The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING THE AMERICAN GOLD STAR MOTHERS, INC.
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HON. CHRIS JACOBS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Monday, April 19, 2021
Mr. JACOBS of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize a recent event that generously contributed to and positively impacted the welfare of our community and citizenry here in the 27th Congressional District of New York. I gladly welcomed the Department of New York of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. to my hometown of Buffalo, New York for their 84th Convention on April 9-10, 2021.
I recognize the American Gold Star Mothers, women that share the tragedy of having children that died in connection to military service or are missing in action. These Gold Star Mothers strive to keep the memory of their sons and daughters alive by working to help veterans, those currently serving in the military, their families, and their communities. I am grateful for their efforts to come together to respect and honor our fallen service members, especially considering the immense hardship they have experienced themselves.
There are many instances in the Congressional Record of service flags being adopted-that precede the creation of the American Gold Star Mothers organization--and I would like to highlight two in particular. In 1917 Ohio veteran and businessman Robert L. Queisser created the Blue Star Service Flag to honor his two sons serving in the First World War and other service members of the U.S. military. The Congressional Record of September 24, 1917 reflects the adoption of this service flag. This flag recognizes those who give so much for liberty and acknowledges that the dearest thing to a father and mother are their children.
Later, in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved a suggestion by the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense that mothers who lost a child in World War I wear a gold star on a traditional black mourning armband. This led to creation of the Gold Star Service Flag, where a gold star was placed inside the flag's blue star, signifying a service member has died.
The Gold Star Service flag adoption was, of course, followed by the creation of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc, an organization that offered its 65 original charter members the opportunity to find strength in fellowship. In 1928, twenty five mothers of American service members lost in World War I met in Washington, D.C. under the leadership of Grace Darling Seibold, the mother of U.S. Army First Lieutenant George V. Seibold killed in action, to establish the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. The organization was officially incorporated on January 5, 1929.
That same year, Congress provided funding for these mothers and widows to travel to cemeteries in Europe to visit their loved ones. In 1930, a group of 231 Gold Star women sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the passenger liner SS America on the inaugural pilgrimage to the European graves of their sons and husbands who died in World War I. When this program ended three years later, nearly 6,700 Gold Star women had journeyed across the Atlantic to bid a final farewell to loved ones laid to rest in war cemeteries in France, Belgium, and Great Britain.
Congress later granted a federal charter to the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. and designated the last Sunday in September as ``Gold Star Mother's Day.'' Congress also authorized and requested President Franklin D. Roosevelt issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion. Each year on this day, we express the love, sorrow, and reverence of the people of the United States for American Gold Star Mothers.
We especially recognize our American Gold Star Mothers and their fallen soldiers in New York's 27th District. At the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park resides the U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537). This National Historic Landmark has been a public memorial and museum ship since 1979, and is sponsored by Alleta Sullivan, a Gold Star Mother whose five sons were killed in action. George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan-brothers from Waterloo, IA--died when their cruiser was sunk at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.
I am glad the Gold Star Mothers recently had the opportunity to gather in Buffalo, New York for the 2021 Convention of the Department of New York of the American Gold Star Mothers. I remain incredibly grateful for and humbled by the Gold Star Mothers' commitment to honoring and reflecting on the legacies of their sons and daughters lost in service to our Nation; finding strength in the fellowship of each other; and helping veterans, current military servicemembers and their families, and our communities.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 67
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