FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Bill Kibler
135 N. Wayne Street #1
Arlington, VA 22201
bill@goldstarsiblings.com

A new website has been established to provide brothers and sisters who have lost their loved one in combat while serving their Country, GoldStarSiblings.com (http://www.goldstarsiblings.com ). The goal of Gold Star Siblings is to bring together ‘gold star’ brothers and sisters in a single online community and be able to honor and remember their sibling, and to support one another with their loss.

The concept of GoldStarSiblings.com is being modeled after American Gold Star Mothers (on the web www.goldstarmoms.com) and Gold Star Wives of America (on the web: www.goldstarwives.org) who have lost their son/daughter or husband while serving in combat. The creator, Bill Kibler of Arlington, VA – a Marine Veteran who served with the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force, Beirut, Lebanon 1982-1983, saw the need while working with the Gold Star Mothers and hearing of the desire from Beirut siblings (one of whom has expressed a great interest to also become heavily involved), and realizing the same need would apply with the current war in Iraq.

The website features an online discussion board for youth, teens/young adults, and adults, and will have an area for users to create an online memorial Web page honoring their sibling. The website will grow with the needs of the users, and hopefully, plans to become a new national organization in 2005.

About the term: "Gold Star"

The Service Flag displayed from homes, places of business, churches, schools, etc., to indicate the number of members of the family or organizations who are serving in the Armed Forces or who have died from such service. Service flags have a deep Blue Star for each living member in the service and a Gold Star for each member who has died.” Thus, the Gold Star and the term Gold Star Mother/Wife, as applied to mothers whose sons or daughters, or husband, died in the World Wars, has been accepted.

During the early days of World War I, a Blue Star was used to represent each person, man or woman in the Military Service of the United States. As the war progressed and men were killed in combat, others wounded and died of their wounds or disease, there came about the accepted usage of the Gold Star.

This Gold Star was substituted and superimposed upon the Blue Star in such a manner as to entirely cover it. The idea of the Gold Star was that the honor and glory accorded the person for his supreme sacrifice in offering for his country, the last full measure of devotion and pride of the family in this sacrifice, rather than the sense of personal loss which would be represented by the mourning symbols.

###