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Postwar & Contemporary

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

Albemarle County, Albemarle County, Virginia

Marker Inscription

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by Wenonah Garden Club Shenandoah District V.F.G.C., Inc.in cooperation with Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Transportation

Erected by National Garden Clubs, Inc.

The Story

Begun in 1945, the Blue Star Memorial Highway program honors all who have defended the United States, its emblem taken from the blue-star flags families hung to mark a loved one in service. This Virginia marker, sponsored by the Wenonah Garden Club with the state's highway department, is one link in a chain of tributes running through the Shenandoah country and beyond. The gardens and byways became, together, a quiet monument to service.

Why it matters

Blue Star markers show how ordinary citizens and garden clubs, rather than governments alone, built one of America's most widespread memorials to its armed forces.

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Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

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