Blue Star Memorial Highway
Smith County, Smith County, Tennessee
Marker Inscription
Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. District II in cooperation with The Tennessee Department of Transportation
Erected by National Garden Clubs, Inc.
The Story
Blue Star Memorial Highways began in 1945 when garden clubs planted living tributes to honor those who served in World War II, taking their name from the blue-star service flags hung in family windows. The idea spread through garden-club federations into a coast-to-coast system of markers. This Tennessee marker, placed by a district of the state garden clubs with the transportation department, extends that tradition into the hills of Middle Tennessee.
Why it matters
It ties a small-town roadside to a nationwide civic ritual of remembering the armed forces, keeping gratitude for service woven into the everyday landscape.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Blue Star Memorial By-way A tribute to the Armed
Nashville, TN
Founded in 1945, the Blue Star Memorial program honors America's armed forces, its emblem taken from the blue-star flags families displayed for loved ones in uniform. Sponsored by District II of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, this marker brings that national tribute to Nashville. It is one of thousands placed along American byways by the National Garden Clubs.
Blue Star Memorial Highway – Hart County
Hart County, KY
Sponsored by the Dogwood District of Garden Clubs with the Garden Club of Kentucky and the state highway department, this Blue Star Memorial Highway marker honors the armed forces that have defended the nation. The Blue Star program began in the mid-1940s as a garden-club tribute to World War II servicemembers and grew to embrace all who have served. Its emblem recalls the service flags displayed in family windows during wartime.
O'Bannon House
Russellville, KY
Lieutenant Presley N. O'Bannon of the U.S. Marines is remembered as the first American to raise the flag on foreign soil, on April 17, 1805, when his attack helped overcome Barbary Coast forces holding American seamen for ransom. He settled in Logan County in 1807 and served in the state legislature and senate before his death in 1850.
Blue Star Memorial Highway
Catoosa County, GA
This Blue Star Memorial Highway marker in Catoosa County stands as a tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces. Sponsored by the Laurel District of the Garden Club of Georgia with state agencies, it is one link in a coast-to-coast chain of highway memorials begun in the postwar era. The blue star symbol honors all who have served in the nation's defense.