Blue Star Mothers to be packing holiday gift boxes for troops

Blue Star Mothers to be packing holiday gift boxes for troops - The Courier-Leader & Paw Paw Flashes : Paw Paw News: PAW PAW - A collection drive kickoff for the Blue Star Mothers of Southwest Michigan was a “rousing success,” according to a Blue Star Mothers…

Michiana mom calls for continued support of the troops

From inside her South Bend House, Sandy Bolt talks about what it's like to have a loved one so far from home.  "He was willing to sacrifice what it took in order to fight for our freedom," she says.
Her son Jason Boldt served in Iraq from 2007-2010.  His HMMWV was hit by an IED.  He suffered a broken bone and concussion and now that he's home he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"We still have to fight to carry on at home because these men and women are going to be carrying it with them for the rest of their lives," Bolt says.

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Blue Star Mothers hold Support the Troops Christmas open house

Last Christmas, Blue Star Mothers 177 of Berrien County packed 400 holiday-brightening boxes for troops.
Each care carton contained enough treats for five soldiers.
Postage cost $16,000.
The ninth annual Support the Troops Christmas open house is coming up quickly on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Michigan Lutheran High School, 615 Marquette Woods Road, St. Joseph.
Part patriotic program, part packing party, special guest speaker will be retired New York police detective John Barreiro, who will recall the events of  9/11.
“It’s a very good cause,“ President Tammy Sebasty said Tuesday.
She’s partial, of course, because Blue Star Mother means she has a child in the military.

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63 years after removal, wall to honor World War II veterans in Belding to be built again

The Belding Blue Star Mothers stand front of the city's wall honoring World War II veterans shortly before the wall was "decommissioned" and dismantled in November 1948. An effort in Belding is under way to replace the wall. Courtesy: Alvah N. Belding Memorial Library.

 The original wall had 720 names on it. A blue star next to a name meant that person had served. A gold star meant that person had been killed. There were 18 gold stars on the wall, originally erected by the Belding War Services Committee and attended to by the local Blue Star Mothers.

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