Jul 23 2019
Bill Snyder | WLOX
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Do you know what a Gold Star family is? Many involved with the program say most people don’t know what is, and that’s why they’re excited about the Gold Star Family Monument that will go up in Biloxi honoring the families of those who sacrificed their lives serving in the military.
Tuesday’s groundbreaking was more than just moving dirt. It was about a monument that will soon shed light on their cause.
Diane Moore was very young back in 1965 when she and her family found out her father was officially Missing in Action in Vietnam. She said the Gold Star monument can’t bring him back, and it won’t give her closure, but it will bring her a sense of peace.
"When you feel so forgotten as a family member to an individual who served their country beyond what they needed to do,” Moore said. “What can we do to keep their memory alive when we’re gone?”
That monument, which will feature the carved-out silhouette of a solider, will be near the tower from the USS Biloxi and the city’s other two military memorials located at Guice Park and the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor.
"The essence of this monument honors you, the Gold Star families, as well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Mike King, Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation member and Gold Star Families Monument Program member.
Tessa Ready, whose late husband served in the Navy and contracted cancer while helping in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan earthquake, said the monument will be a constant reminder for all.
“It lets us know that we were not forgotten,” Ready said. “Here is something in granite that says that we appreciate and recognize your sacrifice, and it’s something I can bring my kids to. It’s something they’ll bring their friends to, and it opens a conversation.”
The monument is set to be completed in November.
