Blue and Gold Star Memorials Find a Home in Old Lyme

OLD LYME, CT – In a Saturday morning ceremony roughly a year in the making, the Duck River Garden Club led the unveiling of Blue Star and Gold Star Memorial plaques honoring military service and commemorating those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Immediately before the dedication, ceremonial flags bearing the respective colored stars covered the plaques on either side of the existing monument. Dating to World War I, the flags honor families with loved ones serving in the military. The tradition inspired a New Jersey garden club to plant thousands of dogwood trees as a living memorial, an effort that grew into the nationwide Blue Star Memorial Highway program. In Connecticut, Interstate 95 from New Haven to the Rhode Island border is a designated Blue Star Highway, and the bridge spanning Groton and New London is known as the Gold Star Bridge.

The dogwood trees eventually gave way to cast aluminum signs on roadsides and in civic locations throughout the United States, according to Krista Fiorini of the Federated Garden Club of Connecticut. She said Old Lyme’s Gold Star marker will be only the second in the state, with the installation of the Blue Star plaque bringing Connecticut’s total to 27. “This dedication provides the Old Lyme community with lasting symbols of remembrance and gratitude,” she said.  

The markers’ installation followed roughly a year of discussion over their size and placement, including objections from the Historic District Commission and its ultimate rejection of a proposal to attach them to the existing military monument. First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, who supported the project from its outset, assured the crowd that the town would protect the plaques in their new home. “I believe that these two byway markers are the fitting finishing touches to this memorial that has been in front of Town Hall for so long,” she said.

Gold Star Mother Karen Doyon spoke during the ceremony. Her son, Petty Officer 2nd Class Dustin Louis Doyon of Suffield, was one of 10 sailors killed on Aug. 21, 2017, aboard the USS John S. McCain. “Behind every Gold Star is a family whose life has been forever changed. There is a mother and father, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, and a lifetime of memories that will forever be cherished,” she said. “May this Blue and Gold Star Memorial serve as a permanent reminder that their lives matter, their service matters and their sacrifices will never be forgotten.”

VFW Post 1467 Commander Gregory Symonds told attendees that Old Lyme has a history of recognizing its veterans. “Freedom is not free. It has never been free,” he said. “These Blue Star and Gold Star plaques honor both the veterans and their families. I’m happy the plaques will be proudly displayed in front of the Town Hall beneath the colors of our nation.”

Shoemaker closed the ceremony by thanking Duck River Garden Club Immediate Past President Leslie Groves and member Maryellen Basham for their determination.

“And we saw it through,” Shoemaker said.