Home Supervisor Blue Star Banner
The Blue Star Banner Program is all about remembering our local men and women who are currently serving in the military and honoring their families. Although many are familiar with the Blue Star program, many may not know that the history of the “Blue Star” symbol began around 400 BC when Alexander the Great made use of it as a sign of great heroism.
The Blue Star Program dates back to a tradition that began in World War I and carried on through World War II. The Blue Star Flag first appeared in 1917 and quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in military service. A Blue Star Flag hung in the windows of homes gained widespread use during World War II, when nearly every U.S. home or organization displayed the banner to honor those who served. Each blue star on the flag indicates a family member in military service.
At its monthly board meeting on August 11, 2011, McHenry Township Board of Trustees voted to launch a township-wide Blue Star Banner Program in order to give its residents the opportunity to show their support to the family members of those serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The qualified recipients (authorized family member) will be invited to attend a special presentation Township Board Meeting where they will be presented with the Blue Star Banner and a special Resolution in their honor. The presentations will take place in August.
The presentations are made by McHenry Township and Beta Omicron Master a McHenry sorority (formally Beta Sigma Phi, McHenry Chapter Zeta Theta). In addition to the sorority contributing the banners, they have hung a Blue Star Banner plaque in the entry foyer of the Township office building with brass plates inscribed with the names of each soldier. It commemorates the service to our country of each honoree and that their family has received a Blue Star Banner. Beta Omicron Master is a non-collegiate service sorority.
Authorized family members include the wife, husband, mother, father, stepmother or father, parent through adoption, foster parents who stand or stood loco parentis, children through adoption, brother, sister and half brother/sister of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.
To be eligible to receive a Blue Star Flag, the serviceman or servicewoman does not have to be forward deployed. The qualified family member must currently reside in McHenry Township.
If you are a member of a family residing in McHenry Township, please click here to apply for a Blue Star Banner.
E-mail the completed form to volunteer@mchenrytownship.com or fax it to 815-385-5671. You can also mail the completed form to:
Blue Star Banner Program
McHenry Township
3703 N Richmond Road
Johnsburg, IL 60051