A service flag or service banner is a
banner
A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...
that family members of those serving in the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
can display. The flag or banner is officially defined as a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities. A gold star (with a blue edge) represents a family member who died during military operations, including those who died during World War I, World War II, or any subsequent period of armed hostilities in which the United States was engaged before July 1, 1958, and those who lost or lose their lives after June 30, 1958:
#
while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
#
while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
#
while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force;
or those who lost or lose their lives after March 28, 1973, as a result of:
#
an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of Defense; or
#
military operations while serving outside the United States (including the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States) as part of a peacekeeping force.
Background
Based on the star symbols used on the service flag, the term "Blue Star" has come into use in the United States as a reference to having a family member in active military service, while the term "Gold Star" has come to refer to the loss of a family member in military service. For example, the mother of a person who died in service is referred to as a "Gold Star mother", and the wife of an active service member is referred to as a "Blue Star wife". Charitable support organizations have been established for
Gold Star mothers,
Gold Star wives,
Blue Star mothers, and
Blue Star wives. The last Sunday in September is observed as Gold Star Mother's Day, Gold Star family members are entitled to wear a
Gold Star Lapel Button, and all 50
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s and
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
offer some form of a
specialty license plate for motor vehicles owned by Gold Star family members.
The use of the terms has sometimes been restricted to refer to service during specific armed conflicts. For example, the service banner originally applied only to World War I, and it was later expanded to include service in World War II, then the Korean War, then other specific conflicts, and then "any period of war or hostilities". In some current uses of the "star" terminology, there is no longer any distinction made about the place or time or degree of hostility involved in the military service.
For Gold Stars, the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
also makes a distinction about the manner and place of death, but some other organizations do not. The Gold Star term is also sometimes interpreted to apply to those
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
and those who did not die during active service but died later as a result of an in-service injury.
[
A lesser-known practice of using a silver star to indicate a service member that has been disabled is sometimes also followed, although this practice is not recognized in federal law.
]
History
The banner was designed in 1917 by U.S. Army Captain Robert L. Queisser of the Fifth Ohio Infantry, in honor of his two sons who were serving in World War I.[ It was quickly adopted by the public and by government officials. On September 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read into the '' Congressional Record'':
]The mayor of Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother—their children.
The United Service Flag Company in Cleveland, Ohio ran an advertisement in the October 1917 issue of '' National Geographic Magazine'' for service flags and pins, reading:
THE AUTHORIZED SERVICE FLAG
SHOULD BE FLOWN FROM EVERY HOME
Do as Col. Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
does at Oyster Bay - fly the "Badge of Honor" from your home, telling all the world that some one from your family is serving the country in army, navy, marines, or other service. This is the original flag so crudely imitated. Approved by War Secretary Baker. Bill in Congress to make it official emblem. Fast-color, strong, wool bunting, 36 x 24 inches; red border, white field; one large blue star for every man in service; sewed throughout, not printed. Sent postpaid for $2 - 1 to 5 stars. (Larger sizes for clubs, churches, business houses, etc., made to order.) SERVICE FLAG PINS to wear in lapel or waist, 14k. gold plate and enamel, 1 to 3 stars, pin or screw back, high-grade quality, 50 cents; sterling silver; $1; solid gold, $2.
The United Service Flag Co., 1255 Schofield Bldg., Cleveland, O.
Usage
These flags were first used in World War I, with subsequent standardization and codification by the end of World War II. They were not popular during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, but have come back into use since the first Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
/ Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
.[ ] In modern usage, an organization may fly a service flag if one of its members is serving active duty.
Manufacture of these flags is only allowed by specific government license in the territories under U.S. jurisdiction. The same section of the United States Code that limits manufacture of the banner also mentions lapel pin
A lapel pin, also known as an enamel pin, is a small pin worn on clothing, often on the lapel of a jacket, attached to a bag, or displayed on a piece of fabric. Lapel pins can be ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affiliation with an organiza ...
s. There is no legal specification of the banner's size, but according to the DoD code, the flag size ratio must be 10:19, the same as the Flag of the United States. When displayed with the national flag, the latter should take the place of honor. If the flags displayed differ in size, the national flag should be larger.
Blue and gold are the only colors specified for use, but silver stars are increasingly in use to represent those discharged from service because of wounds or being invalided home. The Silver Star Families of America
The Silver Star Families of America (SSFOA) is a 501(c) tax exempt organization dedicated to honoring and supporting wounded, ill and injured veterans of all branches of the armed forces of the United States of America. The organization was founde ...
is an organization attempting to encourage the U.S. Congress to make the Silver Star Service Banner official for those wounded or injured in a war zone. Forty-nine states, Guam, Saipan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Chickasaw Nation and over 2,700 cities and counties have issued proclamations in support of the Silver Star Banner and of Silver Star Service Banner Day on May 1 of every year.
On April 21, 2010, the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
passed House Resolution 855, a stand-alone resolution recognizing the Silver Star Service Banner and making May 1 Silver Star Service Banner Day. One state, Missouri, took steps to make such recognition a state law.
In World War II, the Brazilian ''Clube Militar'' (Military Club) and the ''Casino da Urca'' adopted the concepts of the U.S. service banner by giving posters to the family members of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. On these posters the phrase ''Daqui saiu um Expedicionário'' was written, which means "From here came an Expeditionary". Although the design differs from the U.S. banners, the mothers of the Brazilian soldiers also received a pin prominently featuring a blue star similar to U.S. pins.
Individuals entitled to display
The individuals entitled to display the service flag are officially defined in which reads:
A service flag approved by the Secretary of Defense may be displayed in a window of the place of residence of individuals who are members of the immediate family of an individual serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged.Title 36 of the United States Code
The United States Code is the official compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force. Title 36 cover, "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations."
Parts
Subtitle I: Patrio ...
The U.S. Code also discusses the wearing of lapel pins.
Gold Star Mother's Day
On the last Sunday in September, Gold Star Mother's Day is observed in the U.S. in honor of Gold Star mothers, as established in Title 36 § 111 of the United States Code. This was originally declared by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936.[
In 2009, ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
proclaimed the observance as Gold Star Mother's and Families' Day. Since 2011 it has been proclaimed as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day.
Gold Star license plates
All fifty U.S. states and Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
offer some form of a specialty license plate for motor vehicles owned by members of Gold Star families.
See also
* American Gold Star Mothers
American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. (AGSM), is a private nonprofit organization of American mothers who lost sons or daughters in service of the United States Armed Forces. It was originally formed in 1928 for mothers of those lost in World War I, a ...
* Blue Star Mothers Club
* Gold Star Families for Peace
Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) is a United States-based organization founded in January 2005 by individuals who lost family members in the Iraq War, and are thus entitled to display a Gold Star. It is considered an offshoot of Military Famil ...
* Gold Star Lapel Button
* Gold Star Wives of America
* Service lapel button (disambiguation)
* Yellow ribbon
The yellow ribbon is used for various purposes. It may be worn on a person, placed on a vehicle, around a tree, or for a neck tie.
History and etymology
Early Puritan history
The song/poem ''"She wore a yellow ribbon"'' has appeared in variou ...
References
External links and further reading
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Service Flag
Military flags of the United States
Symbolism
Types of flags