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# Elks host ‘Gold Star’ moms
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/elks-host-gold-star-moms/
- Published: 2003-06-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:25:22.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press Staff*

The mothers of a handful of veterans who lost their lives in the line of duty had a day out courtesy of the Elks last weekend.

The Santa Monica Elks on Sunday hosted six “Gold Star” mothers for brunch and entertainment at their local lodge.

President Woodrow Wilson in May of 1918 declared that women should wear a black arm band on their left arm with a gold star for each son who had given his life in service to the nation.

Two of the mothers that visited the Elks Lodge on Sunday had lost a son in World War II, three had lost a son in the Korean War and one had lost a son in Vietnam. All of the mothers now reside in a home specifically for Gold Star mothers.

In 1929, American Gold Star Mothers Inc. was incorporated in Washington D.C. and in 1940 President Franklin Roosevelt designated the last Sunday of September as Gold Star Mothers Day. Each Year the Santa Monica Elks #906 pick up the ladies and bring them to the lodge for the day.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 26, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062603.pdf?ref=smdp.com)