KING OF PRUSSIA PA – Gold Star Mothers and Families Day, observed nationally this year on Sept. 29 (2024; Sunday), will include a special remembrance ceremony at Washington Memorial Chapel.
The event sponsored by the chapel Veteran’s Commission, at 2000 Valley Forge Park Rd., will begin at 10 a.m. The ceremony involves “a special mass, prayer procession, and reception to honor the military families of our fallen heroes,” the commission reported.
A Gold Star Award commemorates the tragic death of a military member who has died while in the line of duty, the U.S. Army explains on a webpage. The award is intended to provide a level of comfort to surviving parents and family members.
The United States began observing Gold Star Mother’s Day on the last Sunday of September 1936. A Gold Star lapel button was established in August 1947.
The commission adds that during World War I families displayed service flags with blue stars to represent loved ones serving in the military. If a service member lost his or her life, the blue star was replaced with a gold one, “symbolizing the family’s loss, and the nation’s gratitude.”
A Choral Mass, procession, and reception
The chapel will host “a Choral Mass for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, followed by a prayer procession outside to its Statue of Sacrifice, and Devotion at its Cloister of the Colonies.” Both sites, according to the commission, have been a “great comfort for mothers, wives, and families of those on active duty since World War I.”
A free reception for guests will follow immediately following the ceremony, in the chapel’s Patriots Hall. Light refreshments will be served. The commission requests those who plan to attend register online in advance.
For more information call the chapel at 610-783-0120; send an e-mail to communications@wmchapel.org; or visit its Facebook page.
Photo provided to Travels With The Post by Washington Memorial Chapel
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