HistoricSiteMarkers
Postwar & Contemporary

Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces

Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia

Marker Inscription

Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by Town & Country Garden Club in cooperation with The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. and Putnam County

Erected by Garden Club of Georgia

The Story

Blue Star Memorials date to 1945, when garden clubs planted flowering dogwoods along a New Jersey highway to honor World War II troops; the idea spread nationwide as a salute to every branch of the armed forces. In Eatonton, the Town & Country Garden Club worked with the Garden Club of Georgia and Putnam County to place this marker. The blue star recalls the service banners hung in the windows of military families.

Why it matters

These roadside tributes show how local garden clubs gave communities across the country a shared and lasting way to thank those who served.

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Themes & tags

Military & WartimeMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Milledgeville, GA

This Blue Star Memorial Highway marker is part of a nationwide program begun in the mid-twentieth century to honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. Sponsored by garden clubs in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the blue star recalls the service flags families hung in their windows during wartime. Markers like this one line highways across the country as living tributes.

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Madison, GA

The Blue Star Memorial program began in 1945 when garden clubs across the country set markers along highways to honor the armed forces, their emblem drawn from the blue-star service flags of World War II families. In Madison, the Boxwood Garden Club worked with the Garden Club of Georgia and the state transportation department to dedicate this marker in Morgan County. It honors all who have defended the United States.

Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces

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.

Blue Star Memorial

Crawfordville, GA

The Blue Star Memorial idea was born in 1945 from New Jersey garden clubs who honored service members by planting flowering trees along a highway, the blue star recalling the banners families hung in their windows during World War II. Adopted by the National Garden Clubs, the program reached small towns like Crawfordville, where the Sharon-Raytown Garden Club and American Legion Roy Dozier Post 8 placed this tribute to all who have defended the nation.