Today, April 5, is designated as a day to honor those loved ones left behind by our brave military heroes killed in combat.
Freedom isn’t free, and hundreds of thousands of Americans over the years have paid the ultimate price to ensure that a new generation could live in freedom. And for every fallen soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine, there are spouses and parents and siblings and children and friends whose lives will never be the same. Gold Star Spouses’ Day highlights and honors their sacrifices.
I would particularly like to pay tribute to Peggy Webb, the widow of my great-uncle Bruce Webb, a Marine killed in combat during the Vietnam War, leaving her to raise their three children alone. Her pain was doubled by the disrespectful and even vicious harassment she suffered from hippie anti-war protestors. Let us vow that never again will we allow such shameful and unjust abuse as Vietnam War veterans and their families suffered, but that we will rather honor those who gave so much to the cause of liberty.
Joe Kent, a veteran whom Donald Trump chose to head the National Counter Terrorism Center, lost his wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, to a suicide bomber in Syria. Watch below as he talks about her tragic death. In January, on the anniversary of her death, Kent posted, “I’m grateful for every moment we had & for the lives we created. Shannon was an amazing wife, mother, friend, sister & daughter. Shannon eternal.”
Joe Kent reflects on the combat deployment during which his wife was tragically taken in a suicide bombing.@joekent16jan19 pic.twitter.com/KRa5PexErW
— Shawn Ryan Show (@ShawnRyanShow) April 5, 2025
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Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense posted, “On this Gold Star Spouses Day, let us take a moment to honor and recognize the profound sacrifices of the surviving spouses of our fallen military heroes. Your strength and resilience inspire us all, and we stand with you in remembrance and gratitude.”
The gold star pins you see above are from a 1947 design, a star surrounded by laurel leaves, which are traditionally associated with military victory from ancient times. The star on the purple background is for family members of those killed during specific conflicts, while the all-gold button is for family members of the military who died while on active duty or in the reserves or National Guard.
On Gold Star Spouses Day, we honor the spouses of Service Members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
— U.S. Army (@USArmy) April 5, 2025
Your strength and support for our Soldiers will never be forgotten.
We are eternally grateful. pic.twitter.com/wGykR1N5TK
A little background on today’s holiday from the U.S. Army website:
Gold Star Spouses Day dates back to the early 1900s in the midst of World War I (WWI). The term "Gold Star" itself originated during WWI, when U.S. Army Captain Robert L. Queissner, 5th Ohio Infantry, (a father with two sons fighting in Europe) patented and hung the first recorded blue star banner in his window in 1917. Other families began displaying star banners, with a blue star for each child in active military service. If a service member was killed in action or died from injuries, a gold star replaced the blue, signifying to the community the price the family had paid for the cause of freedom. These families became known as “Gold Star Families.”
… [In] 2012, the U.S. Senate designated the day to be recognized each year on 5 April as Gold Star Spouses Day to be more inclusive of all spouses.
God bless and comfort all those grieving the loss of an American military hero on this day.
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