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1 1 (May 3, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzoj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 Defense Primer: Gold Star Designation Background During the years of U.S. participation in World War I (WWI, 1917-1918), a service banner with a blue star was flown by some families to represent each family member in military service. The white field, edged with red, holds up to five stars. See Figure 1. This flag was conceived by Army Captain Robert L. Queisser during WWI to honor his sons' military service. A practice developed that when a servicemember was killed in action (KIA), the blue star with replaced with a gold one. Figure I. Blue and Gold Star Service Banners (Flags) Source: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary Programs at http://vfwauxiliaryprograms.blogspot.com/2014/12/americanism-what- do-gold-star-blue-star.html. In May 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved the recommendation by the Women's Committee of the Council for National Defense that American women should wear a black band on the upper left arm, affixed with a gold star to signify the loss of a family member during the war. Wilson was the first to use of the term Gold Star Mothers in his letter to the Women's Committee. The designation of Gold Star refers to those who suffered the loss of an immediate family member killed in in combat (i.e., Gold Star Wife/Spouse, etc.). This recognition continues. Gold Star Lapel Button The Gold Star Lapel Button (also called the Gold Star Pin) was designed and created in 1947 for certain family members of those who died in combat in World War II. The Gold Star Lapel Button is a gold star on a field of purple surrounded by laurel leaves. See Figure 2. According to 10 U.S. Code § 1126(a), the military departments shall provide a Gold Star Lapel Button to each of the immediate family members of servicemembers who lost their lives while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States, while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force, as the result of an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States or as the result of military operations while serving outside the United States as part of a peacekeeping force. Families of those servicemembers who died by suicide or from a medical emergency outside deployment are not, by law, Gold Star family members but may qualify for the Next of Kin Lapel Button. According to 10 USC § 1126(d), the Gold Star Lapel Button shall be distributed to the widow or widower (remarried or not), each parent (mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption, father through adoption, and foster parents); each child, each brother, each sister, each half-brother, each half-sister, each stepchild, and each adopted child of the servicemember. Next of Kin Lapel Button Approved in 1973, the Next of Kin Lapel Button (also referred to as the Next of Kin Pin) is provided to the families of servicemembers who lost their lives while serving on active duty or while serving in a drill status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves but not KIA. The Next of Kin Lapel Button is gold, with a star within a circle of sprigs of oak. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), A Survivor's Guide to Benefits, The star within the circle commemorates honorable service and the sprigs of oak refer to the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Figure 2. Gold Star Lapel Button (left) and Next of Kin Lapel Button (right) Source: Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) at https://www.taps.org/articles/ 15-2/goldstarpins. Gold Star Military Benefits After the death of a servicemember on active duty, a casualty assistance officer is assigned by the respective military department to assist any surviving spouse, child(ren), or other designated beneficiaries, with all eligible benefits and entitlements. These generally include the following: $100,000 tax-exempt, lump sum, DOD death gratuity paid to designated beneficiaries. hftps:/crsreports.congress.gov May 3, 2019

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