Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimages

A Gold Star flag posted in a window during World War I immediately told passersby the sad story of that home: a son, brother, husband, or father had been killed while serving in the military. Taking their name from that symbol of loss, Gold Star Mothers and Widows formed many support organizations and in 1929 successfully lobbied the federal government to fund pilgrimages to visit the graves of lost loved ones who were buried in American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in Europe and elsewhere. From the program's start in 1930 until its end in 1933, 6,654 women of different economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds took part in these journeys-though African American women were segregated. The trips were organized and led by the Army Quartermaster Corps; the graveside visits reassured the grieving women, two of whom wrote, "We feel our sons have a lovely resting place."