Talk:Gold Star Mothers Club

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Some clarifications to the article:

The current organization is named American Gold Star Mothers. There is great confusion between the terms American Gold Star Mother (AGSM) and Gold Star Mother (GSM).

When a mother's child is killed in battle she automatically becomes a Gold Star Mother and is awarded a Gold Star Pin by the Secretary of Defense. This is usually handled by the casualty officer. The designation GSM and the pin have no connection at all to AGSM. AGSM does not award the pin or confir the status of GSM.

The GSM may wish to join the private organization, AGSM which she may do if she meets the conditions of membership. Many of the current members are mothers of Vietnam era soldiers and are now in their 60's and 70's. There are now more members joining from the recent actions in the war on terror. Hopefully their ranks will remain small.

Here is a link to an article written by a GSM about here experience. [1]

I've added a redirect from American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.. As the Gold Star Mothers Club is technically not the true name of hte association, would it be best to rename the article? I don't think so, given that more people will search for GSMC, not the other. Still, it's a point worth bringing up. Consequentially 00:25, 18 May 2006 (UTC)