SERVICE STAR AND GOLD STAR FAMILIES
By
Michael L. Wojciechowski

The Service Star is also considered a campaign or battle star. A star is embroidered on the red and white flag for each member of a family serving in the military. There are currently 1.3 million men and women serving in the U.S. military. The history of the Service Star has been around since World War I. During the world, Capt. Robert L. Queisser of the 5th Ohio Infantry Regiment created and patented the blue star flag to honor his two sons serving overseas. After World War I, the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defenses petitioned President Woodrow Wilson that mothers who lost a son or daughter were allowed to sew a gold star on the traditional black mourning arm band. Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives groups were then created. In 1936 Roosevelt designated the last Sunday in September (Sept. 29, 2024), as National Gold Star Mother’s Day. President Barack Obama renamed it the Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day.
As in all conflicts or wars, there are always a number of casualties. Since 9/11, more than 16,000 troops have died in non-combat service situations. Almost 7,000 non-combat deaths occurred in the Iraq and Afghanistan war alone. In the event of service-related deaths, despite being combat or non-combat related, the blue star is replaced with a gold star.
The Illinois Chapter of the America’s Gold Star Families organization is based in Peoria, Ill. It was founded to provide honor, hop, and healing to grieving families whose home of record was in Illinois. They host a number of programs: Children’s Birthday Cards, Fallen Troops Ornaments, Scholarships for Dependents of the Fallen, and a Hometown Heroes Banner. They also plant trees to honor the fallen, help coordinate Walls of Honor in retail stores and rename highways. They provide mental health counseling to surviving family members who need it, too.
Their mission is: “The strength of our nation is our military service men and women, and their strength is their families. The nation recognizes that no one has given more for the nation than the families of the fallen. That is why we do what we do.”
Gold Star families have said it's an honor that no one wants.
America’s Gold Star Families has a 501(C)(3) tax deductible status.