It’s fitting that my very first blog post begins this month; the month of May is military appreciation month. Besides having Memorial Day in May, this month seems just like any other. In fact, I would assume July would be more representative of celebrating our military.
But, Memorial Day is just one of the many holidays celebrating our military this month:
- Military Spouse Appreciation Day
- Armed Forces Day
- V-E Day
- Children of Fallen Patriots Day
- Armed Forces Week and Day
- Silver Star Service Banner Day
I want to go thought all these as we approach each one as well as going into some more personal posts and interviews with those I know that are veterans.
The first holiday I want to discuss is Silver Star Service Banner Day. It is recognized on May 1st. I had heard of Gold Star Banners, but not Silver Star Banners.
The Silver Star Families of America is an organization working to make Silver Star banners official for those wounded or injured in a war zone. According to the government website valor.defense.gov, the Silver Star is the third-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is awarded for gallantry in action:
- While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States:
- While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
- While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
A service flag or service banner is something that family members can display to honor anyone that served in the military. The flag or banner is white with a red boarder and a silver star in the center. The use of the banner began in the thirties as a way to recognize service members. A gold star meant a family member had been killed in action and a blue star recognized an active member.
It wasn’t until 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 855, making May 1st Silver Star Service Banner Day. Although not a federal holiday, it is still a time to recognize those veterans that sacrificed and were wounded or became ill while fighting for our country.
Here are the banners my father has for his dad and his second cousin. My grandfather, A.J. Rapp or ‘Harpo’ as he was nicknamed, served in the Pacific and Occupation Japan while in the navy.
My father’s second cousin was really close with my grandfather, they grew up together like brothers. His name was Edward Rapp, but everyone knew him as Juie. (pronounced Jew-e). He didn’t make it home while overseas in the Philippines, dying as a bridge he was helping to construct collapsed on him. I will be discussing both my grandfather and Cousin Juie in later posts.
This is just one of the few holidays I had never heard of until I started researching the different military holidays and birthdays for this website. I hope this post along with others will give you some new information and I hope you sign up to receive my free catalogue, Military Holidays and Birthdays. It includes all the dates to help celebrate each branch of the military and a page for you to list other holidays and birthdays that are important!
Hope you come back for my next post!
-Cindy
