Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

Albemarle County, VA

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.

Hampshire County, WV

Bell towers have long stood at the heart of American communities — marking the hours, calling people together, and often rising as lasting memorials to those a town wishes to remember. The Parsons Bell Tower is such a landmark in Hampshire County, one of West Virginia's oldest regions, settled well before the nation's founding. Its bells and stonework give a small community a place of gathering and reflection.

Berkeley County, WV

Begun in 1945, the Blue Star Memorial program honors the armed forces that have defended the United States, its emblem drawn from the blue-star service flags of World War II. Sponsored by the Shenandoah-Potomac District of West Virginia Garden Clubs with the state road commission, this marker stands in the Eastern Panhandle's Berkeley County. It is one link in a national chain of roadside tributes.

Martinsburg, WV

This memorial in Martinsburg honors those from the community who died in service to their country. Its inscription speaks in the universal language of sacrifice, dedicating the site to all who paid the ultimate price — a form of remembrance common in towns across America that lost sons and daughters to the nation's wars.