That Knock at the Door
That Knock at the Door

Author: Holly S. Fenelon

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2012-06-05

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1475925387

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A blue star for each family member serving in Americas military a gold star if that life was lost in defense of the nations freedom. IN WORLD WAR I, the American tradition of the service flag began. Families displayed a simple fabric banner with a blue star for each family member serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. If a family member died in the nations service, a gold star covered that individuals blue star on the family service flag. Not a symbol of mourning, the gold star represented the familys pride and the honor and glory accorded to that individual for making the supreme sacrifice in defense of the Americas freedom. Soon, the term gold star mother came to be used to identify and honor women who had lost a son or daughter in wartime military service. Following the war, as the nation focused its attention on those veterans who had returned whole in mind and body, gold star mothers served as a constant reminder of the true cost of war. In 1928, a group of these women formed American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., an organization created to honor those who had died by being of service to veterans and their families in need, supporting gold star families, and caring for veterans who had returned with physical, emotional and psychological wounds. From that humble beginning, American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. has become an icon of national service, opening its membership time and again to gold star mothers of later wars and conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Their amazing legacy of service is an important yet largely unknown chapter in American history. This book presents the story of gold star mothers in America and the first comprehensive history of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., drawn from nearly a century of archival materials. The fascinating story of the strong women who honored their fallen sons and daughters by dedicating themselves to the service of veterans and peace is both compelling and inspiring.

Sacrifice
Sacrifice

Author: Michelle Black

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0593190947

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The shocking and affecting memoir from a gold-star widow searching for the truth behind her Green Beret husband's death, this book bears witness to the true sacrifices made by military families. When Green Beret Bryan Black was killed in an ambush in Niger in 2017, his wife Michelle saw her worst nightmare become a reality. She was left alone with her grief and with two young sons to raise. But what followed Bryan's death was an even more difficult journey for the young widow. After receiving very few details about the attack that took her husband's life, it was up to Michelle to find answers. It became her mission to learn the truth about that day in Niger--and Sacrifice is the result of that mission. In this heartbreaking and revelatory memoir, Michelle uses exclusive interviews with the survivors of her husband's unit, research into the military leadership and accountability, and her own unique vantage point as a gold-star widow to tell a previously unknown story. Sacrifice is both an honest, emotional look inside a military marriage and a searing investigation of the people and decisions at the heart of the US military.

We Regret to Inform You
We Regret to Inform You

Author: Joanne Steen

Publisher: Central Recovery Press

Published: 2019-05-14

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1942094973

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A compassionate guide to help Gold Star parents cope with the grief and loss of their military son or daughter. Author Joanne Steen tackles the subject that terrifies parents of military personnel—the death of their son or daughter on active duty. In short, easy-to-read chapters Gold Star parents find thoughtful explanations and trustworthy advice for coping with military grief. Steen weaves together realistic examples with voices of other Gold Star parents, connecting the readers to the wisdom of those parents who have walked in their shoes. Chapters for relatives, friends, and professional service providers of Gold Star parents are also included, supplying them with what they need to know about military loss; what to expect in the parents; and best practices on what to say and ways to help support them. Gold Star parents will find a path to survive their life-changing loss and develop the resilience to move forward. Joanne Steen has more than twenty years’ experience in the grief and loss field, with a specialty in military loss. She is a board-certified counselor, instructor, Gold Star widow, and the founder of Grief Solutions, a training company on grief, loss and resilience. Steen is also the coauthor of Military Widow: A Survival Guide (Naval Institute Press, 2006)

The Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930s
The Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930s

Author: John W. Graham

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-03-14

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 078649199X

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During the first World War, a flag with a gold star identified families who had lost soldiers. Grieving women were "Gold Star" mothers and widows. Between 1930 and 1933, the United States government took 6,654 Gold Star pilgrims to visit their sons' and husbands' graves in American cemeteries in Belgium, England, and France. Veteran Army officers acted as tour guides, helping women come to terms with their losses as they sought solace and closure. The government meticulously planned and paid for everything from transportation and lodging to menus, tips, sightseeing, and interpreters. Flowered wreaths, flags, and camp chairs were provided at the cemeteries, and official photographers captured each woman standing at her loved one's grave. This work covers the Gold Star pilgrimages from their launch to the present day, beginning with an introduction to the war and wartime burial. Subsequent topics include the legislative struggle and evolution of the pilgrimage bill; personal pilgrimages, including that of the parents of poet Joyce Kilmer; the role of the Quartermaster Corps; the segregation controversy; a close examination of the first group to travel, Party A of May 1930; and the results of the pilgrimage experience as described by participants, observers, organizers, and scholars, researched through diaries, letters, scrapbooks, interviews, and newspaper accounts.

Gold Star Veterans
Gold Star Veterans

Author: Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (N.C.). Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Gold Stars and Purple Hearts
Gold Stars and Purple Hearts

Author: Dr. Lynne Payne Phillips

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1524627119

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A coal miner, Don, drafted to fight with the elite Rainbow Division in WWI under General Douglas MacArthur; a pregnant wife with a toddler whose relationship with her mother-in-law is constantly strained; a mother whose love for her son had her leave her Appalachian Mountain home and travel to France on the Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimage in order to take the mountains to her son and bring her son back to the mountains; and Dons son who fights in WWII with the elite Devils Brigade, the first Special Forces Unit in the U.S. Army, are remarkable because these events really took place. This six-act play is the story of two men and two women whose lives were intertwined through blood and war. Sarah Williams Dyson (1874-1957) grew up in the North Carolina mountains with her country doctor father. Sarahs only son, Don, married Vennie Lee Shull in 1914 and moved to Dante, Virginia, to work in the coal mines. Dons draft into WWI in 1917 came at a time when married men were not subject to the draft. In 1923, Vennie remarried. After Vennies divorce, Sarah, 12 years after her sons death, was invited to view Dons tomb-rock in France with other mothers and widows. In 1942, Sarah and Vennie had to watch Dons son, Claude, volunteer to fight in WWII even though he was exempt from fighting since he was the only son of a casualty from WWI. Remembering his dads only written message to him: Dont never be a solder my boy, Claude returned home severely wounded. Don and Claude both received purple hearts and other medals for their bravery. This breed of historian forsakes the myths and yellow journalism and delves into the lives of the characters through primary sources of journals, military records, letters, family Bibles, and first-hand knowledge of neighbors, family, and friends of the characters in the play.