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| Grandma Ethel Hurst Speas |
Looking closely
at the upper left panes of the window behind Grandma, you will see a poster for the Navy and to its right a small flag with four stars. Although you cannot tell from this
sepia photo, the flag has a white background with a red border and stars of
blue, similar to the one below. Each star represents a family member serving in the Armed Services of the United States.
You
may be interested in a brief history of these flags which were originally designed
during World War I by Robert Queissner, an Army Captain and father of two sons
serving on the front line.
With patriotism at an all-time high, the flags became a popular symbol of a child in service and before long they were officially authorized by the Department of Defense for display. National sentiment was well stated: "The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother - their children".
During World War II, the practice of displaying the service
flags became much more widespread. Virtually every home displayed banners to
indicate the number of members of the family serving in the Armed Forces.
With patriotism at an all-time high, the flags became a popular symbol of a child in service and before long they were officially authorized by the Department of Defense for display. National sentiment was well stated: "The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother - their children".
If
a family member died during military service, a smaller star of gold would be sewn atop
the blue star creating a gold star with a blue border. I am grateful that no gold stars were added to Grandma's banner. The color of the blue stars symbolically represented
hope and pride and the gold represented sacrifice to the cause of liberty
and freedom.
Back to our story: I have been unable to document the year that the picture was taken of Grandma standing outside her Woodville, Idaho, home with a service flag displayed in her window, but it was undoubtedly during World War II. We can safely assume that a flag was also displayed during World War I when her husband was engaged in the conflict. In this photo, there have been three stars added to his star of service, symbolizing the service of three children, Kenneth, Quentin and Veda in World War II.
Better than the flag in the window, the resolute expression of sadness, concern, fear and endurance, with a touch of pride on Grandma’s face speaks thousands of words.
Back to our story: I have been unable to document the year that the picture was taken of Grandma standing outside her Woodville, Idaho, home with a service flag displayed in her window, but it was undoubtedly during World War II. We can safely assume that a flag was also displayed during World War I when her husband was engaged in the conflict. In this photo, there have been three stars added to his star of service, symbolizing the service of three children, Kenneth, Quentin and Veda in World War II.
Better than the flag in the window, the resolute expression of sadness, concern, fear and endurance, with a touch of pride on Grandma’s face speaks thousands of words.
