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Gold Star Wives Finally Get Their Day
(December 21, 2010) |
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| | ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, Dec. 15, 2010) -- The
Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., has been going to Capitol
Hill since December of 1945, when 23-year-old Marie Jordan
invited women over for coffee after she read in the
obituaries that their husbands had died. Her husband,
Edward, had recently died in Germany. |
Sandra J.S. Drew, president of the Gold Star Wives of America's Middle Atlantic Region, answers an interview question on the set of Soldiers Radio and Television Dec. 14, 2010. |
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"The women just wanted to
talk," said Marie Jordan Speer, in a Washington
Post article five years ago. Now 88, the founder
of the organization said the women "wanted the
companionship of others who knew what they were
going through."
As a long-awaited Christmas present, U.S.
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina
introduced legislation to make their day a
reality. He recently announced that Dec. 18 will
be known as Gold Star Wives Day.
"The qualities of Gold Star Wives - their
strength, selflessness and kindness toward
others - reflect those of one of the
organization's founders, First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt," Burr said.
"Out of love and duty to their country, members
of Gold Star Wives have |
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volunteered to take on responsibilities that
consume significant amounts of time and energy.
By marking this day, we can offer a small token
of appreciation for their patriotism and
sacrifice." |
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Local chapters will be hosting events on Saturday, but for
those in the Washington, D.C. area, the Gold Star Wives Day
was formally rolled out Wednesday.
A nonprofit national military widow/widowers service
organization chartered by the U.S. Congress on Dec. 4, 1980,
Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., is now in all 50 states of
the union. Members appear before various House and Senate
committees on issues concerning compensation, educational
benefits, medical care, and other programs pertaining to the
welfare of military survivors.
"It's a full-time job," said Sandra J.S. Drew, president of
the Gold Star Wives Middle Atlantic Region, who also works
full-time as a health insurance specialist at the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid.
Her husband, Air Force Col. Samuel Nelson Drew, director of
European Affairs for the National Security Council, was
killed in Bosnia on Aug. 19, 1995, along with two U.S.
diplomats when the armored vehicle in which they were riding
plunged off a mountainside.
"This recognition of having our day has been a dream of our
founder. This means our message can get out to more people.
There are many spouses who don't know they're eligible for
certain benefits," Drew said.
According to Drew, Marie Jordan Speers wanted a Gold Star
Wives day because she thought the American public should
know that there are people who continue to die from
service-connected disabilities.
"It doesn't matter which war, how new a widow they are, or
how old a widow they are," Drew explained. "When you talk to
our members, you don't have to explain yourself when you
start crying. They don't expect you to apologize. They don't
tell you to get over it."
"We are an organization of people who have suffered terrible
loss and continue onward. And we can share our strengths
when we need to share our strengths," Drew said.
Gold Star spouses volunteer at Veterans hospitals and
Veterans clinics and at other organizations where they live.
Through their continued presence, the word gets out that the
organization exists to help.
"We have brochures that are put into packets that go out to
the casualty offices, but they aren't looked at right away.
A lot of our communication is through word of mouth. And in
the age of the Internet, people contact us through our
website. | |
Article and photo
by
Rob McIlvaine
FMWRC Public Affairs
Copyright 2010
Reprinted from
Army News Service
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