Air Force Museum
Service Flags and Pins
A blue star on a service flag represents a family member serving in the armed forces; a gold star marks one who died while serving. The American custom began during World War I and became widely recognized during World War II. These compact symbols allowed families and communities to make service and loss visible at home.
In depth
History & service
Service flags are symbols of love and patriotic pride that families feel for their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers who serve in the military during wartime. Usually hung in home windows, these small banners are a tribute to those defending America by serving in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard. Each blue star on a service flag represents a loved one serving, and gold stars denote those who have died in the line of duty.
Organizations and regulations formed round the service flag concept. During World War II, the War Department created specifications for the flags' size and design, though many homemade variations appeared. In 1967, Congress wrote guidelines for service flags and related lapel pins and buttons, and specified who could wear, make or sell them.
Though originally a symbol for parents, service flags may be displayed by anyone in the service members' immediate family and by organizations they are affiliated with, such as employers, schools, churches and clubs. They can be displayed only in times of war or hostilities.
Several organizations embrace the service flags as a symbol. American War Mothers (founded 1917), American Gold Star Mothers (1928), and Blue Star Mothers of America (1943) all take patriotic pride in the service flag, and each of these nonprofit groups has been chartered by Congress. Public service is their common goal -- they emphasize patriotism and non-sectarian, non-political support for service members and their families.
These groups are very active today. Each organization has chapters in several states and they organize many projects to support the troops. For example, Blue Star Mothers of America's "Operation Shoe Box" delivers packages of morale-boosting items such as candy, toiletries, snack food, writing supplies, games, magazines and many other items that service members are happy to get from home.
American Gold Star Mothers and American War Mothers do similar projects focusing on memorials, Memorial Day remembrances and on assisting families of fallen service members. In addition, these groups have funded lodging near hospitals for wounded troops' families, assist veterans in their dealings with the Veteran's Administration and volunteer in VA hospitals.
All these groups are symbolically united by the blue and gold stars of service flags and perform great service in caring for troops, their families and one another.
Lapel pins and jewelry are another way to show that one has a relative in military service. The examples on display are from World Wars I and II. Like service flags, they are authorized by the U.S. Government and have appeared in many different forms. The Gold Star pin, denoting a family member killed in service, is given by the Department of Defense.
Details that tell the story
Blue stars represent serving family members · Gold stars represent family members who died in service · The documented U.S. tradition began in 1917
What survives after the mission
A museum object begins a second life when it stops performing its original job. An aircraft that once carried a crew becomes a place for public memory. A jacket, letter, medal, or small piece of equipment can preserve a much more intimate connection. The object is valuable both for what it reveals physically and for the documented story that gives it meaning.
Famous aircraft and individuals can make a complicated history approachable, but they are only part of it. Many people left no celebrated machine behind. Memorials, personal possessions, unit records, and photographs help recover the experiences of those whose service was less visible. They also preserve loss, separation, captivity, recovery, and the consequences of war for families and communities.
Preservation involves choices. Restoring an aircraft may make its design easier to understand, while retaining wear or damage may protect evidence of its use. A reproduction can explain how a machine worked, provided its identity remains clear. Linking objects across collections helps fill the gaps created when surviving material is dispersed. A uniform in one gallery, an aircraft in another, and a memorial elsewhere can illuminate the same history from different directions. The result is more than a record of machines: it is a way to keep the people, decisions, and experiences connected to them in view.
