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The Wesson Garden Club purchased the $1,200 marker with help from the Garden Clubs of Mississippi. It is the 18th Blue Star Memorial in the state, and one of 2,014 standing nationally.
The Blue Star Memorial Program began in 1945, when the National Garden Clubs undertook the effort as a way of honoring those serving in World War II. The use of the blue star was taken from an American tradition among active servicemen's families, who hung flags, featuring a blue star for every child serving, in the front windows of their homes.
The star itself goes back much further, said Shirlee Lawson, chairwoman of the state Blue Star Memorial Marker Program.
The first use of the blue star was in 400 B.C., when Alexander the Great made it the centerpiece of a medal for valor.
In America's Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington fashioned a medal for valor featuring the blue star in the middle of a purple heart. Abraham Lincoln was in the process of tweaking the use of the blue star before his assassination.
The use of the blue star on the family flag began in 1917 during the First World War and continued into World War II. Garden clubs began using it on their memorials before the war ended.
"We're all touched by our veterans," said Gay Austin, president of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi. "It's just kind of a long-standing appreciation for our vets and what they've done for us."
The vets in attendance Wednesday appreciated the addition of the Blue Star Memorial in town. Austin said vets in other cities have taken their appreciation for their memorials to great lengths.
After Hurricane Katrina leveled Bay St. Louis in 2005, the local garden club noticed the city's Blue Star Memorial was missing. Frantic calls went out to the state chapter and a search came under way, but the marker reappeared two weeks after the storm. A local veteran had unbolted the memorial and taken it home to keep it safe from the hurricane.
"We were happy to see him," Austin said.
