{"id":41385,"date":"2025-11-16T17:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/41385\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T17:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T17:20:09","slug":"blue-star-memorial-ceremony-honors-u-s-service-members-on-veterans-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/41385\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Star Memorial ceremony honors U.S. service members on Veterans Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A Veterans Day ceremony at the Blue Star Memorial, at the entrance to Fort Wadsworth, honored service members past, present and future.<\/p>\n

The event was hosted by the First District Garden Clubs of New York, Inc., which represents more than 150 members from four Staten Island clubs: Castle Manor, Great Kills, Richmond Evergreen and Staten Island Garden Club. <\/p>\n

The District maintains the Fort Wadsworth memorial and oversees beautification projects throughout the borough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a beautiful day and an honor to pay tribute to all our Veterans whose sacrifices have secured the freedom and safety we cherish,\u201d said Suzanne Quinn, Blue Star Chair and past District director.<\/p>\n

The Garden Clubs hold ceremonies at the memorial four times a year\u2014on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day\u2014inviting the public to join in honoring U.S. military service members. <\/p>\n

For Veterans Day 2025, National Garden Clubs<\/a> and Keep America Beautiful<\/a> announced a joint effort to refresh and maintain these sites, focusing on litter removal, new plantings and landscape enhancements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more pleased to be partnering with National Garden Clubs to bring renewed beauty and care to Blue and Gold Star Memorial Markers across the country,\u201d said Jennifer Lawson, President and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. <\/p>\n

She added: \u201cTogether, we\u2019ll transform the places where communities come together to reflect, remember, and give thanks for the sacrifices made by those in uniform and the families who stand beside them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue and Gold Star Memorial Markers symbolize great pride in our nation\u2019s veterans and are among the National Garden Clubs\u2019 most treasured traditions,\u201d said Donna Donnelly, President of National Garden Clubs, Inc. \u201cEach one shares a story of courage, service, and patriotism. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur partnership with Keep America Beautiful will help ensure that these Memorial Markers continue to bloom with beauty, hope, and remembrance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CourtesyA Veterans Day ceremony at the Blue Star Memorial at the entrance to Fort Wadsworth honored service members past, present and future. The event was hosted by the First District Garden Clubs of New York, Inc., which represents more than 150 members from four Staten Island clubs. (Courtesy Suzanne Quinn)Courtesy Suzanne QuinnAbout the Blue Star Memorial Program<\/p>\n

The Blue Star Memorial program, established by National Garden Clubs in 1945, honors all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces through memorial markers, gardens and designated \u201cBlue Star Memorial Highways.\u201d <\/p>\n

Its name comes from the blue star displayed on service banners during World War II by families with loved ones in uniform. The organization later introduced Gold Star Markers to recognize families who lost a service member. More than 4,000 Blue and Gold Star markers are now placed across the country.<\/p>\n

Those interested in membership or event information can attend a meeting or visit district1fgcnys.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A Veterans Day ceremony at the Blue Star Memorial, at the entrance to Fort…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-41385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}