WWI service banner spirit lives on as National Gold Star Spouses’ Day
By Amy Perry
via the Fort Lee Traveler newspaper web site
FORT LEE, Va. -- In 1917 – the early days of America’s involvement in the Great War – Army Capt. Robert L. Queisser, Fifth Ohio Infantry, created a window-hung service banner that symbolized his pride in the family’s two sons serving on the front lines.
There's a Service Flag Flying at Our House is a World War I era song released in 1917 (lyrics by Thomas Hoier and Bernie Grossman; Al W. Brown composer.)The idea spread across the country like wildfire, and with the passage of the Selective Service Act that would see 2.8 million Americans drafted during World War I, many families were soon sewing their own banners.
A blue star on a white background lined with a red border symbolized a loved one deployed to a combat area. Additional stars were added to the banner for each family member similarly serving. If the spouse or parents learned their loved one had perished in battle, the blue star representing that individual was replaced with a gold one.
This simple service banner practice spawned the usage of “Blue Star” and “Gold Star” titles during discussions or recognition ceremonies related to those with a service member currently among the military ranks or who had lost their loved one while that individual was serving, respectively.
The tradition continued through World War II, encouraged by the creation of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., in 1928. An official day of recognition, designated as Gold Star Mother’s Day, was enacted by Congress in 1936 and set for the last Sunday in September.
Another organization – Gold Star Wives – began operating before the end of World War II and boasted First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who joined the group as a founding member after her husband died in 1945.
Their first official meeting was held April 5, 1945, which stuck as the newly designated annual date for Gold Star Spouses Day. The event actually was titled Gold Star Wives Day until December 2010 when the unisex version was deemed more inclusive and codified into law in 2012.
By improving benefits, notifications and assistance given to families, the Gold Star organizations would make things better for the unfortunate constituents who would walk similar paths of tragedy in the future.
One of the early members of the legacy wives’ club, Myrtle Tesesco, would often share stories of surviving spouses banding together, according to the Gold Star Wives website.
Read the entire article on the Fort Lee Traveler web site.
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