A new proclamation from President Donald Trump marks Sunday, Sept. 27, as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day -- and asks all Americans to pause to do the same.
The proclamation, similar to ones issued throughout the Trump and Obama administrations just before the fourth Sunday of each September, asks the "American people to display the flag and hold appropriate ceremonies as a public expression of our Nation's gratitude and respect for our Gold Star Mothers and Families."
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"Gold Star" is a term traditionally used to refer to the immediate family of service members killed in action overseas. Congress in 1936 designated the fourth Sunday in September as "Gold Star Mother's Day" in recognition of the American Gold Star Mothers Inc. organization. But in recent years, presidential proclamations have expanded the day to "families" as well.
"Today, and every day, we hold in our hearts those who have answered the knock on the door, accepted the flag folded with precision, said their final farewell, and borne the absence of their fallen hero," state the new proclamation, published Friday. "Gold Star Families deserve our utmost respect, admiration, and support for their tenacity and resilience, and for the work they do to preserve the memory of those who gave their lives to our Nation."
The proclamation also asks federal buildings to display the American flag in honor of the day.
"The brave men and women of our Armed Forces represent the very best of our great Nation, matched only by the families who walk beside them in their service," it states. "It is our sacred duty to recognize the unending and immeasurable sacrifices our military families make in support of their loved ones and for our country, and we are cognizant of the fortitude they show enduring the anguish of knowing that their hero may never return home."
Read the full proclamation here.
-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
