California National Guard Wants Gold Star License Plate Hearing

The Gold Star is the nationally recognized symbol that honors families which have lost a loved one to combat.

Proposed Gold Star Plate for California Gold Star Families. Courtesy: honorthefallen.org

(SACRAMENTO) - California National Guard representatives will join the California Department of Veterans Affairs at the state Capitol in room 1190 at 11:30 AM today for a news conference in support of the Gold Star License Plate program.

The California Guard has sponsored SB 1455, legislation that would create a Gold Star license plate honoring the families of servicemembers killed in the line of duty.

For the bill to succeed, it must be granted a hearing by the state Transportation Committee next week. The program would allow the state to honor these families for their sacrifice, much like it already does for servicemembers who are Purple Heart Medal recipients or were prisoners of war.

"More than 2,600 California National Guardsmen are presently deployed on active duty missions, more than any other state in the nation," said Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, adjutant general for the California National Guard.

"It is only fitting, then, that the state of California also set the standard in honoring those families who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

The Gold Star is the nationally recognized symbol that honors families which have lost a loved one to combat. The idea began in World War I when mothers whose sons had been killed in the line of duty began wearing a gold star on their sleeves.

Along with Maj. Gen. Wade, speakers at the conference will include Chaplain Marc Unger, father of Spc. Daniel Unger, a California Army Guardsman who was killed while saving the lives of two Iraqi contractors in 2005; Tom Johnson, CDVA secretary; state Sen. Dave Cogdill, author of SB 1455; Dale Bonner, of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, and representatives from Gold Star families.