Hawaii's Gold Star Mothers and Families remember loved ones

HONOLULU – More than 100 family members and friends of fallen service members gathered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Sept. 25, to remember their loved ones during a Gold Star Mother’s and Families Day Ceremony.

The ceremony's keynote speaker was Gen. Charles Flynn, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific.

Two Gold Star family members, Natalie Rauch and Paul Wessel, also spoke and shared their stories.

Rauch was eight when her father, Air Force Col. Warren Leroy Anderson, went missing in Vietnam.

Wessel's son, Spc. Kevin Wessel, was killed in action April 19, 2004, in Iraq.

After the official speeches, family members walked the steps with boots and wreaths to commemorate their loved ones, to a platform just below the Lady Columbia statue, where the boots and wreaths were placed.

Gold Star Mothers and Families

In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved a practice where grieving military mothers would wear a traditional black armband featuring a gold star. The display of Gold Star has a history that dates back to World War I. Families would display a blue star flag for every member serving in the war. If that family lost a child in combat, they would switch out the blue star with a gold star.

In 1 936, Franklin D. Roosevelt designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother's Day. In 2011, President Barack Obama amended the last Sunday in September to be recognized as Gold Star Mother's and Family Day.

The Army's Survivor Outreach Services works with Gold Star family members to provide long-term support to surviving families of fallen Soldiers. Survivor Outreach Services provides long-term case management, benefit coordination, financial counseling, support groups, and information and referral.

Gold Star family members wear either the Gold Star Lapel Pin, or the Next of Kin Lapel Pin. The Gold Star Lapel Pin and the Next of Kin Lapel Pin are issued by the Department of Defense to honor and identify surviving family members of our fallen heroes.

The Gold Star Lapel Pin displays a gold star on a purple circular background, presented to widows, widowers, parents and next of kin of service members killed in combat operations.

The Next of Kin Lapel Pin displays a gold star on a gold background, presented to the immediate family of service members who die in service outside of a combat theater of operations.

View more photos from the ceremony at https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghawaii/albums/72177720302466879.