GoldStarSiblings.com - Honoring and Remembering our Brothers and Sisters Who Gave the Ultimate Sacrifice
GoldStarSiblings.com, a new website that has been established to provide brothers and sisters who have lost their loved one in combat while serving their Country to provide assistance in supporting one another with their loss.
(PRWEB) April 19, 2005 -- A new website has been established to provide
support to brothers and sisters who have lost their loved one in combat while
serving their Country, GoldStarSiblings.com (http://www.goldstarsiblings.com ). The goal of Gold Star
Siblings is to bring together ‘gold star’ brothers and sisters in a single
online community and be able to honor and remember their sibling, and to support
one another with their loss.
The concept of GoldStarSiblings.com is
being modeled after American Gold Star Mothers (on the web www.goldstarmoms.com) and
Gold Star Wives of America (on the web: www.goldstarwives.org) who
have lost their son/daughter or husband while serving in combat. The creator,
Bill Kibler of Arlington, VA – a Marine Veteran who served with the
Multi-National Peacekeeping Force, Beirut, Lebanon 1982-1983, saw the need while
working with the Gold Star Mothers and hearing of the desire from Beirut
siblings (one of whom has expressed a great interest to also become heavily
involved), and realizing the same need would apply with the current war in
Iraq.
The website features an online discussion board for youth,
teens/young adults, and adults, and will have an area for users to create an
online memorial Web page honoring their sibling. The website will grow with the
needs of the users, and hopefully, plans to become a new national organization
in 2005.
Since the launch of the website, recently some Vietnam siblings
have since joined, saying they have been waiting over 30 years for something
like this to happen and are extremely excited about its existance.
About
the term: “Gold Star”
The Service Flag displayed from homes, places of
business, churches, schools, etc., to indicate the number of members of the
family or organizations who are serving in the Armed Forces or who have died
from such service. Service flags have a deep Blue Star for each living member in
the service and a Gold Star for each member who has died.” Thus, the Gold Star
and the term Gold Star Mother/Wife, as applied to mothers whose sons or
daughters, or husband, died in the World Wars, has been accepted.
During
the early days of World War I, a Blue Star was used to represent each person,
man or woman in the Military Service of the United States. As the war progressed
and men were killed in combat, others wounded and died of their wounds or
disease, there came about the accepted usage of the Gold Star.
This Gold
Star was substituted and superimposed upon the Blue Star in such a manner as to
entirely cover it. The idea of the Gold Star was that the honor and glory
accorded the person for his supreme sacrifice in offering for his country, the
last full measure of devotion and pride of the family in this sacrifice, rather
than the sense of personal loss which would be represented by the mourning
symbols.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/4/prweb230287.htm