Posted on 09/10/2010 9:24:41 PM PDT by streetpreacher
Marion, Ill. — Southern Illinois American Gold Star Mothers will be honored once again as the Grand Marshals of this year’s Veterans on Parade.
“As long as we have this parade, the Gold Star Mothers will always be honored as our Grand Marshals,” said parade chairman Ed Davis. “How else can we honor these American women and their families, when their sons have paid the ultimate price, by laying down their life in the service of their country.”
Davis stated that “many people, not just in Southern Illinois but across this country, still don’t know who the American Gold Star Mothers are and the sacrifices they have endured in losing a child to war.”
The term Gold Star Mothers came into general use with the creation of a service flag that showed a family having a son in the service (blue star) and a son who died in the service (a gold star that covered the blue star except for the rim of the blue star). Mothers of slain servicemen came to be known as Gold Star Mothers.
A group of Gold Star Mothers met and formed the group (AGSM) in 1928. It is a private organization and you must apply for membership if you wish to join. The organization takes no position on political issues of the day, but does support our military and has many activities that reflect that support.
The Southern Illinois American Gold Star Mothers have built a float to honor their sons and it will lead the marching veterans in this weekend’s parade, to be held on Saturday, September 11 at 11 a.m. on Main St. in Marion. The mothers will be walking alongside their son’s float and handing out information about the Gold Star Mothers to the spectators who will line the street.
“Our hope one day”, says Davis, “is for the mothers not to have to add any more pictures to their Gold Star Mothers float.”
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