HOLYOKE – A ceremony at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. will mark the activation of the first-ever Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers.
Gold Star mothers from throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island will attend the ceremony, which will celebrate the chapter forming in western Massachusetts.
The American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is a national not for profit 501(c)3 Veterans Service Organization founded in 1928.
The organization’s membership is made up of mothers whose children died while in military service, or died as a result of that service, or are missing in action.
The Western Massachusetts Chapter will hold its first official meeting at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and will meet regularly at the Home for all future meetings.
Francisco Urena, secretary of Veterans’ Services for Massachusetts, will be at the ceremony, which will take place in the Home’s canteen before Veteran resident and local officials and representatives from Veteran groups.
The American Gold Star Mothers Inc., serves veterans, military members and their families, and families of the fallen by volunteering their time in veterans’ hospitals and homes, community based outreach programs, and through fund raising efforts for causes that support our veterans.
“We are very proud, humbled and honored to welcome the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers here to the Soldiers’ Home,” said Paul Barabani, superintendent of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. “This is our way of extending our respect and devotion to the Gold Star Mothers in western Massachusetts. The Gold Star Mothers have always strongly supported the Soldiers’ Home and have visited the Home several times over the past few years. Our sacred obligation to our service members and loved ones will never be forgotten, and we are blessed to have the Gold Star Mothers as part of our extended family here at the Home. We look forward to years of closely working together on behalf of all Veterans.”
The ceremony will also feature a presentation by portrait artist Gina Johnson of Woburn on a traveling tribute wall called “Faces of Remembrance,” which honors the memory of fallen service men and women with ties to Massachusetts. Bill Witkowski, a stone cutter from Centerville will also talk about the “Hero Stars” program, which provides slabs of stone with a gold star carved into the center to symbolize the life of a fallen service member.
For more information about the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. visit the website at goldstarmoms.com.
