Remembering Moms Of Veterans
Blue Star
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The sight of a blue star hanging in the window isn’t as common a sight as it has been years before. On occasion you will see one, and most people wouldn’t pay it much attention.
Mothers and Fathers send their children off to war and make the sacrifice of their love and devotion to their child being sent over seas to fight.
Dating back to 1917, a ‘Blue Star Flag’ was patented by an Army Captain, Robert L. Queisser. Quisser had not only been serving his county, but two of his sons were serving on the front lines of during WWI.
During the year 1942, the idea of the Blue Star Mothers started from an ad that was placed in a Flint, Michigan newspaper from an Army Captain seeking information on children serving in the armed forces.
According to the Blue Star Mothers of America website, they “are mothers who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military.” You can also find them on Facebook HERE.
Also during WWI, the Blue Star became a Gold Star if a service member was killed or died on active duty. The Gold Star Mothers of America came from this group in 1928 when 25 mothers made plans for a national organization. You can find the Gold Star Mothers on Facebook HERE.
on June 12, 1984 the U.S. Congress granted the Gold Star Mothers a Federal Charter. The last Sunday of September has officially been declared Gold Star Mothers Day.
One of the most famous of Blue Star Flags is that of The Gold Star flag of the Sullivan family. The 5 Sullivan brothers from Iowa were lost in the sinking of the cruiser USS Juneau on Nov 12, 1942.
This sign post is on display at the Gold Star Museum pointing the way home for Iowan's who have been deployed overseas
You can visit Iowa’s own Gold Star Museum on the grounds of Camp Dodge. There you will see exhibits of Iowans as they have served since Iowa’s Statehood, to the current War on Terror. “The Iowa Gold Star Museum honors the heroic service of all Iowa veterans,” is part of the museum’s mission.
Admission to the museum is free, with hours of operation from 8:30 – 4:30, Monday through Saturday with the exception of Holiday’s and Weekend’s
The following people are allowed to display the ‘Blue Star Flag’:
- “Members of the immediate family” include wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, parent through adoption, foster parents who stand, or stood in loco parentis, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters, half brothers, and half sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.
- “Organizations” including those group organizations such as churches, schools, colleges, fraternities, sororities, societies, and places of business with which the member of the Armed Forces was or is associated.
The policy for the flag is set as:
- The service flag authorized by the Act may be displayed in a window of the place of residence of persons who are members of the immediate family of a person serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.
- The service flag may be displayed by an organization to honor the members of that organization serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.
- The service lapel button authorized by the Act may be worn by members of the immediate family of a person serving in the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.
