September 11, 2018 Veterans History Project Recognizes Gold Star Family Day with Legacy Panel

The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) will commemorate National Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day with a panel of renowned experts who will discuss how families and organizations honor and preserve the legacy of the United States military members who died as a result of their service in war.

The “Gold Star Legacy” panel will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. There are various ways individuals, families, communities and the nation can remember and pay tribute to fallen heroes while honoring their families. The discussion will include ways to educate the general public on the term “gold star,” and how to show that a grateful nation will never forget the ultimate sacrifice those service members made.

The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required and there may be special restrictions. The public may send an email to vohp@loc.gov with the Subject: “Gold Star Panel” for reservations.

Emmy Award winning news correspondent, author and host of the PBS documentary “American Medevac” Mort Dean will moderate the panel. Panelists include Gold Star spouse, founder of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), US Air Force Reserve veteran and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Bonnie Carroll; president of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. Becky Christmas; friend of NewDay USA, president of the Georgia Military College Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, IV, USA (Ret.); vice president of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Foundation Dale Egan; and US Army veteran and Gold Star sibling Jenine Melton.

The United States began observing the last Sunday of September as “Gold Star Mother’s day" in 1936. In 2016, Public Law 114-246 expanded the original scope of the Veterans History Project to include oral histories by immediate family members (parent, spouse, sibling or child) of “members of the Armed Forces who died as a result of their service during a period of war.”

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand remembrances of America’s war veterans from WWI through the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. For more information, visit loc.gov/vets/ or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive periodic updates of VHP news. Follow VHP on Facebook @vetshistoryproject.

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