A Gold Star family has made the ultimate sacrifice and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense for their loss and contribution to the nation.

In the military community, few symbols carry as much weight and reverence as the Gold Star. It is a mark of profound sacrifice — a symbol that a service member has died in the line of duty. For families left behind, the Gold Star represents both unimaginable loss and enduring honor.

Quite simply, “Gold Star families are the families of military service members who have died in the line of duty,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Immediate family members include parents, spouses, siblings and children; each of these categories includes stepfamilies, half-siblings, and adoptive and foster relatives.

These families have made the ultimate sacrifice and are recognized for their loss and contribution to the nation.

A Blue Star family has a loved one currently serving in the armed forces. A Gold Star family has lost a loved one in military service. Both designations are recognized symbols of service and support, but the Gold Star denotes a family that has suffered the loss of a service member due to their duty.

Under federal law, 10 U.S. Code § 1126(a), the Gold Star lapel button (or lapel pin) is designated as an official recognition for the immediate family members of service members who died under qualifying circumstances.

The Gold Star lapel button was created in 1947, about thirty years after the phrase “Gold Star family” began to enter common use in the U.S.

The Gold Star lapel button is awarded to the families of service members who died in qualifying situations, while the Next of Kin lapel button is for families of those who died on active duty but outside of combat or qualifying situations.

Where Did the Term ‘Gold Star’ Originate?

The phrase “Gold Star family” is more than 100 years old. It originated in the U.S. during World War I. Families displayed service flags in their windows with a blue star for each immediate family member serving in the military. If that service member died in combat, the blue star was replaced with a gold star.

“Gold Star Families to Honor Memory of Their Soldier Dead,” read the headline of one of the very first newspaper articles in the nation to acknowledge this designation. Printed in The Omaha (Nebraska) Evening Bee on Dec. 21, 1918, the story described plans by women of the local Red Cross chapter to honor fallen soldiers at Christmastime.

Over time, the gold star became a formal symbol of a family’s loss and sacrifice, and the term “Gold Star family” was officially adopted to honor these families. Gold Star Mother’s Day was established by a congressional resolution in 1936. At the time, it specifically honored Gold Star mothers, not families broadly. The concept later expanded informally to include all family members who have lost a loved one in military service, hence the more inclusive term “Gold Star family” used today.

However, the last Sunday in September is still recognized as Gold Star Mother’s Day, or more broadly, Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day. Additionally, Gold Star Spouses Day is April 5 every year.

Originally published on Military.com

Top photo: Gold Star Mothers listen during the Commemorative Ceremony for Gold Star Mother’s Day in Arlington National Cemetery, Sept. 25, 2016, in Arlington, Va. (U.S. Army/Rachel Larue)