American Gold Star Mothers lay wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns, Gold Star Mothers Sunday, 09/26/05 Soldiers looking at Vietnam Wall Memorial Francis Turley at a funeral for a forgotten veteran. One of the many markers at Arlington Cemetery remembered by a mother Perpetuating the noble principles for which they fought and died.


Excerpted from an October 2008 letter from Holly Fenelon, a historical researcher of AGSM, to Charles A. Lloyd, Chairman, USN Armed Guard WWII Veterans, in response to an inquiry by Mr. Lloyd about the mothers of Merchant Mariners killed during WWII.

Dear Mr. Lloyd –

. . . I think I can, however, answer your question about the AGSM and gold star mothers of merchant mariners in World War II. The issue of merchant mariners’ military status was confusing one for AGSM from the earliest days of the organization, which was founded in 1928 by gold star mothers of World War I.

I think this reflected a general confusion among the public about the status of the Merchant Marine. From the general public’s perspective, the men of the Merchant Marine were serving the nation during war-time; therefore, when a merchant mariner died while serving, his mother was generally accorded public status as a gold star mother by virtue of the loss of a child in war-time.

However, public status as a gold star mother was not the only requirement for membership in AGSM - members had to be American citizens, the natural mother of the child who died in military service, and the appropriate department of the American military had to confirm that the son or daughter had died in the line of duty.

From 1928 through the end of World War II, AGSM did not grant membership to mothers of merchant mariners who died while serving during war-time, but the reasons behind that decision were unclear to the majority of the membership. Some AGSM chapters chose to make their own decision on the matter, apparently allowing local merchant mariners’ gold star mothers to participate unofficially in chapter activities. The fact that those mothers were not eligible to officially join AGSM did not detract from their public status as gold star mothers.

At the AGSM national convention in 1946, a resolution was proposed by a Battle Creek, Michigan chapter to open the membership to the World War II gold star mothers of the Merchant Marine. The resolution was approved by the membership. In 1947, this change to the eligibility requirements was reiterated by national president Anne Hagerty in The Gold Star Mother, AGSM’s official newsletter:

I would like to quote “Eligibility, Article III … that ONLY Mothers of Sons or Daughters who served and died in the Allied Cause in World War I and World War II, or who died as a result of said service or Mothers who are citizens of the United States whose sons served and died in the United States Merchant Marines of World War 2, or who died as a result of said service are eligible for membership in the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.”

In 1949, AGSM’s decision to include gold star mothers of merchant mariners was rescinded, based on information provided by the Department of Defense stating that “the men in this particular service [Merchant Marine] are considered civilians.”

The Gold Star Mother subsequently clarified the organization’s stance on the matter in an article titled “Merchant Mariners Are Civilians, Says Congress:”

It was at the 1949 National Convention of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. that the Gold Star Mothers found that Merchant Marine mothers were mothers of civilians, therefore they could not be members or hold office in American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., since the requirements for membership required … that the son or daughter had served and died honorably in the line of duty or combat or service-connected in the Armed Forces.

This should complete for all Chapters the reason for the Merchant Marine mothers not being accepted in American Gold Star Mother, Inc. memberships – civilians are not eligible for GI benefits, therefore their mothers are not eligible for membership.

Despite AGSM’s clear ruling in 1949 that the mothers of merchant marines were ineligible for membership, I found nothing in the archives to indicate that any merchant mariner’s gold star mother who might have been admitted to membership between 1946 and 1949 (before the rule was changed) was expelled from the organization.

While AGSM was the best known and largest group of gold star mothers in the nation, there were many other active gold star mother organizations. Some were small local groups while others were gold star auxiliaries of larger organizations, such as the American Legion, V.F.W. and the American War Mothers. I do not have information about the membership requirements of those organizations and it may be that they offered membership to the gold star mothers of the Merchant Marine.

(While the AGSM material is very specific about the eligibility status of these mothers during this period, I have to admit that I have some unresolved confusion on this issue.

It’s my understanding that, in accordance with the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, merchant mariners are considered to be civilians except in time of war when they are considered to be military personnel. Based on this, it would seem to me that the KIA merchant mariners of World War II would have been part of the military, in fact, an adjunct of the Navy. Why the Department of Defense would have classified them as “civilians” in 1949 is something I haven’t been able to determine. My guess is that the Department of Defense was referring to the status of merchant mariners in 1949 when the letter was written, a time at which the nation was not at war, rather than making reference to merchant marines of World War II. Since the referenced letter was not part of the AGSM archival materials, I don’t have any way to confirm that hypothesis.)