#american gold star mothers association

After the first world war, a group called the American Gold Star Mothers’ Association lobbied for federally funded pilgrimages abroad to visit the graves of their sons and husbands who died in the line of duty while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Congress approved an act which paid for the overseas travel expenses of 6,693 women from 1930 to 1933.

From these trips, the Still Picture Branch of the @usnatarchives has preserved five albums documenting visits to various European cemeteries. View these records and learn more about the pilgrimages of Gold Star Mothers and Widows.