Gold Star Mothers

The term Gold Star Mothers refers to mothers who have had a child die in military service in time of war. The gold star comes from a service flag displayed by families of American service personnel to show the family had had a child in the Armed Forces of the United States. A blue star was displayed for each child serving in the military, but if the child died in military service, a gold star was sewn over the blue star, often showing a thin blue edge from the original star. From this group of women an organization was developed—American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.

Service Flags

Many countries pay special recognition to women whose children are in military service in time of war or military action. During World War I, families in the United States did this by means of a service flag. The flag was designed in 1917 by a captain in the U.S. Army, Robert L. Queissner, to honor his two sons who were serving in World War I. It was quickly adopted by the public and supported by government officials.

The service flag, also known as a service banner, consists of a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member on active duty. A gold star (often with a blue edge) represents a family member who died during military service, regardless of the cause of death. It is intended to give honor to any who died while in the military of the United States in time of war.

Because service flags have a gold star for each member who has died, the gold star and the term gold star mother was first applied to mothers [Page 521]whose sons or daughters died in military service in World War I. The connection of the gold star symbol to mothers may have started because of the practice of a gold star being worn on a black mourning armband by a mother in memory of her deceased child. On May 28, 1918, almost a year after the first appearance of the service flags, President Woodrow Wilson approved a suggestion that women should wear on their left arm a black armband with a gold star for each member of the family who had lost his or her life for their country. The idea of displaying the gold star was considered to be a positive representation of the sacrifice made by those who had lost their lives for their country and the pride felt by family members regarding this supreme sacrifice.

The display of a service flag was officially authorized by the U.S. Department of Defense on December 1, 1967 (in Directive 1348.20). Congress approved a regulation that such a flag could be displayed by members of the immediate family. It could also be displayed by organizations such as churches, schools, colleges, fraternities, sororities, societies, and places of business with which the member of the U.S. Armed Forces was associated.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.

The service flag and its gold stars gave rise to a formal organization, American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., which was founded by Grace Darling Seibold. Her son, George, was an American fighter pilot in a Canadian unit of the Royal Flying Corps. He was reported missing in action in 1917. On Christmas Eve 1918, Mrs. Seibold learned of the death of her son when his personal effects were delivered to her home. Though grieving her son's death Mrs. Seibold dealt with her sorrow by working at Walter Reed Army Hospital helping injured servicemen. She not only worked to help the sick and injured, she also reached out to other bereaved mothers of deceased military personnel. She organized a group consisting solely of such mothers with the purpose of providing mutual comfort and to help provide personal care to hospitalized veterans confined in government institutions. The organization was named after the gold star on service flags that families hung in their windows in honor of a deceased serviceman or woman.

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