Ronald Reagan
40th United States President (1911 – 2004)

We recognize that members of the U.S. armed forces have millions of parents, spouses, children and other loved ones back home, who go to bed every night praying for their safe return. In a manner of speaking, you could say that for every single brave young trooper serving, there are other family members back home who are serving, and sacrificing, with them.

We also recognize that a soldier, sailor, marine, airman or guardsman does not need to be stationed on the front lines to contribute to the war effort.

• While not widely known, a Blue Star Service Banner displayed in the window of a home is a long standing tradition in America dating back to World War I.

• Department of Defense regulations only permit displaying this banner during a period of war or hostilities.

• The Service Banner is 8 by 16 inches in size.

• It lets others know that someone in the home is serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

• A Service Banner can contain up to five stars.

• Each blue star represents one family member serving as an active duty service member.

• If the individual symbolized is killed or dies while serving, for reasons other than dishonorable, the star representing that individual will have superimposed on it a gold star of smaller size so that the blue forms a border.

• On banners displaying multiple stars, including gold stars, the gold star(s) will be above the blue star(s) in a place of honor nearest the staff.

• Being killed in action, KIA, is not a requirement for a gold star. It is only required that the service member died while on active duty.

• There is no requirement that a service member is or was stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere overseas to qualify.

The idea of a Blue Star Service Banner was inspired by Robert L. Queissner, a Spanish-American War Veteran and World War I Army Captain of the 5th Ohio Infantry, who created a banner to honor his two sons, who were serving on the front lines in World War I. The Service Banner quickly gained popularity with others.

On Sept. 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read the following into the Congressional Record: "The mayor of Cleveland, 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 Gold Star Service Banner also traces its roots back to World War I. The idea of a Gold Star developed from The Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense suggestion, which was approved by President Woodrow Wilson, that mothers who lost a child in the war should wear a black mourning band, with a Gold Star, on their left arm.

After having served as President of the United States from 1901 to 1909, Theodore Roosevelt and his family displayed a Gold Star Service Banner in honor of their youngest son, twenty year old Quentin, who on July 14th, 1918, while serving as a fighter pilot, was shot down and killed behind enemy lines over France.

Quentin Roosevelt in his Nieuport 28 Fighter Plane in France

During WWI and WWII most banners were hand made and sewn by mothers across the nation. One of the most famous Gold Star Service Banners was that of the five Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, Iowa, who all perished on the U.S.S. Juneau which was torpedoed while operating in the vicinity of Guadalcanal in November of 1942, taking her captain and 550 crewmen down with her.

The Secretary of War approved the official Service Banner design in February 1943. Congress authorized the Service Banner on October 17, 1943.

A World War II Poster

View more World War II posters and paintings featuring the Service Banner

The Service Banner in Song

The Service Banner was not popular during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. During Desert Storm some U.S. ships sent Service Banners to the families of everyone aboard. Because Desert Storm was of such short duration, the Service Banner never really had the time to catch on.

U.S. Senate Resolution 36 as posted at The LIBRARY of CONGRESS

The Service Banner is a symbol of both hope and of grave concern. It symbolizes a pride in the commitment of America's armed forces personnel. By displaying the Blue Star Banner in the window, Americans can show their support and pride in the men and women who are serving in the United States Military. When we drive past homes that have the Blue Star Service Banner hanging in their windows, our hearts and minds are immediately directed towards our men and women in uniform who are at this very moment fighting for the freedoms of so many. We encourage every family who has waved goodbye to a loved one as he or she was deployed, to display a Blue Star Service Banner in their window.

Furthermore, one who displays the "Gold Star Service Banner" is "honoring", the memory of a loved one who made the ultimate sacrifice. As we sadly mourn the loss of those who have been killed, our heartfelt prayers are with every single American affected by the loss of a loved-one from a previous war or conflict, and in the deserts and streets of Iraq or mountains of Afghanistan.

If you see on Gold Star Service Banner flying in the window of a home, please spend a moment in prayer and respect for this trooper and family.

If you are visiting our site because your loved one died or was killed in action while serving in the U.S. Military at any time from September 11th, 2001 to present, we wish to extend our deepest condolences and sympathy and ask you to click the "Gold Star Service Banner" above, where it will be our extreme honor and privilege to see that you receive a Gold Star Service Banner. Our prayers and the prayers of countless others are with you as you hang the Gold Star in honor of your fallen hero.

President Bush Proclaims Sept. 28 Gold Star Mother’s Day

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2008 – President Bush has proclaimed Sept. 28 as Gold Star Mother’s Day this year. The day honors the mothers of men and women who were killed in the line of duty while serving the nation in the armed forces.

Congress designated the last Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" in 1936, authorizing and requesting the president to issue a proclamation in its observance each year.
Read the entire article
Read the official White House proclamation

On July 31, 1968, the the U.S. Department of Defense, DoD, issued regulations governing the design, manufacture, use, display and purchase of Service Banners and pins.

DoD regulations currently state that qualified active duty military personnel are Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard including "activated" members of the National Guard and Reserves. There is no requirement that a service member is or was stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or anywhere overseas to qualify.

Family members authorized to display the Service Banner include wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, stepparents, parents through adoption, foster parents who stand or stood in loco parentis, sons, daughters, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters, half brothers and half sisters of members of the Armed Forces of the United States.

* loco parentis means - acted as parents

The right of Grandparents, In-Laws, Aunts or Uncles to display the Service Banner is not addressed by the DoD. Until such a time as the regulation has changed, we unfortunately are unable honor the request of a Grandparent, In-Law, Aunt or Uncle or other relation.

DOD regulations also state that "The Service Banner may be displayed in a window of the place of residence of persons who are members of the immediate family of service members 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 may be engaged for the duration of such period of war or hostilities."

The previous sentence must be read carefully to understand the intent and meaning of the regulation. It prohibits families of veterans of any previous war or conflict from displaying the banner. This has been researched and found to be true regarding both the Blue Star and Gold Star Service Banner.

We are unable to honor the request of families of veterans of any previous war or conflict. We are only able to issue Service Banners to:

• families of service members who are currently engaged in the "Global War On Terrorism" and who are on "Active Duty".
• families of service members who died while engaged in the "Global War On Terrorism" for reasons other than dishonorable, and who were on "Active Duty" at the time of their death. To qualify, their death does not have to be confined to "killed in action", KIA.

For our purposes, we define the current "Global War On Terrorism" as beginning on September 11th, 2001 and continuing on into the indefinite future.

According to the DoD, the Service Banner may "also be displayed by an organization" to honor the members of that organization serving in the armed forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities. The banners for organizations are also made in proportion to DoD specifications with blue stars placed on the white field to represent those members of the organization that are serving during the war or hostilities. Organizations as outlined by the DoD are churches, schools, colleges, fraternities, sororities, societies, and places of business with which the member of the armed forces of the United States was or is associated.

This is the official 3 X 5 foot DoD approved Blue Star Corporate Flag. It can be used by government, corporate America and other organizations as outlined above, to show their support for their employees or members who are serving active duty during this Global War on Terrorism.

To date, NROTC has provided nearly 1,000 free Service Banners to deserving loved ones of our armed forces personnel. Agreed this is not a great accomplishment by many standards, but it is a big accomplishment for a small but growing organization such as ours.

The National Remember Our Troops Campaign, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Contributions received from individuals, foundations, and corporations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. Direct all comments or questions regarding NROTC, Inc. to:
info@nrotc.org