.

JoAnne, this isn't just Mother's Day. You should read the entire statement from the White House.

Very honorable....I wonder what Cindy Sheehan will say. I think this is a wonderful idea. I read the statement too....touching.

A salute to our troops, and a special salute to the mothers who watch their sons and daughters leave home to serve our country!

I think this is a wonderful idea and I appreciate you bringing it to the attention of the Gather family. I have no stories to add, luckily I don't know any of these women...but, I still feel for them and what they have had to do.

good idea!!!

Thank you, David, for bringing this to our attention. I certainly will make a note of this special day.

This is wonderful, David!

I grew up knowing this as my grandmother on my fathers side was a Gold Star Mother. She was issued this beautiful Gold Star to hang in her window in remembrance of my Uncle who was lost in WWII . The Gold Star hung in her window until she died and now my father has it this lovely Star. One day it will pass to me, it is extremly special to us as he never came home from WWII as his body was never recovered and he was listed as MIA after his plane was shot down over Germany. We have always made it a point to light a candle and talkabout my uncle on this special day. So he will never be forgotten and we remember what he did for our country.

This is wonderful David, thanks for letting me know.

Congratulations David, your article made it to the top at !!!Today's Top Three Photos and Articles!!!@

http://bestoftoday.gather.com/

too sad to think about!

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Yes, I hope we can all come together and recognize that losing a child is painful, no matter what one's political beliefs are. I know parents who have supported the war and others who have not and in BOTH groups some have had sons and daughters enlist, only to see some of their offspring die.

A parent is a parent. I think the recognition of parental feelings crosses borders and political divisions. At least, I hope it does. I know that if one of my children made a decision I did not like (like the one who bought a motorcycle, making me worry about his sanity and life quite often), my love would always be there, no matter what.

P.S. Not that I am comparing buying a motorcycle to going off to war. Plus, he got rid of it after one scary crash.

I think it is a wonderful idea. I grew up hearing about my grandmother's brother that was killed in WWII. Thank you for bringing this to Gather attention.

Thank you all for your comments so far.

Wonderful article! We indeed should remember these women and the price that was paid. I remember when I learned about the Fighting Sullivans. I remember my heart breaking just thinking about their poor mother. It is such a sad sacrifice, these women have made. They deserve a day and like you said a week even, in their honor.

thanks for the info

To Sheryl , Shirl T, jr (thank god your Aunt was not really close to being a Gold Star Mom) &Tab
Thank god not all moms who send there children off to war become or will ever be a Gold Star Mom. This is an honor no one wants as it is only those who are suffering grief over losing a child to war become "Gold Star Mom's. They have been recognized since WWII, although WWI mothers were called Gold Star moms and received a Gold Star medal too. It personally hurts me that you do not really seem to understand what this program is about, as I grew up loving a Gold Star Mom. They are even awarded a Gold Star Medal, I know we all love our kids but Gold Star moms are not the same at all as those of us fortunate enough not to have lost a child to war can and will never be a Gold Star Mom. To say that every mom deserves this demeans the meaning of the Gold Star medals and the sacrifice these mothers have suffered.

sorry i did not know what this really was my grand mother was one tho my uncle david was a green beret and was killed with a granade i was very small when this happened and dont remember him but for the pictures and the things my grandmother has told me

The History of Gold Star MOM's
"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.

On June 4, 1928, a group of twenty-five mothers residing in Washington, DC, met to make plans to organize a national organization to be known as American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., a nondenominational, non-profitable and nonpolitical organization. On January 5, 1929, the organization was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia.

The Charter was kept open for ninety days. At the end of this time they had a membership of sixty-five, which included mothers throughout the United States: North, South, East and West.

There were many small groups of Gold Star Mothers functioning under local and state charters. When these groups learned of a national organization with representation in nearly every State in the Union they wished to affiliate with the larger group and many did so. This group was composed of women who had lost a son or daughter in World War I."
From the title here you can see that it continues into WWII and now the present War. My family has always set aside the last Sunday in Sept to remember the sacrifice of my Uncle. When I was little the church even used hold a special service on this day to honor all the Gold Star Mom's. My grandfather always got my grandmom a special flower to were to go to church on this day. I do not know if thiswas done in any other church;s but my grandfather was the Presbyterian minister and on the last Sunday in sept this was always in his sermon.

Natural Mothers, who are citizens of the United States of America or of the Territorial and Insular Possessions of the United States of America, whose sons and daughters served and died in line of duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America or its Allies, or died as a result of injuries sustained in such service, are eligible for membership in American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. Adoptive Mothers and Stepmothers who reared the child from the age of five years whose natural mother is deceased, are also eligible under the above conditions.

Just to clarify to April, I thought that this was honoring those mothers who had both the courage to let their children fight for our country whether or not they agreed with that decision and for supporting that decision and for that they should be recognized for the sacrifices their child made and it was a way to give recognition to those mothers for their loss.

The second part I was just stating that I personally don't know any Gold Star Mothers, but I happen to have family members who have fought and are still fighting the war in Iraq. BTW, one of my relatives recently lost her mother earlier this year due to a sudden health issue.

No offense, but you could of just asked for clarification instead of criticizing me. I must have misunderstood, which is my fault, but my intent was not to demean the meaning of what a Gold Star Mother was.

The change that I would like to see is to open the organization for all mothers whose children die in combat while in the United States Services. The last full measure of devotion sometimes means these service personnel are granted US citizenship posthumously, and to deny their mothers the honor simply by chance of birth is not right, in my opinion.

I'm glad to see the explanation of "Gold Star Mothers" spelled out here. April is right, it is a distinction all it's own. I do agree though that all mothers should be held on a pedestal. But this once this honor is reserved for a particular group of mothers. I hope no one is getting their feelings hurt here. I don't wanna start any of that here. I simply want to pay homage to a very special group of ladies.

Thank you for the reason behind the Gold Star. But before you address me personally, April H., please READ my comment. I said nothing about deserving a Gold Star just for being a mother. Nor did I say anything about all military moms deserving a Gold Star. I only wanted to salute those who serve and those (mothers AND fathers) who let their children go to serve. As a mom who has had a child leave me in death, I know it's difficult to face, whether they die at birth or at war. I am not looking for a medal of any kind just because I faced death with my child. And I am not demeaning or belittling the medal these mothers receive. By all means, let them receive the Gold Star. Just as the spouse/closest relative receives a folded flag at the funeral of a serviceman, so should the mother get double honor.
I hope I have made myself clear. I celebrate my day as a mom in May, and I think this day in September should be set aside to remember the mothers who've lost their child to war.
You may lose a husband/wife, to war and can continue life, possibly remarrying.
And you could lose your father/mother to war, but most people expect to bury and/or outlive their parents. Neither one of these is an easy task to face...
But if you lose your son/daughter to war... they are you very own flesh and blood, they cannot be replaced (not that a parent can be either).
Anyway, I feel like I am rambling, but I didn't want to make anyone upset with my first comment. Neither to I feel the need to apologize, for I said nothing wrong.

Oh, and David, you don't have to worry about my feelings getting hurt! =) People just need to pay closer attention before "attacking" your commenters. Thank you again, David, for keeping our freedom (of speech)!

Hey guys, I did not personally attack anyone!! Please pay close attention to what I said. I just said that a few commentors hurt my feelings "personally hurts me that you do not really seem to understand what this program is about, as I grew up loving a Gold Star Mom. To me when talking about the gold star program and honoring all mothers is demeaning to this particular program. This is my opinion and I stated it and I again say I did not attack anyone. Now please can we get back to what David said
"I think it would do us all a lot of good to focus a little spotlight on another group of people who definitely deserve more glory. "

Thanks, David, for posting this. It's an important event, for sure!

Awesome. I hadn't heard of this before but I guess I am going to be informed of all of this pretty soon. My son is leaving tomorrow morning for basic training in the Army.

this is new to me ... thank you for telling me about it!

I agree with Sheryl. April, you not only sent a few select of us who commented a personal message, but you also named us in your comment. That is a personal attack, just as this comment is directed to you, and not to every one.
My feelings are not hurt by your comment to me. And I should hope that my first comment to David's article didn't hurt your feelings as it had nothing to do with whether I understood the program or not. I read the link provided in the article and I also read what you provided in your follow up comment. I honor all mothers, especially my own, on Mother's Day, and I would love to see Gold Star mothers honored, just as we honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, and our Veterans on Vetaran's Day, etc.

This reply is only in response to your personal attack: "To Sheryl , Shirl T, jr (thank god your Aunt was not really close to being a Gold Star Mom) &Tab
Thank god not all moms who send there children off to war become or will ever be a Gold Star Mom..."
Anyone else want to argue that this is not a "personal attack?"

Sorry to use your article as a battle ground, David, but, hey, let us know your updated points when we are through! =)

"I think it would do us all a lot of good to focus a little spotlight on another group of people who definitely deserve more glory. "

Touche!

*sighs ... such a beautiful idea turned into yet another ... battlefield ... how sad. My personal pain of burying my son this month is still too deep, the wounds too raw to watch another war on words tearing asunder the good intentions of a good person trying to share a little good will by the very people I consider to be friends. While this is the only comment I am now mentally and emotionally up to today I want to say thank you David your heart is in the right place. God bless you and yours.

David, I really do think that this issue deserves a lot of attention, and I am so happy you brought it to our attention.

I had not heard about this. It is great that they are doing it though and I agree that the mothers really should be honored. One of my previous co-workers lost her 21 year old son in Iraq. He died in December 2003.

Thanks, David. I did not know about this.

A good life lesson to be gleaned here. I think we all got too fired up about misconceptions and hurt feelings and such. It is obviously a more painful subject than I had originally imagined. The lesson here is that we can all move past the misconceptions and feelings being expressed earlier and move on to spread some spotlight on those moms who are hurting and lonely, for a piece of themselves has been committed to the hands of the Almighty.
My love to all of you. I hear the hurting in a lot of the words for various reasons. If I could I would love to reach through my computer with a huge hug for each and every one of you.

Thanks for bringing this up, David.

Tab, the comment was aimed towards me because I misunderstood, which I have already admitted to in my response back to April.

Despite this, I do agree that those mothers who lose loved ones in war should be honored for all they have done in raising their child in making a difference in this world.

Well put David!

i agree with every thing you said tab i will just try and not get any thing wrong again or miss understand again i am really sorry to have done so

I think it's a great idea. Have you heard Mark Schultz's song, "Letters From War"? It would go well with a day like this.

Shirl, don't beat yourself up please. I think it's just fine to leave this situation with the knowledge we've all gleaned. No reason to feel bad.

Mary, I'm not sure if I have heard that song. I'll have to look it up.

I think you'd enjoy it, David. Very powerful.

Thank you Tab!

i haven't heard of this but it is a great idea!

News to me.