[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2538-H2542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE BLUE STAR BANNER AND THE 
                               GOLD STAR

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 109) expressing the sense of 
the Congress regarding the Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 109

       Whereas the Blue Star Flag (commonly referred to as the 
     ``Blue Star Banner'') was

[[Page H2539]]

     patented and designed in 1917, during the height of the World 
     War I, by Army Captain Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio 
     Infantry, who had two sons serving on the front lines;
       Whereas the Blue Star Flag quickly became the symbol for a 
     family member serving the Nation in the Armed Forces, and 
     families began proudly displaying these flags in their front 
     windows during World War I;
       Whereas each Blue Star on the flag represents a family 
     member serving in the Armed Forces and symbolizes hope and 
     pride;
       Whereas beginning in 1918, the Blue Star would signify the 
     living, and a smaller Gold Star would be placed on top of the 
     Blue Star, forming a blue border, if the family member was 
     killed or died while on active duty, to symbolize the family 
     member's sacrifice for the cause of freedom;
       Whereas Blue Star Flags were displayed widely during World 
     War II;
       Whereas many of the flags displayed during those wars were 
     hand-made by the mothers of those serving in the Armed 
     Forces;
       Whereas the legacy of the Blue Star Flag continued during 
     the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars and other periods 
     of conflict, as well as in times of peace;
       Whereas the Blue Star Flag is the official flag authorized 
     by law, at section 901 of title 36, United States Code, to be 
     displayed in honor of a family member serving the United 
     States on active duty in the Armed Forces during a period of 
     war or hostilities, while the Gold Star may be displayed in 
     honor of a family member who has made the ultimate sacrifice 
     for the Nation;
       Whereas for over 85 years, families have proudly displayed 
     the Blue Star Flag showing United States service personnel 
     the honor and pride that is taken in their sacrifices for 
     freedom;
       Whereas the flag may be displayed by members of the 
     immediate family of a loved one serving in the Armed Forces;
       Whereas the flag may be flown by families with a service 
     member stationed either domestically or overseas;
       Whereas the display of the flag in the front window of a 
     home shows a family's pride in their loved one and is a 
     reminder that preserving America's freedom demands great 
     sacrifice; and
       Whereas such a reminder is especially timely during the 
     current conflict with Iraq and the global war on terrorism: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) honors members of the United States Armed Forces and 
     their families;
       (2) calls on all Americans to honor the members of the 
     United States Armed Forces and their families, to recognize 
     the importance of the Blue Star Flag and the Gold Star and 
     their symbolism of the devotion and service of the members of 
     the United States Armed Forces, and to advance awareness of 
     the Blue Star Flag and the Gold Star through all appropriate 
     information and media channels; and
       (3) encourages the families of members of the Armed Forces 
     to proudly display the Blue Star Flag or, if their loved one 
     has made the ultimate sacrifice, the Gold Star.
       Sec. 2. The authority on which this resolution rests is the 
     authority of Congress to make all laws which shall be 
     necessary and proper as provided in Article I, section 8 of 
     the United States Constitution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).

                              {time}  1345


                             General Leave

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Con. Res. 109, the concurrent resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). Is there objection 
to the request of the gentleman from Nevada?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), the author of this resolution.
  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I rise in strong support of the resolution. This is a grand tradition 
of our Nation, and this resolution encourages all Americans to honor 
the Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star as patriotic symbols of the 
proud tradition of the families of our fighting men.
  This tradition was started in World War I when, in 1917, the Blue 
Star Banner was designed by an Army veteran Captain Robert L. 
Queissner, who had two sons serving on the front lines during World War 
I. The design is to symbolize the number of members of the family from 
that household who are currently serving in our armed services; and the 
intent of the resolution is to simply encourage American families with 
service personnel currently serving in our Armed Forces to proudly 
display this banner.
  The banner became a particularly strong symbol. Mothers across the 
country embraced it as a symbol of devotion and their pride for family 
members who were serving in the war, and it came to its pinnacle of 
recognition during World War II. As a matter of fact, I would remind my 
colleagues that in the movie Saving Private Ryan, they may recall that 
as the Army sedan pulls up to the home of the Ryans, we can see a Blue 
Star Banner in the window of their home, acknowledging that a member of 
their family was serving in the war.
  If more than one member of the family is serving in the armed 
services at the time of the combat, then there are as many blue stars 
as there are members of the family currently serving.
  This symbol, as I said, reached its pinnacle during World War II when 
great pride was exhibited by our American families for the service men 
and women from their families who were currently serving. It has fallen 
into some disuse since then, and this resolution simply calls upon all 
American service families to proudly display the Blue Star Banner, 
acknowledging that a member of that household's family is currently 
serving in our armed services somewhere around the world.
  Clearly, we are at war. We are at war not only to liberate Iraq, but 
we are also at war across the globe in our war against terrorism, in 
Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world; and we all, every single 
one of us, are tremendously proud of our Armed Forces and the battle 
that they are carrying forward both to liberate Iraq but also to battle 
and fight terrorism wherever it appears around the globe.
  Our hope, my hope as a sponsor of this resolution, is that all 
families with service personnel currently serving in our Armed Forces 
will proudly display the Blue Star Banner, and that all Americans 
across the Nation will recognize the Blue Star Banner as a symbol of 
pride and dedication, recognizing not just the sacrifice of the 
individual service member, man or woman, in our armed services at this 
critical point in our Nation's history, but also the sacrifice made by 
that family.
  It seems to me that this is a particularly important time, and my 
hope is that across the country these banners will spring up, hanging 
in the windows of families with service personnel and that all of us, 
as a Nation, all of us who do not have a family member serving in the 
armed services, will step forward and tell those families how much we 
appreciate not only the sacrifice that the individual serviceman or 
servicewoman is making to serve our Nation at this critical point in 
time, but also that the family is making. It seems to me that this is 
indeed a grand tradition and one that is very important.
  I need to go on and explain, however, the tradition of the Gold Star 
because the Gold Star carries this tradition one step further. As we 
know as Americans, as the world knows, freedom is not free. It comes at 
a very heavy price. Not far from here, at Bethesda Naval Hospital, 
there are many injured servicemen who have come back from the war to 
liberate Iraq and who are there being healed. But we also know that 
some service members already in this war have lost their lives.
  The tradition of the Gold Star shortly followed the Blue Star Banner, 
and the Gold Star is a star which is displayed by a family when they 
have lost a family member, that is, when a member of the service has 
made the ultimate sacrifice. Tragically, that has happened in this war. 
Tragically, we have lost all too many soldiers in this war, and the 
tradition is that when a family member is lost, when a family member 
has made the final sacrifice, that the Gold Star is placed over the 
Blue Star, acknowledging that someone from that home has made the 
ultimate sacrifice.
  This concurrent resolution, the Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star, 
is supported by many groups across the country, the American Legion and 
its efforts all across the country. The Blue Star Mothers of America, 
the American Gold Star Mothers and the Gold Star Wives of America, as 
well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, are all supporting these banners. 
Indeed, this is the official banner recognized by Congress in 1967 and 
by the Department of

[[Page H2540]]

Defense as the official acknowledgment of the fact that there is a 
family member in the services.
  This morning at the press conference we held on this topic, a 
representative of the Gold Star Mothers came forward, and she made it 
very clear, along with a representative of the Gold Star Wives, that 
they did not want their group to expand, that indeed because the Blue 
Star Banner is a moment of pride for a service member serving, the Gold 
Star Banner, of course, is an acknowledgment of a lost life; and the 
women from the Gold Star Wives and the American Gold Star Mothers came 
forward and said they do not want their groups to expand, of course 
because the only way one gains membership in the group of Gold Star 
Mothers or Gold Star Wives is to lose a family member. I think every 
member of the Nation hopes that the Gold Star does not expand, but each 
day as this war goes forward there is the risk of that.
  I think it is time for America to passionately thank our armed 
services personnel. The Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star are a great 
tradition for doing that.
  I urge my colleagues not to just embrace this resolution and vote for 
it, but go home and talk about it in their districts, tell their 
constituents, let them know of this grand tradition, encourage every 
single family with a member in our armed services to fly the Blue Star 
Banner with great pride and let every other American express their 
gratitude and their thanks to those service personnel serving.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First, let me compliment the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) for 
offering this resolution before the Congress, the sense of Congress 
regarding the Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star. I think this is 
certainly fitting and proper considering the fact that we today are at 
war in Iraq, considering the fact that we already have lost American 
lives in that conflict.
  I remember as a young boy growing up in my hometown of Lexington, 
Missouri, and seeing these banners with Blue Stars and some with two 
Blue Stars and some with Gold Stars, knowing the fact that members of 
the family, either a sailor or sometimes brothers; or sometimes a 
soldier would lose his life on the battlefield and the Gold Star would 
hang in the window of that family's home. And I think it is certainly 
fitting that we, in our own way, express our sense that this is the 
right thing to do now, to bring it home to America that these young men 
and women who literally put their lives on the line should be 
remembered in such a visible and fine way.
  Cicero, the great Roman orator, once said that gratitude is the 
greatest of all virtues, and this is one way, a small way, be that as 
it may, to express the gratitude of not just the Congress but of the 
American people for the young people who risk their lives on the 
battlefield.
  So, as a cosponsor of this House concurrent resolution, I support 
this measure. It is a timely resolution recognizing the importance of 
Blue Stars and Gold Star banners. The Blue Star Banner actually emerged 
during the First World War when Army Captain Robert Queissner designed 
a Blue Star to honor his two sons who were serving on the front lines 
during that conflict. The patented star soon became the country's 
unofficial symbol which families used to recognize a child serving in 
our Armed Forces.
  In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved a recommendation by the 
Women's Committee of the Council of National Defenses that mothers who 
had lost a child in conflict wear a Gold Star on the traditional black 
mourning arm-band. Thus began the tradition of covering a Blue Star 
with a Gold Star when a family lost such a loved one.
  The Department of Defense has recognized the banner as an official 
service flag for immediate family members of servicemen and women to 
display during any period of war or hostilities in which the American 
Armed Forces are engaged.
  As I mentioned, when I was a boy growing up in my hometown of 
Lexington, I still recall those Blue Stars, those banners, hanging in 
the windows of homes as fathers or mothers, husbands, wives and sons 
and daughters left to serve our Nation in that Second World War. As men 
and women were called upon to serve our Nation, the prevalence of the 
Blue and the Gold Star Banners became a familiar sight wherever we went 
in my hometown. It was during the Second World War that organizations 
also displayed the banner to recognize their members who were serving 
in uniform.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, as one travels across our wonderful land, one can 
still find these traditional symbols being proudly displayed. However, 
while we have more than a million service members in uniform as we 
speak, the use of the banner has steadily declined and, sadly, this 
American tradition has faded. Many Americans no longer recognize this 
banner for the important part it has played in the history of our 
country, particularly the military history of our country, and yet 
American men and women are still called upon to defend our freedoms. 
Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and 
now Operation Iraqi Freedom are just a few of the conflicts which our 
Armed Forces have served.
  This last September, as American forces continued the fight against 
terrorists, this House of Representatives passed a similar resolution 
that called upon the President to issue a proclamation in support of 
the Blue and the Gold Star Banners. As our forces continue to engage in 
battle in the Middle East, I urge the President to issue a proclamation 
that calls upon families of service members to display the Blue Star 
Banner in patriotic support of our loved ones.
  As our men and women in uniform fight to bring democracy and 
stability to the people of Iraq, I hope that we will restore this proud 
tradition. And it is a proud tradition. I urge all Americans to restore 
the display of a star for their loved ones who are defending the 
freedoms that this body was founded upon.
  So it is with pleasure, Mr. Speaker, that I endorse and urge this 
House of Representatives to pass this resolution and that we have a 
unanimous vote in favor of the Blue Stars and the Gold Stars to be 
displayed on the banners in our windows of our homes.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Burns).
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is powerful. It is powerful 
because it says that if one has a loved one in the armed services, we 
encourage them to fly a Blue Star Banner. It is powerful because it 
encourages those families who have lost a loved one in the service of 
his or her country to display a Gold Star on that same banner. The Blue 
Star Banner and the Gold Star are symbols not only of our men and women 
in uniform and the sacrifices that they make for our freedoms, but they 
are also symbols of hope, symbols of love, and symbols of sacrifice of 
families who give so much for our troops.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution is particularly significant to me 
because many of the troops who are leading the charge of our military 
in Iraq come from the Third Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, 
Georgia. These fine young men and women have gone to Iraq. Some, sadly, 
will make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and not return. But this 
legislation is a visible symbol of our support for our troops, their 
families, and their collective sacrifices for all of our freedoms.

                              {time}  1400

  I am proud to be a cosponsor of this resolution, and I urge its 
immediate passage.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Solis).
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for conducting this discussion and our friends 
on the other side of the aisle.
  I rise today also to strongly support this resolution. Popular during 
World War II, we are seeing the Blue Star Banners flown again. I 
brought a copy of one, because these are being proudly flown in my own 
district in the cities of El Monte and West Covina, and they are being 
displayed by families who have loved ones serving in the Armed

[[Page H2541]]

Forces, whether their family member is a son, daughter, brother, 
sister, wife, husband, or even a grandchild.
  The banner shows a family's pride in their loved one serving in the 
military. It also reminds us that we are preserving America's freedom 
and that demands so much.
  Blue Star Mothers and Gold Star Mothers organizations were 
established back in World War I and remain active even today. There are 
Blue Star Moms that are popping up in my district where I live in the 
city of El Monte. Unfortunately, we are also seeing more families 
displaying Gold Stars on their banners. Families like the Flores family 
in my district who just learned that they lost their son, Francisco A. 
Martinez Flores, who was killed in Iraq.
  We must honor the United States Armed Forces and their families 
because they are all heroes. I encourage these families to proudly 
display the Blue Star Banner.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution offered by 
the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), and I commend the gentleman 
for bringing this important resolution to the attention of the House.
  House Concurrent Resolution 109 reminds the Nation of one of our most 
cherished wartime traditions, having the families of military 
servicemembers display the Blue Star Service Flag and wear a service 
lapel pin.
  The daily lives of most Americans remain unchanged by the conflict in 
Iraq and the war on terrorism. Aside from the television news coverage, 
many Americans do not think about these very challenging conflicts 
during the rush of their busy days. However, there are hundreds of 
thousands of Americans whose family members are fighting on the front 
lines of these 21st century wars and enduring all the same dangers and 
hardships that confronted our warriors during previous conflicts.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us need to remember that these Americans are 
experiencing this war in a very personal manner and with a level of 
fear and uncertainty for loved ones in uniform that only they can 
understand.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why the Blue Star Service Flag and its 
accompanying service lapel pin are so important. They will be an 
eloquent reminder for friends and neighbors that our soldiers, sailors, 
airmen, and Marines are fighting and sacrificing their lives to keep us 
safe and to keep us free.
  We can all benefit from a short, somber moment every day to remember 
those brave Americans and pledge to do more during our day to support 
our troops and the families they leave behind.
  At this point, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and 
friend, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), for his lifelong 
dedication to the service and our troops. It is a pleasure to serve on 
the committee with him as the ranking member. Again, I want to commend 
the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), and I urge strong support for 
this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me first compliment the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for 
bringing this important resolution to the floor. Let me share, if I 
may, Mr. Speaker, an experience I had yesterday.
  I went out to Bethesda Naval Hospital, and I had the opportunity to 
visit with seven of the 10 young Marines and one sailor who were 
injured in the Iraqi war, the Iraqi conflict, and some of them were 
injured rather severely. I have to tell my colleagues that of the seven 
I visited, all seven were extremely strong in morale, they backed the 
purpose of our being in Iraq, and were just proud to be United States 
Marines. I met some of their families too, and what great American 
families they were. And these families, I know full well, will display 
with great pride and affection the Blue Star Banner that we are 
speaking of, which the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) was good 
enough to endorse through his resolution.
  So let us hope that every member of our military's families will 
display this banner with pride and exhibit the pride of the families I 
saw yesterday with those injured Marines at the Bethesda Naval 
Hospital. I am proud of them. I am proud of everyone who wears the 
American uniform.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina 
(Mr. Spratt).
  Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I commend both sides for the bipartisan 
effort they have made here to restore a proud, proud tradition. I am 
just old enough to remember the Gold Star and Blue Star Banners. I am a 
war baby born in 1942. But I still have a dim recollection of that and 
a warm feeling of the pride that those who displayed these banners had, 
to let all the community know that they had a loved one who was serving 
abroad or serving in service at some place in time.
  I spent this past weekend, Sunday afternoon, in the little town of 
Jefferson, South Carolina, where we had a memorial service for a staff 
sergeant in the Air Force, Jason Higgs, whose helicopter was on a 
rescue mission to pick up two Afghan girls, both of whom were in need 
of medical care, to bring them back and have them attended to by Air 
Force doctors. He did not make it back. The next day they sent for the 
girls, they had their surgery, that was successful. Sunday afternoon we 
laid him to rest.
  All over America there are countless stories like this, about these 
folks who are laying their lives on the line for us and our freedom. 
This is a wonderful tradition to restore, and I wholeheartedly support 
this legislation.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, except to 
thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) for this resolution and 
to thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for sponsoring this 
resolution. I think it is very, very important that every American 
family have the opportunity to display a banner such as this resolution 
endorses, that every American family that does not have a loved one in 
uniform understands, recognizes, and appreciates those families that 
do.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, with the eloquent words of my friend, the 
gentleman from Missouri, I would also urge each and every one of our 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, It is my great pleasure to take a moment 
to speak about the Blue Star Banner and the Gold Star.
  As we continue to battle the enemy of freedom, each day many 
Americans bid farewell to a loved one that is a member of our Armed 
Forces, not knowing where they will go or when they will return, these 
families only have symbols of their loved ones.
  These brave men and women who proudly wear our military's uniforms 
leave behind equally brave friends and relations who look for some way 
to remain connected to their loved ones abroad. Those on the homefront 
are eager to show their support for our troops, their hope for a safe 
return, and their pride in the actions and bravery of their loved ones. 
The Blue an Gold Star Banner emphasizes the special and difficult role 
of the family left behind in time of war.
  Recognizing this desire to show support and pride for our family 
members who are off to battle, Army Captain Robert L. Queissner 
designed the Blue Star Banner in 1917, initially in support of his two 
sons who were serving on the front lines in World War I. The popularity 
of this banner spread quickly among those whose family members were 
also fighting in the War, and continued through many years and many 
battles to be displayed by families nationwide who anxiously awaited 
their loved ones' return.
  The families of those who did not make it back home displayed a Gold 
Star over the Blue Star Banner, to symbolize the honor with which their 
loved ones perished in the name of freedom. This practice continues 
today, as a way for families to show their pride in the valiant actions 
of their loved ones in service to our country, who have made the 
ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
  I therefore encourage the families of all American servicemembers to 
display the Blue Star Banner and, as necessary, the Gold Star, in show 
of unconditional support for and pride in our nation's Armed Forces.
  Mr. GILLMOR. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in support of H. Con. 
Res. 109. The Blue Star Banner was originally patented and designed in 
1917, by Spanish-American War Veteran and World War I Army Captain 
Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry, who at that time had two 
sons serving on the front-lines. Since its unofficial adoption back in 
the early 20th century, it has grown to become the

[[Page H2542]]

official symbol of all mothers who have children proudly serving their 
country in the Armed Forces. As our history shows, many of the brave 
men and women who have so honorably served this country in battle have 
indeed made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the United States of 
America remains the beacon of freedom and prosperity throughout the 
world. To honor these fallen heroes family members who lost loved ones 
in the defense of liberty began placing a gold star over the blue star 
to symbolize their sacrifice. As we speak, our courageous service men 
and women continue to secure the safety of the world and bring freedom 
to oppressed peoples. Therefore, it is only appropriate that we pass 
this resolution today and show our solidarity and resolve not only to 
those who serve, but to their family members that they have left behind 
here on the home-front. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all my colleagues to 
pass this resolution and show that the steadfastness of the American 
spirit starts here in the United States Congress.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
109, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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