Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker Coming to Wrightsville Beach

The Harbor Island Garden Club is sponsoring a Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker placement on Wrightsville Beach.

Blue Star Memorial Markers honor veterans for their service to our country. There are over 3,000 markers throughout the United States, and now there will be a new stop in Wrightsville Beach.

The markers are of three types.

Blue Star Memorial Highway Markers are placed along highways. In North Carolina, there are more than 1,000 miles in the Blue Star Highway network operated in partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Blue Star Memorial Markers are placed at non-highway locations, including national cemeteries and veterans medical centers.

Blue Star By-Way Markers are placed in historic sites, civic gardens and parks.

The Blue Star originates from World War II, when the symbol was seen on flags or banners in the homes of families that had a son or daughter in the service. 

The markers originated in New Jersey in 1944. The president of the Garden Club of New Jersey and the roadside chairman wanted to honor the state’s World War II veterans with a living memorial. The club planted 8,000 flowering dogwood trees with the aim to plant one for every man and woman from New Jersey who served during the war.

The program quickly caught on, and in 1945 the National Council of State Garden Clubs approved a project for a national coast-to-coast Blue Star connected highway and seven north-to-south routes.

There are 110 Blue Star and Gold Star markers in North Carolina. The addition of a Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker to Wrightsville Beach ties the Harbor Island Garden Club to garden clubs across the country.

The Wrightsville Beach marker has been several years in the making. Leigh Kelly, a member of the Harbor Island Garden Club, suggested the club add a Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker to the town. Her father is a veteran, and after attending a state meeting, Kelly was inspired to bring one to Wrightsville Beach.

North Carolina has the highest number of Blue Star markers in the country, and club members felt it was important to bring one to Wrightsville.

“My dad was in the Marine Corps and my son is in the Air Force. We are excited and moved by the opportunity to pay tribute to the residents and visitors of Wrightsville Beach who have served in our armed forces on behalf of the Harbor Island Garden Club,” says club president Ashley Miller.

The National Garden Club requires that a garden be built around the sign.

The Harbor Island Garden Club’s vision is for the garden to be a place where veterans can come and have a small space of peace and an attraction for everyone.

“The Harbor Island Garden Club aims to create a patriotic garden around the marker, with red, white and blue flowers,” says Kim Wilt, chair of the Blue Star committee. “It’s about veterans and honoring them.”

The Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker will be dedicated Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. The event will be held at the greenway space at the intersection of Keel Street and Old Causeway Drive.

The Harbor Island Garden Club would like as many veterans as possible to attend, so they and their families can be recognized. The public is also invited.

Jon Evans from WECT will serve as the master of ceremonies, light refreshments will be served, patriotic music will be played, and Wilt and Zeke Partin, a chair of the Blue Star Memorial Marker program, will provide a history. 

“As a Marine Corps, Vietnam veteran I think I can speak for all veterans to express our heartfelt thanks for the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker being erected. These memorials serve to remind veterans that people do care. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Harbor Island Garden Club and the Town of Wrightsville Beach for their hard work and dedication in bringing this historic memorial to our town,” says Joe Partin, a veteran and Zeke Partin’s husband.

Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker Dedication
November 9th at 2 p.m.
At the intersection of Keel Street and Old Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach.

The Harbor Island Garden Club would like as many veterans as possible to attend, so they and their families can be recognized. The public is also invited.