Flags for each of the military services were presented with the hymns associated with each: Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and the recently added Merchant Marines. The POW/Mia flag was presented later in the program.
The highlight was the presentation by Ginger Emerson *, Gold Star Mother, from Grandview, WA. She told us about the service banners which were introduced in 1917 by a father who had two sons involved in World War I. The banners placed a blue star in the a field of white surrounded by a red boundary and were hung in windows of families whose sons were involved in the conflict. Later, the Gold Star was added inside the frame of the blue star to honor those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice.
This Gold Star banner hangs in Ginger's son, Matthew's, bedroom window.
Mrs. Emerson explained that when she was a girl, her mother, a member of the Veteran's of Foreign Wars Auxiliary in Prosser, would take Ginger and her siblings downtown each year to sell poppies and hand out brochures during Prosser's annual Veteran's Day Parade. It wasn't until her son enlisted in the Army that some of the nuances of her mother's actions and intentions became clear.Ginger presented an interesting oral history of the military from it's early stages as a series of state militias in the New England colonies. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress, acting in response to the growing conflict between the state militias and the British army, created our first Army, and commissioned General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief,
And, as we all know, the War of Independence led to our freedom from Britain, and the writing of our Constitution.
Conscription (the draft), the National Cemeteries, Taps, the introduction of airplanes during WWI, the red poppies, the Civil War, WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the most recent conflict in Iraq were topics weaved into her presentation.
Most of us cannot imagine the pain, the grief, and suffering of losing a child at any time, during war or peacetime. It was indeed a bittersweet few moments with Ginger this morning as she shared the loss of her son, Matthew.
Matthew Emerson, 20, was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on Sepember 18, 2007. We found this as the last few lines in his obituary, "Rest in peace, our beloved Matthew. You fought our good fight, and we are all the better for it. You have left a hole in our hearts, which will be healed when we see you again one day."
Thank you, Ginger, for a moving presentation and for allowing us to join you in a moving tribute to your son, Matthew.
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| Ginger Emerson speaking with BFSRA members following the luncheon. |
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| L to R: Helen Bakshas, Ginger Emerson, Dottie Stevens |
* Side note: Ginger was a student at Prosser High School when Don Parks, Tom Callahan, and Jim Bumgarner taught there. We are all proud to know that this once very positive and smart young lady has become such an elegant, and gracious, mother and wife.
