INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, Aug. 20, the Garden Club of Indiana Inc. (TGCI) installed a Blue Star Memorial at Holliday Park in Indianapolis. The Blue Star Memorials Program, active since 1945, honors all men and women who serve in the United States Armed Services. The Blue Star Memorial plaque is near the Holliday Park ruins.
The Blue Star Memorial program began in 1944 when the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs planted 8,000 Dogwood trees as a living memorial to veterans of World War II. What we see today is a program that has expanded to include all men and women who had served, were serving or would serve in the armed services of the United States. Memorial Markers and By-Way markers were added to the Highway Markers, to be used at locations such as National cemeteries, parks, veteran’s facilities, and gardens.
In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs adopted this program and began a Blue Star Highway system that covers thousands of miles across the Continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Blue Star Memorial Highway Markers have been placed at locations along the route.
In the 1950s, the State of Indiana tasked The Garden Club of Indiana Inc (TGCI) with implementing the Blue Star Memorial and Gold Star Memorial in our state. TGCI’s longest standing marker was installed in Fort Wayne in September 1950. To date 63 of these memorials have been put in place.