SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 – Every day, service members put their lives on the line in defense of the nation. In the Profession of Arms, there are fathers, sons, wives and daughters who have all made the ultimate sacrifice.
While their legacies are honored during Memorial Day, September is reserved for the Family they left behind.
On June 23, 1936, the 74th U.S. Congress designated the last Sunday of September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day is observed in the United States and honors surviving mothers and families of fallen service members.
The term Gold Star Family is a modern reference that comes from the Service Flag.
These flags/banners were first flown by families during World War I.
The flag included a blue star for every immediate Family member 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 were engaged.
If that loved one died, the blue star was replaced by a gold star. This allowed members of the community to know the price the Family had to pay for the cause of freedom.
The Army is indebted to Gold Star mothers and families as they are the legacies of their service member’s ultimate sacrifice.
Just like the 103 names enshrined inside Greely Hall’s Signal Cove of Remembrance, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command Soldiers, leaders and civilians remember and honor the surviving mothers and families of fallen service members.
Gold Star mothers and families are the resilient legacies of their service member’s sacrifice to the nation. Please show respect to those who are wearing the Gold Star Lapel Button and the Next of Kin Lapel Button.
To see the Signal Cove of Remembrance virtually, please visit: https://netcom.army.mil/Cove/
For more information on Gold Star Awareness, please visit: http://goldstarawareness.com/index.html
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Kelvin Ringold
U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command