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WASHINGTON D.C. (February 20, 2008) - More than 60 years after
the custom was last observed, five states have endorsed the Silver
Star banner as their official symbol for honoring war-wounded
veterans.
The practice began in 1918, and the Silver Star banner was
granted semi-official status by the Army adjutant general, said
Steve Newton, founder of Silver Star Families of America. Sometime
between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II,
he said, the practice was lost.
Silver Star Families of America has been working to get the
banner granted official status since 2005, Newton said. "When
Congress approved the Blue Star and the Gold Star (as official
service banners), it did not designate a Silver Star banner,"
Newton said.
Blue Star banners designate families with a member serving in
the military, while a Gold Star banner honors a family member who
was killed in action.
The efforts of Newton's group to work with Congress to get the
Silver Star banner designated nationally as an official service
banner led to some stalling points, however. Congress wanted the
Silver Star Families of America to narrow its definition of
wounded, Newton said.
"We decided to … go state by state, because we didn't want to
leave out post-traumatic stress (disorder) or Agent Orange or Gulf
War Syndrome or accidents that occur in the war zone that will
affect somebody for the rest of their lives," Newton said. "We
thought that they needed to be honored also."
In 2007, the group presented each state with a proclamation to
endorse the Silver Star banner as its official service banner to
honor war wounded. To date, five states -- Alabama, Connecticut,
Delaware, Indiana and Missouri -- have done so.
"To me it's a sign of honor," Newton said. "When a state takes
an action like this, it means that they want to remember the
sacrifices of the wounded."
Janie Orman, the group's president, said that while the five
states agreed quickly and others are on the brink of declaring the
Silver Star banner their official service banner for the wounded,
some declined.
"A couple of them said, 'No, thank you,'" she said. "A couple of
them felt like they had their own programs, I believe."
In 2007, 44 states honored their war wounded by proclaiming May
1 as "Silver Star Day for the Wounded," with at least two of those
states working to make the proclamation permanent, Orman said.
Silver Star Families of America hopes at least that many states
will endorse the Silver Star banner, she added.
The Missouri-based group is a supporter of America Support You,
a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with
servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals,
groups and organizations that are helping support the troops,
visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America
Supports You directly connects military members to the support of
the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their
quest to find meaningful ways to support the military
community.
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