History Of Gold Star Mothers' Pilgrimages
In the aftermath of World War I, Americans had an unprecedented question to answer. How do you remember and honor those who have died overseas in war? The United States lost more than 100,000 troops in the war, and most were buried in makeshift graves overseas. The War Department gave the next-of-kin a choice: bring the body back home for burial in the United States or let it remain for permanent burial in one of eight yet-to-be-built cemeteries in France, Belgium and England. Most chose burial in America, with the chance to hold a hometown funeral. However, approximately 33,000 families chose to let their sons and husbands remain buried in Europe.
During the first World War, families with servicemen overseas adopted the now-familiar blue star flag to show the household was home to a fighting man. When soldiers died, families wanted to find a way to mark the special nature of sacrifice. With encouragement from the federal government, families changed the blue stars to gold. This is the origin of the Gold Star Mother, a special term and symbol to honor a mother’s sacrifice. During the 1920s, Gold Star mothers and their supporters began to lobby the government to take them to Europe to visit their sons’ graves. These trips became known as pilgrimages, and the pilgrimage story is worth remembering.
Getting the U.S. government to fund and conduct pilgrimages was a 10-year effort. To be sure, many prominent and wealthy families made their own private pilgrimages after the war to honor their fallen sons. Mothers of soldiers such as Quentin Roosevelt – Teddy’s youngest son – and the poet Joyce Kilmer needed no government assistance to travel overseas. Yet most women lacked the resources to make the trip themselves. Congress boasted many strong advocates for government-funded pilgrimages. New U.S. Representative and future New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia introduced the first pilgrimage bill in 1919. It took 10 years of legal wrangling to pass a bill four presidential administrations later. Funeral directors were special foes of the pilgrimages; they wanted all bodies returned to the United States for burial.
From 1930-1933, the United States government organized and conducted a series of trips for mothers and widows of deceased World War I servicemen. The U.S. Army led the pilgrims on a month-long trip, which saw them leave their homes across the country and then travel to New York City. The women formed groups, called parties, in New York and traveled together overseas on luxury liners. They saw the sights in Paris and the Great War battlefields around France. Visiting the loved one’s grave was the objective of the pilgrimages. Each woman visited the grave over three or four successive days. The Army provided each woman a wreath of flowers, a photograph of her at the grave, and plenty of time alone. Cemetery visits were viewed as a time for private mourning and reflection, not for ceremonies and empty speeches.
Most of the pilgrimage activities took place in France. At the time, France and America were common allies, bound together by the losses and sacrifice both had experience in the war. The French were grateful for America’s support during the war, and French eagerly welcomed the Gold Star Mothers to France. Today’s ruptured relationship between France and America would be impossible for the Gold Star Mothers and their hosts to understand.
The pilgrimages were not without controversy. The War Department segregated black women from the white, forcing them to travel on separate, but not equal, pilgrimages. The black women endured second-class treatment in the U.S. before experiencing unprecedented freedom in Paris. In addition, a number of citizens protested what were perceived as “luxury” foreign trips at government expense during the depths of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, the trips proceeded as planned.
In the end, the pilgrimages worked. They helped thousands of women say goodbye to their dead and find peace in their lives. Yet the pilgrimages remain fascinating today. It was viewed as a great mission of peace, yet the U.S. Army planned and conducted the entire operation. Perhaps never before or since had the government carried out an operation to spend public money to relieve private grief and suffering. As Americans fight and die overseas today, this forgotten chapter of American history remains relevant; honoring war dead and supporting their families is an activity without end.
Used by permission from WILL AM-FM-TV, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapaign
In the aftermath of World War I, Americans had an unprecedented question to answer. How do you remember and honor those who have died overseas in war? The United States lost more than 100,000 troops in the war, and most were buried in makeshift graves overseas. The War Department gave the next-of-kin a choice: bring the body back home for burial in the United States or let it remain for permanent burial in one of eight yet-to-be-built cemeteries in France, Belgium and England. Most chose burial in America, with the chance to hold a hometown funeral. However, approximately 33,000 families chose to let their sons and husbands remain buried in Europe.
During the first World War, families with servicemen overseas adopted the now-familiar blue star flag to show the household was home to a fighting man. When soldiers died, families wanted to find a way to mark the special nature of sacrifice. With encouragement from the federal government, families changed the blue stars to gold. This is the origin of the Gold Star Mother, a special term and symbol to honor a mother’s sacrifice. During the 1920s, Gold Star mothers and their supporters began to lobby the government to take them to Europe to visit their sons’ graves. These trips became known as pilgrimages, and the pilgrimage story is worth remembering.
Getting the U.S. government to fund and conduct pilgrimages was a 10-year effort. To be sure, many prominent and wealthy families made their own private pilgrimages after the war to honor their fallen sons. Mothers of soldiers such as Quentin Roosevelt – Teddy’s youngest son – and the poet Joyce Kilmer needed no government assistance to travel overseas. Yet most women lacked the resources to make the trip themselves. Congress boasted many strong advocates for government-funded pilgrimages. New U.S. Representative and future New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia introduced the first pilgrimage bill in 1919. It took 10 years of legal wrangling to pass a bill four presidential administrations later. Funeral directors were special foes of the pilgrimages; they wanted all bodies returned to the United States for burial.
From 1930-1933, the United States government organized and conducted a series of trips for mothers and widows of deceased World War I servicemen. The U.S. Army led the pilgrims on a month-long trip, which saw them leave their homes across the country and then travel to New York City. The women formed groups, called parties, in New York and traveled together overseas on luxury liners. They saw the sights in Paris and the Great War battlefields around France. Visiting the loved one’s grave was the objective of the pilgrimages. Each woman visited the grave over three or four successive days. The Army provided each woman a wreath of flowers, a photograph of her at the grave, and plenty of time alone. Cemetery visits were viewed as a time for private mourning and reflection, not for ceremonies and empty speeches.
Most of the pilgrimage activities took place in France. At the time, France and America were common allies, bound together by the losses and sacrifice both had experience in the war. The French were grateful for America’s support during the war, and French eagerly welcomed the Gold Star Mothers to France. Today’s ruptured relationship between France and America would be impossible for the Gold Star Mothers and their hosts to understand.
The pilgrimages were not without controversy. The War Department segregated black women from the white, forcing them to travel on separate, but not equal, pilgrimages. The black women endured second-class treatment in the U.S. before experiencing unprecedented freedom in Paris. In addition, a number of citizens protested what were perceived as “luxury” foreign trips at government expense during the depths of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, the trips proceeded as planned.
In the end, the pilgrimages worked. They helped thousands of women say goodbye to their dead and find peace in their lives. Yet the pilgrimages remain fascinating today. It was viewed as a great mission of peace, yet the U.S. Army planned and conducted the entire operation. Perhaps never before or since had the government carried out an operation to spend public money to relieve private grief and suffering. As Americans fight and die overseas today, this forgotten chapter of American history remains relevant; honoring war dead and supporting their families is an activity without end.
Used by permission from WILL AM-FM-TV, University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapaign
(The Memorial Day Foundation}