Six months after the terrorist attacks in America and the beginning of the war on terrorism, Art and Bernadette McKeown have a new patriotic emblem in front of their south suburban home: a Blue Star Service Banner.
Popular during World Wars I and II, the banners–a blue star on a white background, outlined in red–are making a comeback as American Legion officials seek to honor the men and women called to active duty.
“If people drive by, if all of a sudden they see a blue star in the window, they are reminded we are putting our blood on the line as a country,” said McKeown of Palos Heights, whose son-in-law is an Air Force reservist who was activated after Sept. 11. “And it’s not just what you see on the little TV screen.”
Even before the attacks, American Legion officials decided to bring back the banners as a way to honor the 1.37 million active members of the Armed Forces, said Lee Harris, a Legion spokesman in Indianapolis.
But since the deployment of troops into Afghanistan, some 83,000 reservists have been called to active duty, events that have led to a surge of interest in the banners, Legion officials say.
“We felt it would take five years or more to get this campaign to catch on,” Harris said.
But in just six months, the national American Legion has distributed 30,000 banners to local posts, which are either selling or passing out the banners to families. In addition, another 12,000 posters of the banner have been sold, as well as a few thousand stickers and lapel tags, said Joe March, a Legion spokesman.
“Every possible reminder of the fact that we are at war, in every neighborhood and around the nation, should be there to remind us to keep up our guard,” March said.
The banners were designed in 1917 by Army Capt. Robert L. Queissner, who had two sons in World War I. They are offered to anyone who has a relative on active duty.
Robert McKillop remembers buying a Blue Star Banner at the Woolworth’s in Oak Park during World War II. His family’s banner had two blue stars sewn onto the white background, symbolizing his two older brothers in the Army.
“There was a Blue Star Banner in every house in the neighborhood where I grew up in Oak Park,” said McKillop, who served in the Air Force for 25 years and is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
McKillop and all five of his brothers served in the military, from World War II to the Vietnam War, but the banners were not popular during later wars because of the politics surrounding those conflicts.
Even so, McKillop special-ordered a banner 19 years ago, when his son enlisted in the Army, and it has been hanging in the window of his Mt. Prospect home ever since. McKillop, chaplain of the Mt. Prospect Legion Post 525, said he is pleased to see other military familiesbuying the banners, which he said is a testament to the hardships and courage of enlisted men and women.
Michael Sherry, a history professor at Northwestern University, said he believes the resurgence of the banners may be part of an attempt to link the current conflict to World War II.
“I don’t think that sense of similarity will go very deep or last very long, but maybe that’s just because I’m more skeptical of it than some people,” he said.
Gregory Urwin, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia who specializes in military history, said he believes the banners have become a status symbol for families who have a relative in the military.
Unlike during World War I or II, when a great number of soldiers were draftees, today’s military is made up of men and women who have volunteered. In addition, the majority of active members serve at bases in the U.S. or overseas, many far away from combat.
But Urwin said recent footage from Afghanistan makes it clear to Americans that it’s still dangerous to be a soldier, just as it is dangerous to be a firefighter or police officer.
“They remind people that our troops are in harm’s way,” Urwin said of the banners. “Even if every Blue Star doesn’t represent a special forces soldier in Afghanistan, I see no harm in that at all.”
In addition to the Blue Star Banners, the American Legion offers a Gold Star Banner, for people whose loved one has died while in service, March said.
March said he believes there will be hundreds of thousands of banners hanging in windows within a year. That image is comforting to Salvatore Dinolfo Sr., of Lockport, whose son Ernest, 22, is overseas with the Air Force.
Dinolfo, whose American flag has flown in front of his house daily since his son was deployed last year, said he is discouraged the displays of patriotism have waned over the last few months.
His ex-wife, Frieda Walters of Palos Heights, has a Blue Star Banner flying in her window for Ernest, and Salvatore Dinolfo plans to order one.
“The reason I like the program, really, is [during Vietnam], the anti-military movement was so great, and when the guys got back from Vietnam, the people were booing them and not cheering them,” said Dinolfo.
“Today, we’re fighting again, and my son is out there.
“I’m proud of him, and I’m happy to fly that banner.”
