Gold Star Mothers Club The American Gold Star Mothers Inc . was formed in the United States shortly after World War I to provide support for mothers who lost sons or daughters in the war . The name came from the custom of families of servicemen hanging a banner called a Service Flag in the window of their homes . The Service Flag had a star for each family member in the United States Armed Forces . Living servicemen were represented by a blue star , and those who had lost their lives were represented by a gold star . Gold Star Mothers are often socially active but are non - political . Today , membership in the Gold Star Mothers is open to any American woman who has lost a son or daughter in service to the United States . On the last Sunday in September , Gold Star Mother < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s Day is observed in the U . S . in their honor . The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code . Founding . The Gold Star Mothers was founded by Grace Darling Seibold of Washington , D . C . When the United States entered World War I in 1917 , George Vaughn Seibold , 23 , volunteered , requesting assignment in aviation . He was sent to Canada where he learned to fly British planes since the United States had neither an air force nor planes . Deployed to England , he was assigned to the British Royal Flying Corps , 148th Aero Squadron . With his squadron , he left for combat duty in France . He corresponded with his family regularly . His mother , Grace Darling Seibold , began to do community service by visiting returning servicemen in the hospitals . The mail from George stopped . Since all aviators were under British control and authority , the United States could not help the Seibold family with any information about their son . Grace continued to visit hospitalized veterans in the Washington area , clinging to the hope that her son might have been injured and returned to the United States without any identification . While working through her sorrow , she helped ease the pain of the many servicemen who returned so war - damaged that they were incapable of ever reaching normalcy . But on October 11 , 1918 , George ' s wife in Chicago received a box marked " Effects of deceased Officer 1st Lt . George Vaughn Seibold " . The Seibolds also received a confirmation of George ' s death on November 4 through a family member in Paris . On Sunday , December 15 , 1918 , nine days before Christmas Eve , the following obituary appeared in the Washington Star newspaper : George ' s body was never identified . Grace , realizing that self - contained grief is self - destructive , devoted her time and efforts to not only working in the hospital but extending the hand of friendship to other mothers whose sons had lost their lives in military service . She organized a group consisting solely of these special mothers , with the purpose of not only comforting each other , but giving loving care to hospitalized veterans confined in government hospitals far from home . The organization was named after the Gold Star that families hung in their windows in honor of the deceased veteran . After years of planning , June 4 , 1928 , twenty - five mothers met in Washington , DC to establish the national organization , American Gold Star Mothers , Inc . On May 28 , 1918 , President Wilson approved a suggestion made by the Women ’ s Committee of the Council of National Defenses that , instead of wearing conventional mourning for relatives who have died in the service of their country , American women should wear a black band on the left arm with a gilt star on the band for each member of the family who has given his life for the nation . “ 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 , as applied to mothers whose sons or daughters died in World War I , were accepted ; they have continued to be used in reference to all American military engagements since that time . Notable members . Perhaps the single most famous mother to have joined was Aletta Sullivan , the mother of the five Sullivan brothers , who were killed in action when their ship , the USS Juneau ( CL - 52 ) was sunk by an enemy torpedo on November 13 , 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal . On September 21 , 1948 , the U . S . Post Office issued a commemorative stamp , specially designed by artist Charles Chickering , honoring the Gold Star Mothers . Mrs . Sullivan was given the first sheet of stamps issued . Today . Today , membership in the Gold Star Mothers is open to any American woman whose child has died in the line of duty of the United States Armed Forces . Stepmothers and adoptive mothers are eligible for membership under certain circumstances . Husbands of Gold Star Mothers may become Associate Members , who do not vote or pay dues . Gold Star Mothers is made up of local chapters , which are organized into departments . Five members are required to start a local chapter . If no local chapter is available , a woman may join the organization as a member at large . Just as when it was founded , the Gold Star Mothers continues to concentrate on providing emotional support to its members , doing volunteer work with veterans in general and veterans ' hospitals in particular , and generally fostering a sense of patriotism and respect for members of the Armed Forces . In early September 2005 , Gold Star Mothers accepted its first non - citizen - Carmen Palmer of Mount Vernon , New York , who was born in Jamaica - as a member . The group had banned non - citizens for the first 77 years of its existence , most notably rejecting the application of Ligaya Lagman whose son Anthony was killed while serving in Afghanistan . Palmer ' s son , Marine Cpl . Bernard Gooden , died in 2003 in Iraq at age 22 . The group currently has 933 members . In September 2012 , President Barack Obama rededicated the last day in September as " Gold Star Mother ' s and Family ' s Day . " Controversy . On May 26 , 2001 , NewsMax published an article claiming freshman Senator ( and former first lady ) Hillary Clinton had refused to meet with the Gold Star Mothers . The website Snopes . com disputes the article , describing the incident as two Gold Star mothers visiting Clinton ' s office without an appointment , on a day when Clinton was not present . However , according to the Gold Star Mothers , " Senator Clinton greeted us graciously on Gold Star Mothers Sunday , 2005 . " In the 1974 Ohio Senate primary race between Howard Metzenbaum and John Glenn , Metzenbaum contrasted his business background with Glenn ' s military and astronaut credentials , saying his opponent had " never worked for a living . " Glenn ' s reply came to be known as the " Gold Star Mothers " speech . He told Metzenbaum to go to a veterans ' hospital and " look those men with mangled bodies in the eyes and tell them they didn ' t hold a job . You go with me to any Gold Star mother and you look her in the eye and tell her that her son did not hold a job . " Uniform . The uniform consists of a white skirt , white shirt , and a white blazer , with a gold star embroidered on either lapel , and gold piping on the sleeve cuffs , and collars , and white shoes , either Mary Janes , or pumps , with a white cap , similar to a women ' s service hat , with gold piping . This uniform is worn at all parades , meetings , and social functions connected with military functions ( i . e . Memorial Day services at Arlington National Cemetery , etc . ) License plates . Most states offer some form of a specialty license plate for motor vehicles owned by specific members of Gold Star families . American Gold Star Manor . American Gold Star Manor , located in Long Beach , California , is a 348 - unit retirement home for parents of soldiers killed while serving in the military . It was founded in the early 1960s by Eleanor Boyd , then president of the American Gold Star Mothers organization .