The Gold Star pins, so intimately associated with Gold Star Mothers are, in fact, not awarded by us nor are they limited to mothers. They are awarded by the Defense Dept., usually through your casualty officer.
There are 2 different pins. The one you are awarded depends on the circumstances of your loved one's death.
However, membership in American Gold Star Mothers is available to mothers with either pin. We make no distinction. Each child is precious and we don't believe that the circumstances of your child's death, is important. All served and all undertook the associated risks.
The following relatives of the deceased are entitled to one or the other of the pins above:
Widow, Widower, Mother, Father, Stepmother/father, Mother/father through adoption, Foster mother/father in loco parentis, Son, Daughter, Stepson/daughter, Son/daughter by adoption, Brother, Sister, Half-brother/sister.
The Gold Star Lapel pin, pictured at the top left, is awarded to the relatives of those killed in specific conflicts listed in the "Information" section on the back of Form DD3.
If your loved one was killed during the time period of one of these conflicts, but not in the official area of the conflict you will receive the Next of Kin Lapel Pin, pictured top right. For example, if, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a service member was assigned to a unit in Germany and was killed in a training accident, you would receive the Next of Kin Pin, not the Gold Star Lapel Pin.
The Gold Star Lapel Pin, pictured on the right, was established by Act of Congress (Pub. L. 80-306) on August 1, 1947 to identify widows, parents and next of kin of service members killed in certain operations defined by the law. While enacted after WW II, the award authority is retroactive to WW I, and includes most subsequent conflicts.
If you have not received your pin you can apply yourself using Defense Dept Form 3. The form is in pdf format which means you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. You can fill out the form on your screen and then click the "Print For" button to print it out on your printer.
If others in your family have not received their pins, make copies of the form for them also. You can print the blank form to make multiple copies before filling it out for yourself.