Our Fight for a Silver Star Service Banner for our Honored Wounded

OUR FIGHT FOR A BANNER FOR OUR WOUNDED SOLDIERS
(Service Flag)

As most of you know, we have had a banner for families with children in the military since about World War I. Around this banner grew a wonderful organization called the Blue Star Mothers. Later within the same organization grew a distinct and honored group called the Gold Star Mothers who have lost children in the service of their country.

But at the present time we have no recognized banner for wounded soldiers. In the distant past it has been said there was a Silver Star designating a wounded soldier but the tradition has been lost. It is my intention to reinstate this tradition. To date in Operation Iraqi Freedom there have been almost 20,000 wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. It is time that they AND their families had a specific banner honoring their sacrifice.

Everyone starts out with a Blue Star Banner for a family member in the service of his or her country. If the service member dies in the line of duty, the Gold Star is sewn over the Blue Star leaving a blue border showing around the new Gold Star. It would be a simple matter to sew a Silver Star over a Blue Star leaving a blue border showing and thus creating a banner for our wounded.

However it is not THAT simple. The copyright of the Blue Star Banner rests with the Department of Defense and the rules and regulations governing its use and manufacture are in DoD 1348.33-M which authorizes the Secretary of Defense to approve the design of the flag and prescribe regulations governing its manufacture and use. It also refers to this flag as "The Service Flag." The law is in Sec. 901 of the U.S. Code. However there is no mention of a Silver Star although in the history of the Service Flag there have been MANY variations. I have contacted many organizations and individuals about a banner for our wounded but have received ambiguous responses if I received any.

Many have stated that a family can express their love and patriotism in any fashion they deem appropriate. Some have stated that if it is not specifically mentioned in the DoD regulations it is not authorized. I believe that we must honor tradition AND DoD regulations by following the examples of our forefathers. By keeping the same banner but sewing a Silver Star over the Blue Star it would, in my opinion, satisfy tradition and honor the Blue Star Mothers, the Gold Star Mothers AND the families who have suffered through the trauma of a wounded soldier. (Or the new Silver Star Mothers)

So in keeping with the attempt to reinstate this traditional use of the Service Banner and if you are a family member of a wounded soldier, you may now go to: http://showcase.netins.net/web/sovereign/star/ and download a SILVER STAR BANNER to be proudly displayed in your window. (Graphics by Gary King) Right click on the Image and save to your computer. Then you can print out the banner on your printer. If you already have a real banner and are a family member of a wounded soldier, contact youre nearest flag maker and request a Silver Star.

To learn more on this effort please go to: http://steven.newton1.home.att.net/ or: http://home.att.net/~steven.newton1/serviceflag.html and read the history of the Service Flag and about our fight for a Silver Star Banner for our wounded. When this effort is complete we will send the results to the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States.

Remember that the DoD has not yet recognized this effort. But they are studying the matter as we speak. However, studying by the government can take a while. We need to be honoring our wounded and disable soldiers NOW. We request that the DoD make changes to the regulations to officially recognize our wounded with the establishment of a Silver Star.

Steven J. Newton