Benjamin Purcell

Macon, GA

This is a Blue Star Memorial, part of a nationwide program begun by the National Garden Clubs in 1945 to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. What started as a highway beautification effort planted with dogwoods after World War II grew into thousands of these markers along roads, in parks, and at veterans' sites across the country. The blue star itself echoes the service flags that families hung in their windows for loved ones in uniform.

Monroe County, GA

The Blue Star Memorial Highway program began in 1945 to honor the armed forces that have defended the United States, its name drawn from the blue-star service flags of the World War II home front. Sponsored by the Federated Garden Clubs of Macon with the Garden Club of Georgia and the state transportation department, this marker stands in the middle-Georgia countryside of Monroe County. It joins a chain of tributes running along the state's highways.

Gray, GA

Blue Star Memorials date to 1945, when New Jersey garden clubs planted blue-star dogwoods along a highway to honor World War II troops; the program spread nationwide to honor all who have served. In Gray, the Gray Garden Club joined a local Better Hometown group, a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Garden Club of Georgia to place this marker. The blue star recalls the service banners families displayed during wartime.

Forsyth, GA

The Blue Star Memorial began in 1945 with a New Jersey highway lined in blue-star dogwoods for World War II troops and grew into a nationwide tribute to all branches of the armed forces. In Forsyth, the Town and Country Garden Club partnered with American Legion Post #34 to place this marker, joining civic and veterans' groups in a shared act of thanks. The blue star recalls the service banners once displayed in the windows of military families.