If you are a Veteran living in Greater Estero, please let us know your name and email address and your neighborhood. There are several Veterans that would like to set up, with Engage Estero’s help, a committee to help ensure that Veterans in Greater Estero are represented fully at future important Village Meetings and who could support the establishment of a Veterans Recognition area in Estero.

Please contact Barry Freedman, at engageesterocro@gmail.com or 978-239-8818.

As Veterans in Estero work to establish a Veterans Recognition Area in Estero, the intention is to include a Gold Star Families Monument. As we made the rounds, talking to Village Council members and others, not everyone we spoke to understood what a Gold Star Family is or what it means. The information below should help provide insight into what the Gold Star means.

American Gold Star families (https://americasgoldstarfamilies.org/about/gold-star-history ) provides information and history about the Gold Star Family.

“What is a Gold Star Family? A Gold Star Family… a designation no one aspires to. The Gold Star family has experienced the loss of a loved one–an immediate family member – who died as a result of active-duty military service. Those who die in service to their country leave behind parents, siblings, spouses, children, and extended families.

These are recognized as Gold Star families. The title honors the service member’s ultimate sacrifice while acknowledging their family’s loss, grief, and ongoing healing. According to a 2019 Military Times article, since 9/11, more than 16,000 troops have died in non-combat circumstances, and more than 7,000 have been killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.”

USA Facts.org provides the following: https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-military-deaths-changed-over-time/:

“From 1980 to 2022, there were 60,770 recorded deaths, of which 50,789 (or 83.6%) were due to accidents, illness, and self-inflicted wounds.”

American Gold Star Families continues, “There are thousands of living Gold Star Family members who lost loved ones in both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. Even though the nation is not currently part of an all-encompassing conflict like a World War, over 1.3 million people serve in the military today, so you may know a family that still grieves a recent fallen service member.

Understanding the sacrifice and acknowledging the holidays designated to remember them are the best ways to support families and honor soldiers. To honor all Gold Star Families, here is a look at the history and significance of this somber designation.

The History of the Gold Star Family Designation

The term “Gold Star family” is a modern reference to the Service Flag. Families first flew these flags/banners during World War I. The flag included a blue star for every immediate family member serving in the armed forces of the United States, during any period of war or hostilities in which the armed forces of the United States were engaged. But in the event of a death, that blue star is replaced with a gold variant — the highest honor.

Those who have lost loved ones to service never forget where they were when they received the news. It is something they will carry with them forever: the day blue turned to gold.

Displaying the Gold Star allowed members of the community to know the price that the family had paid for the cause of freedom. Hence, the term ‘Gold Star Family.’  Individual military family members who lost loved ones also started to be referred to as ‘Gold Star Wives’, ‘Gold Star Mothers’, etc.

A few years later, in 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt built upon this growing movement to honor the mothers of deceased service members and designated the last Sunday of September as National Gold Star Mothers’ Day. In 2011, President Barack Obama amended ‘Gold Star Mothers’ Day’ to include families and designated it as ‘Gold Star Mothers and Families Day’, which is celebrated on the last Sunday in September.

Although I served 10 years of active duty in the US Air Force and another 26 years as a US Air Force Civilian, I was not aware of the meaning of the term “Gold Star.” As we retired, moved to SW Florida, and became involved in the Greater Estero Community, I met Gold Star moms and families. Their stories were touching and helped form our decision to include a Gold Star Monument within our proposed Veterans Recognition area in Estero.

Currently, the state of Florida has 6 completed Gold Star Families monuments and 4 in progress (https://woodywilliams.org/monument-projects.html).

The Woody Williams Foundation is a charitable 501c(3) organization that pursues specific endeavors and goals through the vision of Medal of Honor Recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams. The Foundation encourages, with the assistance of the American public and community leaders, the establishment of permanent Gold Star Families Monuments in communities throughout the United States, conducting Gold Star Families Outreach nationwide, and providing Living Legacy scholarships to eligible Gold Star Family members.

Gold Star Moms of SW Florida (https://www.goldstarmothersswfl.org) is working to construct a Gold Star Families Monument in SW Florida (the only monument between Tampa and Miami), in partnership with the Woody Williams Foundation (https://woodywilliams.org/monuments/naples-fl.html ). They recently received location approval for the Gold Star Families monument in Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave S, Naples, FL. Fundraising is ongoing with a groundbreaking anticipated in Spring 2026.

Engage Estero will share the groundbreaking date for the Gold Star Families monument in Cambier Park, and other dates associated with the 1st SW Florida Gold Star Families monument.

The Gold Star Monument, as part of the potential Estero Veterans Recognition Area, will be a place to remember, reflect, and recognize our Service Members, Veterans, and their families. Veterans and friends working to establish an Estero Veterans Recognition Area will provide updates to the process and progress through Engage Estero.

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