American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., records, 1917-1941

Organizational History

On June 4, 1928, the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., was organized in Washington, D.C., by Grace Darling Seibold (died 1947) and twenty-five other mothers whose sons had lost their lives in military service during World War I. The organization was named after the gold star that families hung in their window in honor of the deceased veteran. Membership was reopened in 1942 for mothers who had lost a son or daughter in World War II, then for the Korean Conflict, and later for mothers of American military personnel killed while on active duty.