The Stars of Freedom ★ ☆ ★

The Stars of Freedom ★ ☆ ★. . , The Blue Star Service Flag, The Blue Star Service Flag became a symbol of pride, honor and service for families during World War I. Each blue star represented a member of their family who was serving in the armed forces and the banner was hung in the window of the family home. The banner was designed and patented by World War I Army Captain Robert Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry, who had two sons on the front line. This flag quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in service., Army Capt. George Maines conceived the idea for the Blue Star Mothers. He ran a newspaper article in January 1942, requesting information about children serving in the armed forces. More than 1,000 mothers responded. On February 1, 1942 their first meeting was held and more than 600 mothers organized the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., The Blue Star Mother's original goals were to bring their sons home, to ensure they received the benefits they deserved, help service members families help each other and to be there if something happened. Over the years, the goals have broadened to rehabilitation, hospital work, children's welfare and civil defense. Just as when it was founded, the Blue Star Mothers continues to concentrate on providing emotional support to its members, providing support to active military troops, doing volunteer work with veterans in general and veterans' hospitals in particular, and fostering a sense of patriotism and respect for members of the Armed Forces. In addition, local chapters carry out individual projects of their own choosing. , Blue Star Mothers do much more than volunteer in VA hospitals and outreach centers. They work in physical and emotional rehabilitation, help with medical supplies, transportation, food, clothing and friendship, gratitude and love., There were about 30,000 members during World War II and several thousand during the Korean War and Vietnam War. By July 2006, membership had grown to 164 chapters nationally. As of April 2014, there are over 7,500 members and associates in approximately 200 chapters. , Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. (BSMA) is a private nonprofit organization in the United States that provides support for mothers who have sons or daughters in active service in the U.S. Armed Forces Blue Star Mothers is made up of local chapters, which are organized with a requirement of five members to initiate a local chapter. , The Gold Star Service Flag, The Gold Star Service Flag hung in the window of the family home whose service member had given the ultimate sacrifice for his country. It was the custom to overlay the Blue Star with a hand cut Gold Star to show the family member had died in service. This custom had its origin during World War I and has continued through today. The Gold Star Mothers was founded by Grace Darling Seibold of Washington, DC. , When the United States entered World War I in 1917, George Vaughn Seibold, 23, volunteered, requesting assignment in aviation. He was sent to Canada where he learned to fly British planes since the United States had neither an air force nor planes. Deployed to England, he was assigned to the British Royal Flying Corps with 148th Aero Squadron. With his squadron, he left for combat duty in France. He corresponded with his family regularly. His mother, Grace Darling Seibold, began to do community service by visiting returning servicemen in the hospitals., The mail from George stopped. Since all aviators were under British control and authority, the United States could not help the Seibold family with any information about their son. , Grace continued to visit hospitalized veterans in the Washington area, clinging to the hope that her son might have been injured and returned to the United States without any identification. While working through her sorrow, she helped ease the pain of the many servicemen who returned so war-damaged that they were incapable of ever reaching normalcy., But on October 11, 1918, George's wife in Chicago received a box marked "Effects of deceased Officer 1st Lt. George Vaughn Seibold." The Seibolds also received a confirmation of George's death on November 4 through a family member in Paris. , Grace, convinced that self-contained grief is self-destructive, devoted her time and efforts not only to working in the hospital, but also to supporting other mothers whose sons had lost their lives in military service. She organized a group consisting solely of these mothers, with the purpose of not only comforting each other, but giving loving care to hospitalized veterans confined in government hospitals far from home. The organization was named after the Gold Star that families hung in their windows in honor of the deceased veteran. After years of planning, twenty-five mothers met in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 1928 to establish the national organization, American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. , Membership in American Gold Star Mothers was originally restricted to those who lost sons or daughters in World War I, and was later expanded to include mothers of those lost in World War II, then the Korean War, and then other specific conflicts. Today, the membership criteria does not consider the place or time of the military service and does not consider whether the circumstances of the death involved hostile conflict or not, and also allows membership for mothers of those missing in action., The American Gold Star Mothers (AGSM) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that sets its own rules for who is allowed to become a member. The current charter, held under Title 36 § 211 of the United States Code, was established on June 12, 1984. AGSM is made up of local chapters, which are organized into departments. Five members are required to start a local chapter. If no local chapter is available, a woman may join the organization as a member at large., Just as when it was founded, AGSM continues to concentrate on providing emotional support to its members, doing volunteer work with veterans in general and veteran's hospitals in particular and generally fostering a sense of patriotism and respect for members of the Armed Forces., [caption] , The Van Buren Freedom Park Star honors veterans of all conflicts and American service men and women who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.