Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces
Fort Gaines, Clay County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by the Fort Gaines Home and Garden Club Organized 1933 in cooperation with The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc.
Erected by National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Story
Blue Star Memorials began in 1945 as a garden-club tribute to returning World War II service members, named for the service flags whose blue star stood for a family member at war. This marker in Fort Gaines, Georgia was placed by the Fort Gaines Home and Garden Club, organized in 1933, in cooperation with the Garden Club of Georgia. It ties a small Chattahoochee River town into a national tradition of remembrance.
Why it matters
It illustrates how local civic groups, often decades old, adopted a shared symbol to honor the armed forces in their own communities.
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