[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       GOLD STAR WIVES OF AMERICA

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
organization that has answered the call of duty on behalf of our 
soldiers and their families for the last 60 years, the Gold Star Wives 
of America, Inc. On July 19th, representatives of all the Gold Star 
Wives chapters will gather in Orlando, FL, to commemorate their 60th 
Anniversary and I ask every American to join me in thanking these 
citizen soldiers for their tireless work on behalf of military families 
across this country.
  While we as a Nation celebrate and honor the service of our soldiers, 
it is organizations such as the Gold-Star Wives that remind us that 
every soldier is a sibling, a parent, someone's child, a spouse. They 
also remind us that our national obligation is not only to the soldier 
in the field but to the family a fallen soldier leaves behind.
  Prior to World War II, many military widows and their families did 
not have a strong voice to advocate on their behalf. All of that 
changed in New York when 23-year-old Marie Jordan, whose husband Edward 
died in Germany, collected women's names as they appeared in military 
obituaries and invited a small group over for coffee. Once together, 
the assembled widows realized that their concerns were many, that their 
issues were common amongst many military widows, and that there was not 
an organization charged with advocating on their behalf. They set about 
addressing these three concerns and in the process created the Gold 
Star Wives of America with a simple but profound mission: to honor 
those who died in the service of their country and assist those left 
behind.
  The meetings continued and grew throughout New York. In April of 
1945, our country lost the President. From the sorrow of that loss came 
a member who would have a lasting and dramatic effect on the group's 
profile, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. Through Mrs. Roosevelt's weekly 
columns and public profile, the visibility of the Gold Star Wives 
increased, as did their impact and membership. That early coffee 
gathering evolved into their one and only annual fundraiser, a ``Stay-
at-Home Tea'' to which members are encouraged to donate amounts as 
small a $10 and $15.
  Initially the activities were local, such as arranging camping trips 
for the children of lost soldiers and volunteering at veterans 
hospitals. As membership grew so did the scope of the young 
organization's focus, which soon incorporated organizational support 
for memorial projects, helping coordinate Veterans and Memorial Days 
programs and speaking out in public forums on behalf of widowed 
military wives.
  And the work continues today. Tiffany Petty, 25, of Inkom, ID, was 
widowed in December 2003 when her husband, Army PFC Jerrick M. Petty, 
was killed while guarding a gas station in Iraq. Along with other 
members of the Gold Star Wives, Tiffany appeared before the Senate and 
communicated in strong, heartfelt terms the need to increase death 
benefits for survivors and remove the bureaucratic obstacles grieving 
families face in accessing benefits.
  On July 19, the mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters that comprise 
the membership of the Gold Star Wives will convene in Florida. A 
central part of this 60th anniversary celebration will be a tribute to 
the group's founder now known as Marie Jordan Speer. Along with the 
Massachusetts delegation, I am proud to stand with all of these 
inspiring women as they pay tribute to a patriot and citizen soldier 
who has had an immeasurable impact on how this nation treats military 
families.
  As a veteran and as an American, I thank Marie Jordan Speer and every 
member, past and present, of the Gold Star Wives of America for their 
patriotic service, for their advocacy, and for making sure that this 
country lives up to its obligation to soldiers long after the 
battlefield falls quiet and troops come home.

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