Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston –
At the Fort Sam Houston gas station I saw a vehicle with a
young girl driving to fill up at the pump next to me.
I noticed a small flag in the window with two blue stars on
it, and assumed that the stars reflected the rank of the Soldier that owned the
vehicle. I was surprised that a major general would have a daughter that young.
Soon after that incident, I was hired to support an Army
program called Survivor
Outreach Services. When I reported to work, I noticed one of
the ladies at work had a little purple and gold lapel pin she wore all the
time, and another had a pin that was a variation of the flag that I had seen at
the gas station.
I was curious: the flag on the car had two blue stars, the
flag on one lady's pin had one blue star and one gold star and another simply
had one blue star. Why were all the flags different, why were there two
different stars, why did only these two ladies in the office have the flags? I,
in my infinite wisdom, was too embarrassed to ask what any of these things
meant.
Fortunately, one of my first assignments was to develop a
web page that clearly defined the difference between the versions of the flags
and pins for the American public.
I am an Army veteran with one deployment, and was married to
an active duty Army soldier with 11 deployments and I never understood the
momentous meaning these symbols had. It blew my mind that I'd never heard of,
learned about or understood what these symbols represented.
The service flag was designed and patented by World War I
Army Capt. Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry whose two sons were
serving on the front line. The flag was designed to be displayed in the front
window of peoples' homes to indicate the number of family members serving the
war effort as members of the Armed Services.
In 1918, President Wilson approved a request from the
Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense that allowed mothers who
had lost a child serving in the war to wear a gold gilt star on their
traditional black mourning band.
This practice led to the blue star on the service flag being
covered with a gold star to indicate the service member had been killed.
This practice became much more widespread during World War
II, when organizations and families took great pride and displayed banners
indicating the number of members of the organization, or family, serving in the
war.
Between World War II and today, the practice of wearing or
displaying service flags or gold stars had diminished greatly… but the meaning
of the symbols is as significant today as it was 100 years ago.
Each time you see a blue service star, you should be aware
the person displaying it has a loved one-possibly in harm's way - supporting
the freedoms we enjoy every day. A gold service star indicates someone in that
person's family has lost their life while serving in our armed forces and for
our Nation.
Please take a moment, when appropriate, to thank the bearer
of the star. A simple "I appreciate your family member's service," or
"My sympathies for your loss," is all it takes to remind the bearer
the service or sacrifice means something… even if the practice isn't widely
recognized anymore.
For more information about the service flags and pins, visit
http://www.symbolsofhonor.org.