Gold Star Families Memorial
Cecil Field POW/MIA Memorial, Inc. dedicated the Gold Star Families Memorial on February 27, 2021. The monument marker was donated by The Garden Clubs of Northeast Florida, District IV. This unique memorial includes a lighted flagpole displaying the Gold Star banner, landscaping, a concrete walkway with bench, and a memorial brick area that has space for 100 pavers. It is a tribute to those families whose loved one paid the ultimate sacrifice defending the United States of America.
The National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum itself will be located at the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Master Jet Base (1941-1999) in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Gold Star Families Memorial is located on the grounds of the historic Chapel of the High-Speed Pass.
Please consider purchasing a paver to honor your soldier, airman, seaman or marine who was killed in the line of duty. Two designs are available – please see below.
Purchase A Gold Star Memorial Commemorative Brick
Cecil Field Gold Star Families 4×8 Red Brick with 3 Lines of Text and Star
$150
3 lines of text, 20 characters per line
(this includes spaces and punctuation)
*****This brick is for GOLD STAR FAMILY MEMBERS only and there is a limited quantity of 100 bricks available for purchase*****
Gold Star Families 4×8 Red Brick with 3 Lines of Text and Star Clipart
$150
3 lines of text, up to 12 characters per line
(this includes spaces and punctuation)
*****This brick is for GOLD STAR FAMILY MEMBERS only and there is a limited quantity of 100 bricks available for purchase*****
GOLD STAR FAMILIES MEMORIAL PARTNERS
THE CASSATA FAMILY
E.F. LEA ELECTRICAL
EXECUTIVE SUITE PROFESSIONALS
FLORIDA FALLEN HEROES
FLORIDA NURSERY, GROWERS
AND LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
THE GARDEN CLUBS OF NORTHEAST
FLORIDA DISTRICT IV
GEER SERVICES, INC.
THE HALL FAMILY
THE HOUSTON FAMILY
THE HUNLEY FAMILY
JACKSONVILLE NATIONAL CEMETERY SUPPORT COMMITTEE
K9s FOR WARRIORS
LAKE SHORE MOOSE LODGE, NO 2020
LIVE OAK CONTRACTING
THE MCKINNEY FAMILY
NORTHEAST DISTRICT ELKS LODGES
PROSSER, INC.
ROTARY CLUB OF NORTH JACKSONVILLE
REGISTER GENERAL CONTRACTOR, LLC.
ROLLING THUNDER CHAPTER 4
THE SPEICHER-HARRIS FAMILY
THE SPICKELMIER FAMILY
THE SUTHERLAND FAMILY
WINDY CREATIONS
CECIL FIELD POW/MIA MEMORIAL, INC. BOARD MEMBERS
Understanding the Significance of the Gold Star
, DOD NEWS
More than 7,000 American service members have been killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq alone since Sept. 11, 2001. More than 16,000 have died of other causes in that time. Gold Star families have borne the losses, and Defense Department officials want Americans – especially those serving in the department – to understand what the Gold Star lapel pin and Next of Kin lapel pins mean.
The pins were created ”to recognize the sacrifices of so many,” said Deborah Skillman, the program director at the Military Community and Family Policy Office in the Pentagon. Skillman’s office has created and posted an ”eTutorial” on Military OneSource to educate people about the program.
Service members know what the Gold Star represents, and, unfortunately, in a time of conflict, many service members have lost friends. Still, the force has a large turnover of personnel, Skillman noted, and there may be some who do not understand the Gold Star program and what it represents. The eTutorial is for them, she said.
The education effort is in response to input from family members who, because of a general lack of knowledge, sometimes get ”unintentionally insensitive questions about the Gold Star lapel button and Next of Kin lapel button,” Skillman said.
The Gold Star symbol began during World War I. At the start of the American involvement in 1917, families hung banners with blue stars representing family members in the services. If the service member died in combat, the family changed the blue star to gold.
After the war, Gold Star mothers banded together. The group incorporated in 1928. This year’s Gold Star Mothers Day is Sept. 27.
There are still Gold Star families from World War I, and many thousands from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
For more information, go to https://millifelearning.militaryonesource.mil/
The Gold Star Families Memorial Plans
