Last month, a crew with the N.C. Department of Transportation installed a Blue Star Memorial Highway marker along Sunset Avenue (N.C. 24) in front of Clinton Community Church, under the watchful eye of Clinton Garden Club members.
On Tuesday, that highway marker, as well as a Blue Star Memorial By-Way marker that will take its place at the Sampson County History Museum, were unveiled in a morning ceremony as a constant flow of traffic passed on nearby Sunset Avenue and voters visited the polls on Election Day in towns across Sampson.
The Clinton Garden Club holds the distinction of being the first such club in the state to sponsor two markers, which stand as tributes to “the Armed Forces who have defended the United States of America.”
“Today is an example of what partnerships are all about,” said Clinton Mayor Lew Starling in presenting opening remarks, lauding NCDOT officials, Clinton Garden Club members and others. “This Blue Star marker is a great tribute to the city.”
Nationally, the Blue Star Memorial Program began in 1944 with the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs and president Mrs. Lewis M. Hull devising the idea to plant thousands of dogwood trees along 5 miles of highway. That stretch of road was designated as Blue Star Drive, dedicated to World War II veterans.
The following year, the National Council of State Garden Clubs adopted the program — named for the blue star used on service flags that hung in windows of homes and businesses to denote a service member fighting in the war.
While it originally began to honor World War II veterans, the National Garden Club expanded its mission in 1951 to include all men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Over the years, the program extended to highway markers and began to recognize all men and women who had served in the U.S. military. It expanded to include memorial by-ways (since 1994), used in national cemeteries, parks, veterans facilities and gardens.
In Sampson, there is also a Blue Star Memorial in Spivey’s Corner.
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Paula Hartman, N.C. Blue Star Memorial chairperson, talked about the history of the Blue Star program, the marker and its significance. There are more than 110 markers in North Carolina, with roughly 3,000 across the country. North Carolina has the most Blue Star markers of any other state.
“We’ve done well,” Hartman attested. “These markers stand as a symbol for all to see, lest we forget those who help to keep us free. Let us continue to honor them.”
Gail McClanahan of the Clinton Garden Club led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, while the Garden Club’s Elizabeth Stewart recited the Official Collect of the Garden Club of North Carolina, penned by Mary Rehder Gerdes.
Col. (Ret) John F. McPhail, M.D., provided a military tribute, focusing on the “Old Guard” 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, established in 1784. Steeped in tradition, the guard now serves a primarily ceremonial role now, acting to honor service men and women in a variety of capacities. They take what they do seriously, because honoring their country and their fellow soldiers is just that important.
The Blue Star mission has a similar aim, the colonel said.
“This dedication sends a powerful message to our men and women in uniform that they will not be forgotten,” McPhail remarked. “We dedicate and beautify our highways in their remembrance. We honor the fallen and, thus, the living. Their patriotism and heroism reminds us what is best in ourselves and by telling our kids, reminds us what is best in America.”
McPhail said it was “fitting” that this particular section of N.C. 24 in Clinton was the site of a Blue Star marker, as the highway serves as a main connector from Fort Bragg, which is by population, the largest military installation in the world, to Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine base on the East Coast.
“This honors those who have served, those who are serving and those who will serve,” Clinton Garden Club President Mary Burke-Bass said. “If not for them, we would not be here. We love and appreciate our veterans.”
Dan Holland sang “America, the Beautiful,” after which Garden Club members Sarah Hesketh and Becky Finocchiaro unveiled the highway marker and Merrie McLamb and Billie DeVane unveiled the by-way marker. Ashleigh Johns then dedicated the highway marker, with Karen Collette, outgoing NCDOT Division 3 Engineer, formally accepting the marker.
Cullen Faircloth of Midway High School trumpeted an Armed Services medley giving a nod to the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard and the Rev. Dwight Dunning, who pastors the adjacent Clinton Community Church, bookended the ceremony with the invocation and benediction.
“Lord, we support them, we’re proud of them and we honor them,” said Dunning of the men and women of the Armed Services. “Bless this memorial we dedicate today. May it be a constant reminder of the gratitude we have for these men and women.”
The Blue Star Memorial Highway marker was actually installed on Oct. 24 by a NCDOT crew that included Derek Smith, Jason Westbrook and Chris Vause. Smith, an environmental engineer and Blue Star coordinator for NCDOT, has overseen the installation of some 30 markers across the state over the years, noting a run of many markers in recent years.
“North Carolina has more Blue Star markers than any other state,” said Smith. “It’s good to be a part of it and represent our department and show our appreciation to those who have given so much to the United States through their history of service.”
“We have some members whose husbands are veterans,” Burke-Bass said then. “I felt strongly that veterans should be honored in that way.”
The local Garden Club, 40 members strong, had received a visit from Hartman and heard about the Blue Star Memorial program. There, they were also told about the by-way marker, and Burke-Bass and others felt it would be beneficial to take that military tribute even further so those visiting the Sampson County History Museum could see a form of the memorial.
Hesketh, a nurse at Sampson Regional Medical Center for 36 years, has been a Clinton Garden member for the past four years. She, along with fellow member Finocchiaro, unveiled the highway marker, with Hesketh using a little ingenuity — and a North Carolina state flag posted nearby — to remove the black cloth that had been taped over the marker for the better part of two weeks.
Her husband Gerald is a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. The Blue Star stands as a tribute to his service and so many others, she said.
“It is a recognition of what or service men and women did for us,” said Hesketh.
The unveiling of the Blue Star tributes came just three days after the dedication of the Sampson County Military and Veterans Museum, located on the Sampson County History Museum grounds, which will now also be the site of a Blue Star Memorial By-Way marker.
