A co-worker’s son recently joined the Army (he’s just started AIT). Her overbearing mother hung a Blue Star flag over the front door of her house.
My co-worker’s question is: how far down the family tree do you have to be before it’s bad taste to display a Blue Star flag? Are grandparents ok or just Mom and Dad?
I don’t have a clue so I’m asking here…
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
If someone cares enough about a service member to hang a blue star flag then they're allowed to.Originally Posted by awp_101
Thanks for making me go look...
https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/u...-style-3346204
Emphasis mine.
The Service flag may be displayed, in a window of the place of residence of persons who are members of the immediate family of Service members serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.
"Immediate family member" is defined as: wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, parent through adoption, foster parents who stand or stood in loco parentis, children, stepchildren, children through adoption, brothers, sisters, half-brothers, and half-sisters of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. Unfortunately, the definition does not include grandparents.
The Service flag may also be displayed by an organization to honor the members of that organization serving in the Armed Forces of the United States during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States may be engaged, for the duration of such period of war or hostilities.
"Organization" is defined as group organizations such as churches, schools, colleges, fraternities, sororities, societies, and places of business with which the member of the Armed Forces of the United States was or is associated.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
That was my thought as well but I didn’t know for sure. Apparently the overbearing mother has a bad case of look-at-me-itis and isn’t shy about doing things just for the attention.
Thanks, I’ll see pass that link along.
Last edited by awp_101; 09-08-2021 at 02:05 PM.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Show me a Gold Star and I'll care... otherwise it's all just some level of "look at me itis" and always had been dating back to its start... plus the war is over supposedly....
"So strong is this propensity of mankind, to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions, and excite their most violent conflicts." - James Madison, Federalist No 10
This. When I'm deployed I don't mind if my Mom hangs a blue star on her window. When I'm home I make her take it down.
Hanging one up for a kid in AIT is excessive, IMHO.
But it's not nearly as annoying as the dudes I see who've made their truck or van into a rolling DD214 in sticker form.
When I first enlisted, my first Platoon Sergeant was a SFC with 9 total deployments, 7 of them being Combat deployments starting with Gulf War I.
His truck had a sticker of his favorite beer brewery's logo and nothing else.
One of the squad leaders in another platoon had one deployment ever, and his truck was absolutely covered in hooah shit.
It was easy to see the better example to follow.
Yeah, I’ve seen those kinds of trucks and always wonder if they’re bragging, warning or crying for help.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Seems like a good chance to practice minding your own business. The only thing worse - literally, and I do mean literally - than a case of of look-at-me-itis is a someone with busy-body syndrome that can't let stuff be. Why can't more people come down with a dose of the can't-be-bothered-to-give-a-shit?
As someone else said, if it's not a Gold Star, I could not care less.
Mom had a Blue Star flag in the living room (not in the window) for several years. When I was on leave after a tour at Al Udeid I noticed it was on the front door. After I was "home" (not Stateside, but at Mom and Dad's a while later) she put it back in the living room. After I retired in 2007 it was put away.
I never asked her about it, but I figure it meant something to her.
Thanks, I’ve passed the information along and I’ll let them sort out the mother/daughter family issues. She’s a friend and co-worker of almost 10 years. I’m the only vet in our small shop so I’ve already fielded lots of questions about nomenclature, procedure, etc.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
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