UPDATE: (April 7) The Ceremony will take place at the Owensboro Convention Center in the Riverview Room.
A balloon release will follow the program and the reception will be held at the VFW following the program.
A very special guest has also been added: Stella Nash, mother of Daviess County Medal of Honor recipient PFC David Paul Nash and family will be attending. Mrs. Stella is in her 90’s and this is a very rare public appearance. She has never received a service banner in honor of her son and this will be truly special.
10 mothers will receive banners in honor of their sons and daughter who have died while on active duty. In addition, we have 50 Blue Star service banners to honor those currently serving on active duty. We are hoping to pass these along to families in our community. Requests can still be made.
The Kentucky Department of the American Gold Star Mothers in conjunction with the Blue Star Mothers of Western Kentucky will be hosting a combined ceremony on Saturday, April 8, 2017, at 1 p.m. at Life Community Church, 1102 Hall Street, Owensboro, KY.
The first part of the program will be a Blue to Gold Ceremony for ten Kentucky families of the fallen, some dating back to the start of the War on Terror nearly 15 years ago.
The second part of the program will be a Blue Star Service Flag Presentation to families in the community who have a family member on active military duty.
This Blue Star Service flag is an official banner authorized by the Department of Defense for display by families who have members serving in the Armed Forces during any period of war or hostilities the United States may be engaged in for the duration of such hostilities. With the current War on Terror, every family with a member in the military on active duty is qualified to display this flag.
The Department of Defense specifies that family members authorized to display the flag include the wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother or father, parent through adoption, foster parents, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters and half brothers or sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The flag should be displayed in a window of the residence of persons authorized.
Families in Daviess County and the surrounding area may request a flag by either stopping by the Daviess County Public Library to complete a Blue Star Service Banner/Flag Request form by March 31st or by going online to download a request form at kentuckyremembers.org.
Information requested includes: Service Member’s Name, Rank, Branch of Service and current duty station and the requesting Family Member’s contact information. If available, photographs of each service member are welcome and can be attached to the request form or submitted electronically to [email protected].
Sheriff Keith Cain will be the keynote speaker for this ceremony and Gold Star Parents, Tommy and Cathy Mullins will be sharing in song. A reception will follow immediately after the program. The public is welcome and invited to attend. All service flags are generously sponsored by Glenn’s Funeral Home.
For more information about this ceremony, please contact Cathy Mullins, [email protected].
With the current War on Terror, every family with a member in the military on active duty is qualified to display the Blue Star Service Flag.
About Blue and Gold Star Flags
The Service flag, also called the Blue Star Flag, was designed and patented by WWI Army Captain Robert L. Queisser of the 5th Ohio Infantry who had two sons serving on the front line. The flag quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in service. President Wilson became part of this history when in 1918 he approved a suggestion made by the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defenses that mothers who had lost a child serving in the war wear a gold gilt star on the traditional black mourning arm band. This led to the tradition of covering the blue star with a gold star on the Service flag to indicate that the service member has died.
During WWII the practice of displaying the Service flag became much more widespread. Most flags were hand made by mothers across the nation. One of the most famous flags was that of the five Sullivan brothers who all perished on the U.S.S. Juneau.
The Department of Defense specifies that family members authorized to display the flag include the wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother or father, parent through adoption, foster parents, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters and half brothers or sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The flag should be displayed in a window of the residence of persons authorized.
The Service flag may also be displayed by an organization to honor the members of that organization serving during a period of war or hostilities. The Service Flag is an indoor flag and should be flown facing out from the front window of the home or organization.
Each blue star on the flag represents a service member in active duty. A gold star is displayed if a service member is killed in action or dies in service. If several stars are displayed by one family the gold star takes the honor of being placed at the top. Display of a Service Star Banner is done during times of war. Once again families are displaying banners at home. Blue Star Flags may be purchased through the internet, at stores, or made by hand.
