Motherly love

In January of 1942, Army Captain George H. Maines ran an article in a newspaper asking for information about children serving in the armed forces. There were more than 1,000 mothers that responded.

By February of that same year, the Blue Star Mothers of America was founded as a Veteran Service Organization to provide care packages to military persons overseas and provide assistance to those here at home who encountered hardship as a result of having a family member serving in war.

The Blue Star Mothers is a non-partisan, non-political organization. It does not support or endorse any political candidate or religious organization.

As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, it depends on contributions from the public to provide the funds needed to support our troops.

Our local chapter – Blue Star Mothers of Minnesota, Chapter 2 – meets in Alexandria. It was formed in April 2003 during the Iraqi Freedom Conflict to show our support for and encourage local sons and daughters who were serving our country.

We continue that support today for active duty service personnel and their families. We promote patriotism, work with veterans’ organizations and participate in public awareness activities at area schools, organizations (such as the Lions) and local businesses.

Some of our other activities include Flag Day and Veterans’ Day ceremonies, the Memorial Day parade, the Douglas and Pope County fairs, Operation Yellow Ribbon, send-off and welcome home activities and the local Fly-In.

We have financed “Remember Our Defender” billboards on I-94 at the Garfield and Sauk Centre exits. We also participate in fundraising, which includes the sale of lapel pins, magnetic car ribbons, patriotic window clings and yard signs.

Our largest activity is the mailing of hundreds of care packages to our troops stationed overseas affectionately called “Thanks for Giving,” “Operation Valentine,” “Operation Easter,” and “Operation Candy Cane.”

These packages contain nonperishable food items, toiletries, magazines, holiday greeting cards and messages from children in our community.

As Blue Star Mothers, the most difficult duty we have is to be a part of the Blue to Gold Ceremony for families whose sons or daughters have given their lives for our country.

If you would like more information about Blue Star Mothers, would like to join the chapter, make a tax-deductible contribution or give us the name and address of a soldier serving overseas, e-mail us at bsmofalexandriamn@yahoo.com or call Kathy at (320) 491-6462 or Roxanne at (320) 852-7533.

Tags: blue star mothers, life, features