Gold Star Mothers Accepts Non - Citizen
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 8, 2005
Filed at 7:54 a.m. ET
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (AP) -- A Jamaica-born woman whose U.S. Marine son died fighting in Iraq has finally been welcomed into the American Gold Star Mothers, which had banned non-citizens for the first 77 years of its existence.
Within an hour she was enthralling fellow members with a moving description of her son's devotion to America, ''which he chose to be his country.''
Carmen Palmer, of Mount Vernon, learned that her application had been accepted when she arrived Wednesday night for the screening of a film dedicated to women who have lost children in combat.
Judith Young, president of the Washington-based American Gold Star Mothers, was also at the screening and said she had just processed the first two applications from non-citizens since the organization's rules were changed in June....
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Women who lose children in combat are popularly known as Gold Star mothers, but membership in the American Gold Star Mothers, who support each other and do service work for veterans, is by application. The group has 933 members, Young said....
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Gold-Star-Mothers.html