Blue Star Memorial Highway

Sumter County, GA

Started in 1945 by garden clubs nationwide, the Blue Star Memorial marks American highways in tribute to the armed forces, its blue star recalling the service flags of World War II. This Sumter County marker was sponsored by the Garden Club of Georgia, the state transportation department, and the Magnolia District garden clubs. It salutes all who have defended the United States.

Ellaville, GA

The Blue Star Memorial program began in 1945, when New Jersey garden clubs lined a highway with flowering dogwoods to honor service members — the blue star echoing the small banners families hung in their windows during World War II. The National Garden Clubs carried the idea across the country, and this marker in Ellaville, placed by the Rainbow Garden Club of the Magnolia District with American Legion Auxiliary Unit 191, extends that living tribute to all who have served in the U.S. armed forces.

Americus, GA

The Blue Star Memorial program, begun in 1945 by the National Garden Clubs, honors the armed forces with markers along American highways, the emblem borrowed from the blue-star flags of the wartime home front. In Americus the Early Bloomers Garden Club joined the Garden Club of Georgia, its Magnolia District, and the state transportation department to set this Sumter County marker. It honors all who have defended the nation.

Fort Gaines, GA

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.