Latest news with #GoldStarMothers
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gold Star Mothers memorial unveiled in Cayuga County
TOWN OF BRUTUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A Gold Star Mothers and Blue Star Families memorial was unveiled during Friday's ceremony in Cayuga County. Gold Star Mothers can now celebrate the lives of their sons and daughters who paid the ultimate sacrifice at a new memorial. 'A lot of the Gold Star mothers, their children are interred in Washington. So they have no local place to come. So now they do have a place where they may come that's closer to their home,' said Dr. Linda Townsend, organizer for the Cayuga County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee. The monument stands just a few feet away from the Veterans Memorial at Aqueduct Park in the town of Brutus, close to Gold Star Mom Tammy Bell of Auburn. 'To have this in Cayuga County, it's amazing,' said Bell. Bell lost her son, Jerry, in 2008. He was killed on September 19 in Afghanistan, while serving as a Sergeant with the First Division United States Marine Corps. 'He was a great man. A great son, good kid. Good dad, loved being in the Marines, he loved his family,' said Bell. 'Too often times we forget there's another side of not just losing a soldier, but it's the family that's left behind,' said Townsend. The monument also tells the story of Blue Star Families. 'Our monument here has turned into a sign of reflection and gatherings and celebrations of life for many people across the county and people across New York State that do stop by here,' said Townsend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fairmont Gold Star Mothers monument receives new flower bed and bench for contemplation
FAIRMONT — In 2005, Army Staff Sgt. Robert White was working to secure fair and free elections for the people of Kandahar, Afghanistan, when a rocket propelled grenade fired by militants struck his vehicle. White's comrades filed the after-action reports and White returned home one final time, where he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He was 34. On Thursday, West Virginia Gold Star Mothers and the Marion County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled a new bench and wrap around flower bed to a marker that honors mothers who lost their children to war. The new monument is part of the Marion County Vietnam Veterans Memorial at East Marion Park. White's mother, Shirley White, attended the ceremony. Staff Sgt. White wasn't the only son she lost to war. Her youngest son died from complications from post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned home from Iraq. 'It's very bittersweet, it really is,' Shirley White said after the ceremony. 'It's because it's emotionally draining. You could probably tell from the other ladies here that hearing the poems, it touches our hearts. Just to say our children's names, it means a lot to us. We don't want our children forgotten, and events like this help us to do that.' Rose Shilling and Sandra Skar, fellow Gold Star Mothers, joined White. Malinda Davis is past vice president general and honorary state regent for West Virginia Gold Star Mothers. While serving as state regent from 2016 to 2019, she wanted to do something to honor mothers who have lost their children in conflicts. Davis herself is part of a Gold Star Family, from her husband's side of the family. Later, the state society reached out to the Col. Morgan Morgan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to see if they could spearhead adding and flower bed to the memorial. However, chapter president Barbara Channell said the DAR decided to go a little bit further and add the bench. 'We worked to create a lasting tribute that would embrace mothers of fallen soldiers,' Channell said. 'After blocks and concrete were laid, we incorporated the help of George Rogers Clark Chapter [Sons of the American Revolution] in planting the flowers and installing the bench. The flowing design of the wraparound flower bed represents the embrace of a mother and the yellow and red tiles acknowledge the Gold Star Mothers and the sacrifices their sons and daughters made.' White said the Gold Star Mothers organization used to be much more active during the Vietnam War era, but then it dissipated. In 2012, White and other mothers restarted the organization. She said she is appreciative of the effort the DAR has taken to honor them with the monument, because it means a lot to the mothers and families after losing a loved one to war. The organization is a service organization sanctioned by Congress as well, and they try to help veterans in need. One difference between the Vietnam era and the contemporary post-Iraq and Afghanistan era is that such a large number of soldiers were lost fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, White said. By contrast, the survival rate for more contemporary wars has been higher, but fitting back into society isn't easy, especially after everything a combat veteran experiences. Davis said it's important to honor Gold Star mothers. 'These sacrifices, I can't comprehend it,' Davis said. 'I wish I could hug every one of them and tell them how thankful we are.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2 local schools receive awards for creating alcohol PSAs
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Awards events were held at Morgantown High School and Robert L. Bland Middle School on Thursday to recognize the efforts students put in to prevent irresponsible alcohol use. The 'No School Spirits PSA Contest' is hosted each year by the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration (WVABCA) WVABCA Commissioner Fred Wooton told 12 News that this is the 12th year that this competition has been held across the state. 'It drives a great message across about the dangers of underage drinking, drinking and driving, distracted driving there,' he added. Students at Morgantown placed 4th in the contest and students at Robert L Bland landed in 5th place; both took home $750. This year, the WVABCA received 51 video entries from middle and high school students throughout West Virginia. Wooton said that approximately 400 students were involved across 29 different schools in the state. Wooton told 12 News that he has a team at his office in Charleston that evaluates the submissions, adding points for positives in each video, and subtracting points for perceived negative things. He added that this is the second time that the WVABCA has come to Morgantown High School, as they also placed in the statewide competition a few years ago. 'The videos that these students produce are just outstanding messages,' said Wooton. 'The message resonates much louder, I think when students hear it from their peers—peer-to-peer as opposed to me basically preaching the message.' Gold Star Mothers honored at Marion County Veterans Memorial Park According to Wooton, the purpose of this competition is to encourage students across the state to make good decisions. He stated that the decisions young people make now as students can affect them for the rest of their lives. 'So really, we wanna highlight the fact that the students [are] making good decisions here,' Wooton added. 'We think our message is really timed perfectly with the upcoming prom and graduation seasons.' 12th Grade Student Anika Fleming stated that Morgantown High School's video submission was made in their sports journalism class. She told 12 News that the video focused on losing a friend to impaired driving, adding that it deals with 'how it feels to like lose a friend and just have to like keep going obviously 'cause like the world doesn't stop if somebody's not there anymore.' 'It was a really, really cool experience,' said Fleming. 'I mean, I've always liked like editing stuff like that and I mean that's kind of how I joined this club. […] We make videos and stuff like that.' Fleming said that she's always enjoyed making videos, but this time it was more serious because they were competing for prize money. She stated that her team worked very hard on this project—creating a storyboard and directing it, while she handled most of the editing. According to Fleming, she's always taken drunk driving really seriously because she's seen people in her family struggle with alcoholism. 'I've seen how alcohol can affect people and so like, I've always taken stuff like that really seriously and like making this video, I was just […] really proud to make the video and like show people what it can do to people,' she added. Fleming told 12 News that it felt very cool to place in the statewide contest, although she's used to 'Mohigan greatness' from her time attending Morgantown High School. 'After I realized we placed, […] it was just really surreal to like place in the entire state,' said Fleming. Fleming has aspirations of attending college to pursue a degree in communications, with the long-term goal of becoming a photographer. Fleming is actively involved in the yearbook club, and takes a lot of photos for the school's yearbook. 'I wanna be a sports photographer,' she added. 'I wanna work with like a professional sports team and like tell the stories of like, you know–like championships, that there's always like a storyline going on.' Wooton told 12 News that this contest would not be possible without the support of its sponsors, which include State Farm Insurance, the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, and the West Virginia Governor's Highway Safety Program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
