LEWISTON – Members of the Lewiston and Auburn Veterans Council Inc. held a memorial service commemorating the 77th anniversary of the founding of the American Gold Star Mothers.

The group was formed by 25 women who had lost sons and daughters in World War I. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1940 designating the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mothers Day.

The organization reached its peak in the 1970s with a membership of 21,000 in 525 chapters across the nation.

The service was held at the Gold Star Mothers Marker, shaped in the form of a star, located in Kennedy Park.

The program opened with the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Jerry DerBoghosian read a special prayer for Gold Star Mothers and for Mainers who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The service concluded with the singing of “God Bless America.”