Honoring Gold Star Families

Service flag

On Oct. 17, 1942, during World War II, Congress formalized the service flag by passing Sections 7.31-7.41 issued under the act of Congress approved Oct. 17, 1942, Public Law 750, 77th Congress. This act authorized the secretary of war “to approve a design for a service flag, which flag may be displayed in a window of the place of residence of persons who are members of the immediate family of a person serving in the armed forces during the current war.”

The number of blue stars on the service flag corresponds to the number of service members in the immediate family who are symbolized on the flag. If one of those service members is killed or dies from causes other than dishonorable, the star representing that individual will have a gold star of smaller size superimposed on it so that the blue forms a border.

Lapel buttons

Following the end of WWII, on Aug. 1, 1947, Congress passed an act establishing the Gold Star Lapel Button “as a means of identification for widows and parents of members of the armed forces of the United States who lost their lives in the armed services of the United States in World War II.”

Laws passed since WWII revised the eligibility for the Gold Star Lapel Button. Current Defense Department policy regarding the service flag and Gold Star Lapel Button is contained in DOD Instruction 1348.36, Gold Star Lapel Button, Service Flag and Service Lapel Button. Paragraph 3.2 of the DODI details the Gold Star Lapel Button Program and lists the qualifying situations for eligibility.

The military departments may issue a Next of Kin of Deceased Personnel Lapel Button to recognize the family of service members who die in a duty status, who are not otherwise eligible for receipt of the Gold Star Lapel Button.

Today, Gold Star Lapel Buttons are typically presented to eligible next of kin prior to their service member’s funeral or interment service, or shortly thereafter. Eligibility is determined by the service at time of death with no requirement for the family to apply, as it is provided automatically.

An eligible individual who was not provided a Gold Star Lapel Button may request one by completing and submitting a DD Form 3, Application for the Gold Star Lapel Button, to the applicable military department listed on the form. Replacement buttons may also be requested, using the same form, if a Gold Star Lapel Button is lost, destroyed or damaged.

Pursuant to Title 10 United States Code Section 1126, the Gold Star Lapel Button is provided to the next of kin of active-duty military members:

• Who lost their lives during WWI, WWII or during any subsequent period of armed hostilities in which the United States was engaged before July 1, 1958; or
• Who lost or lose their lives after June 30, 1958, while:
  • Engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
  • Engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
  • Serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force; or who lose their lives as a result of a terrorist attack or peacekeeping operation

The term “next of kin” is defined as:

• Widowers, remarried or not
• Each parent (mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption, father through adoption and foster parents who stood in loco parentis)
• Each child, stepchild and adopted child
• Each sibling, half sibling and stepsibling