Welcome to the Dept of New Jersey of American Gold Star Mothers. If you're a Gold Star mom from New Jersey and would like to meet others in your situation please contact us.

An Item of Interest

Anthony Joseph Dixon Resource Center: A mother's effort to honor a fallen son.

Ever since Army Spec. 4 Anthony Joseph Dixon was killed in Iraq on Aug. 1, 2004, his mother has honored his memory by serving families and individuals in need.

Read more... about our Chaplin Jackie Dixon.

July Jersey Jots

It is so hard to believe that the 4th of July is this weekend and I hope you all will have a nice long 3 or 4 day holiday. Enjoy the festivities and backyard parties with your families. Another heat wave is coming in. Keep cool and take it easy. Hope you all get to enjoy the 4th of July parades and the fireworks. Be safe!!!!!

Most important; keep our troops in your prayers while they are serving away from their loved ones. We look forward to their homecomings and thank them for their daily commitment to our great Nation. Every one of our soldiers are among the elite. This being an all volunteer force shows their strength of character and it is all about what America means. God bless them.

I want to personally thank all the Moms and friends who continue to help sell the GSM Pins for our National Monument. The monies keep coming in either by the sale of pins or donations. This past Sunday there was a Memorial Softball Game played in Atco, NJ hosted by Military friends and their friends. All proceeds from the tournament game were presented to our Dept. of NJ in the amount of $3,000.00. We thank them.

We have a dedicated group supporting and pushing legislation to approve the NJ Gold Star Family license plates. We thank them for their continued efforts. We have to keep the faith that this mission will come to be.

If at anytime, a Gold Star Mom has something to share and wants to let the Department members know about it, just send it to Judi or Kim and we will make sure it gets out to everyone.

Have a wonderful summer.

Judi

Upcoming Events

August 14 - A viewing of the Gold Star Mothers Statue.

September 12 - The Annual Luncheon given by the VFW will be in Asbury Park this year. If you remember, Bill Grieman brought this up at our May Convention Meeting. You will be receiving your invitation. More to follow.

September 25-26 - The NJ Run for the Fallen will be Sept. 25th and 26th this year and our planning group is working hard to make it another successful event. More information will be coming out to you via email and personal mail.

October 26 - The 4th Annual Ruck Run is tentatively scheduled for October 16th at McGuire Air Force Base. This is a fun event and I hope many of you will be there to join us.
 

Past Events

Honor and Remember Flags Presented

Our two day visit with George Lutz in New Jersey to receive the Honor and Remember Flag was so special. The American Legion in Cherry Hill opened their doors to us for his presentation. The Waterford Twp. War Memorial Committee sponsored and presented the beautiful personalized flag to Gold Star Parents Jon and Cathy Hicks in memory of their son Jon Hicks, Jr. and much to my surprise George Lutz presented me with my flag in memory of my son, David.

The next day we were escorted to Trenton by the Warrior Watch Riders and George Lutz spoke on the steps of the Capital and we then received 6 signatures from Senators pledging to support the Flag as a National Flag of Remembrance.

I have been inducted to serve a two year term as Honorary Commander of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst, NJ with Colonel Scott F. Smith. This has been exciting and I am enjoying the many events that I am invited to take part. I will be taking an Honorary Commander Flight in August. Just something else to keep me busy.

Judith Tapper and Col Scott Smith

“The Butterfly Tree” National Children’s Memorial to Fallen Soldiers

The children of our nation have made the only memorial of its kind in the United States to honor the fallen soldiers of “Operation Iraqi Freedom” and “Operation Enduring Freedom”. Children from 28 states have come together to make almost 5,000 unique butterflies, each with the name, rank and age of a fallen soldier. These red, white and blue butterflies have been placed on an eleven-foot tall tree. This two-year project is a wonderful tribute that shows that children can do wonderful things for our country.

This memorial was dedicated on Tuesday December 8th, 2009 at the Howell Middle School South, 1 Kuzminski Way, Howell New Jersey.

New Jersey Gold Star Moms and Cheri Reis, creator of the Butterfly Tree.
Back Row - Kim, Pam, Diane and Joan.
Front Row - Cheri Reis, Theresa, Judi and Suzette.

Some photos from the 2009 Ruck Run at MaGuire Air Force Base, NJ.

Bubba Beason presented each Mom with a piece
of the World Trade Center and the GSM Tote Bag.

New Jersey Gold Star Moms present Bubba Beason
with the Honor and Remember flag.

The NJ Gold Star Moms in attendance.

Judith Tapper with the 2nd Place Winning Team that ran for her son,
David M. Tapper. This is the 3rd year for this event.

There are more photos at the links in the left column of this page.