To the moms of BVA and moms everywhere, Happy Mother’s Day! This Sunday, Americans will continue a tradition that began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis sent 500 white carnations on May 10 to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in her hometown of Grafton, West Virginia. Six years later in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a Presidential proclamation declaring the second Sunday of May to reverence and express love for the mothers of our country. Soon thereafter, a unique tie-in emerged with Mother’s Day, World War I, and our nation’s veterans.

A May 10, 2019, Time Magazine article entitled “How Military Moms Changed the History of Mother’s Day” describes the relationships as follows:

The War ended in 1918, but to make sure that veterans would keep up the tradition of reaching out to their mothers after the war, Assistant Secretary of the Navy and future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent a reminder about Mother’s Day via a May 9, 1919, telegram to the men of the Navy: “I trust that no one who has a mother still living will neglect to write or if possible visit her on this occasion. No sacrifices during the War have been more severe or borne with more bravery and cheerfulness than the sacrifices of the mothers of America.”

For additional perspectives into the relationship between Mother’s Day, service members, and veterans, including the sacrifices and losses of the former through two World Wars and the formation of the American Gold Star Mothers organization, read the Time article in its entirety here.