Derry / Salem VFW Post #1617

08/28/2026

08/26/2026

For more than a century, a star has told the story of a military family.
During World War I, families began hanging Service Banners in the windows of their homes.

A Blue Star told the community: Someone from this family is serving.

When that service member died, a Gold Star could be placed over the blue:
This family has experienced a military loss.

Those stars became more than pieces of fabric. They became a way for a nation to recognize the families standing behind those who served.

More than 100 years later, we saw a family that was still missing from that tradition.
The family of a Veteran who came home. The family who watched that Veteran continue carrying wounds that weren't always visible.

And the family left behind when that Veteran died by su***de.
Five years ago, Green Star Families of America began with a simple question:
Where is their star?

- Where is the symbol that tells a mother her son's service still matters?
- Where is the recognition for the spouse who lost the person who came home from war, but never truly escaped it?
- Where is the acknowledgment for the children, siblings and families whose Veteran survived military service, only to lose a battle years later?

That question became the Green Star. Not to replace the Blue Star. Not to redefine the Gold Star. But to continue an American military tradition of recognizing service, sacrifice and the families who carry both.

The Green Star says:
Your Veteran served.
Their life mattered.
Their loss matters.
And your family will not be invisible.

Five years ago, this was an idea. Today, families across this country are telling their stories. States are taking action. Federal legislation is progressing as H.R. 6022. And a national movement is growing.

But the reason we started hasn't changed. No family should feel invisible.

08/09/2026

Derry residents can contact local Derry Memorial Auxiliary 1617 or VFW for more info

06/19/2026