[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.
____________________