Gold Star Flags are still available, but the right to display one comes at a terrible price, the death of a family member while in military service.
The first time I ever saw a Gold Star Flag was during World War II. I was nine years old and living in Gresston, Georgia. After a young man from our community was killed in combat in Europe, a small flag appeared in a window of the old farm house where he grew up. It contained a gold star on a white field, surrounded by a red border with a gold fringe across the bottom. His parents were devastated. Yet, in a window of their home in rural South Georgia, they honored their son with a Gold Star Flag because he died for his country.
The war that claimed their son ended decades ago, yet American service men and women continue to die while serving in our armed forces. We must never cease to honor all who die while serving our country, but let us cling to the hope that a time will come when all wars shall cease, when peace will prevail, and no longer will there be a need for any more Gold Star Flags.
Charles E. Cox
Former Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church in Eastman
