Posted about this once before; you'll see a link to a related site, "Newton's Best of the Best" listed among the "Troop Support" sites to the right. They also now have a permalink on the right hand side of the page.

The information is worth a repost.


Silver Star Families of America is a group working to get a WIA Service Flag designated to honor those of our Heroes wounded in service to their country.

You can go to this site to find out more:
http://steven.newton6.home.att.net/

They also have a group support site at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SilverStarFamiliesofAmerica/

Here is information from their webpage:

THE ORIGIN, GOALS AND MISSION OF THE SILVER STAR FAMILIES OF AMERICA
A couple of years ago, while at a Veterans Administration hospital, I was speaking to a family about their son. He had been wounded in the war and now spent a lot of his time alone at the hospital. We all considered it a shame that while America is at war it honors its hero’s but it doesn’t take long for the heroes to be forgotten. For the wounded of our nation to live and struggled on their own with little or no help. The medals tarnish and some of our most vulnerable soldiers and veterans are left to survive or die with no recognition for their achievements.

Since that time I have struggling for a Service Flag for our wounded. Something to fly over a V.A. Hospital to remind the country, day in and day out, of the sacrifice of our men and women in the armed forces and for families of the wounded to hang in their windows or fly proudly from a pole to show their pride. And not just during conflict but ALL the time. When war ends THAT is the time we especially need to be reminded that some are still suffering the consequences of conflict.

I wanted a place where our wounded service members and their families could go for help and information or just to laugh, talk or cry with others going through the same experience they are. A safe place, an honorable place that took no notice of politics or race, but a place for ALL to come as they are for comfort.

I started my quest by contacting a few organizations but had very little luck in convincing them that we needed to honor our wounded. Since that time, by the grace of God, I have come to be associated with a wonderful group of people. We started a web site and requested of our Senators that legislation be enacted to allow for placement of the Silver Star on the Blue Star Service Flag to show wounded. We started an on-line petition, which has now entered the real word as an actual hard copy petition, which I hope you will soon see on every street corner.

Friends started a Yahoo Group where like-minded people, and families of our wounded, could gather to exchange ideas and to work on accomplishing our goal. Disappointments, as in all things, came and went but one of the most frustrating one was when we heard that legislative action could take from one, two or three years. We had only a few options, all which were not acceptable to us.

So, On April 1st of the year of our Lord 2005, we decided that instead of waiting for legislative action or other organizations acceptance, we would start to honor the wounded of our country NOW. Thus was formed the SILVER STAR FAMILIES OF AMERICA. We designed and copyrighted the Silver Star Service Flag that can be downloaded now. We are also working on forming our own 501 c organization.

We have worked and struggled for a long time but now we are doing what we set out to do. Helping those that cannot or do not know how to help themselves. And we are showing our respect for them by flying our Silver Star Flags NOW.

It is one of my fondest wishes that other organizations would join with us and many already have. It is an honorable cause. I invite each and every one of you to sign the petition but more importantly to join us now to do something that was once done many years ago by several states. That is to show our fellow countrymen that we DO honor our wounded and that they are not forgotten.

Chief Steven J. Newton (ret)