Led by its Auxiliary unit, Post 50 in Cleburne, Texas, hosts its first Gold Star Family ceremony.
A chance encounter with the mother of a fallen U.S. servicemember earlier this year resulted a Texas American Legion Auxiliary unit paying respect to multiple Gold Star families on Sept. 27.
On Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day, which falls on the last Sunday of September, Unit 50 in Cleburne hosted its first Gold Star Family ceremony. Multiple Gold Star family members were honored and presented with service flags with gold stars on them. The Gold Star designation recognizes immediate family members of U.S. servicemembers who died while serving in the military.
Past Unit 50 and Department of Texas President Marty Peters, who has been a member of the Auxiliary for more than 30 years, said that while serving as the department’s National Security chairman last year, she learned that a handful of units had conducted Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day. And then earlier this year, she had an encounter with Marri Coz, who had lost her son Ryan in 2016 while he was serving in the U.S. Army.
“One of her comments to me was that right after (Gold Star families) lose their loved one, they get lots and lot of support and recognition,” Peters said. “But as the years pass, that fades away. But their pain doesn’t go away. That was why I wanted to do this for her and the others.” (STORY CONTINUES BELOW)
After getting buy-in from the post’s American Legion Family, Peters began reaching out to local and state leaders to encourage their attendance, as well as members of the community. Both Cleburne Mayor Derek Weathers and State Rep. Helen Kerwin attended the event, each providing remarks.
“We always try to involve our community in everything that we do,” Peters said. “Our mayor happens to be a veteran and had been to many of our programs before. So inviting him was an automatic idea. Additionally, I had seen various Facebook posts from State Rep. Kerwin about her activities and thought, ‘Well, we hadn’t invited her to our post, so let’s see if she wants to come.’”
Among those honored during the ceremony were family members of Cleburne native U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Burgess, who was killed in 2011 during an ambush in Afghanistan; Coz’s family; and the sister of U.S. Army veteran Laurance R. Mohn Jr., who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1969.
“She didn’t even know what a Gold Star Banner was,” Peters said. “So that was another reason it was important for us to do this: That they would have their Gold Star Banner.”
Each family member was invited to speak about their fallen loved one. But Peters would add another facet to any future such events. “I think I will ask more about their service person to share with the attendees,” she said. “Let them hear the names and share what he/she was like.”
And while the ceremony was coordinated by Unit 50, Peters said support came from the entire American Legion Family. She praised Post 50 Commander Allen Buckles for signing off on the event, as well as First Vice Commander Jeramy Clanton for delivering remarks during the ceremony, touching on knowing Gold Star Families and losing fellow servicemembers while in the military.
“I think one of the things that made me so pleased was that (Post 50) recognized that even though it was during the (Dallas) Cowboys game, and they were going to lose business from the people coming in to watch the game, they recognized the value and the importance of recognizing the Gold Star Families,” Peters said. “It was more important than having their regulars there watching the game.”
- Honor & Remembrance