By Catherine Newby

ROTHSCHILD – The Gold Star Mothers Memorial Statue was unveiled in Veterans Park, Rothschild, on Gold Star Families Day, Sept. 27, to an audience of Gold Star mothers, Gold Star families, and community members. 

The Gold Star Statue is the first of its kind to recognize Gold Star families in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest and is located in central Wisconsin next to Rothschild Village Hall, 211 Grand Ave., Rothschild. 

“Those that the fallen have left behind, Gold Star Mothers, have the greatest burden of all… they must live day in and day out with the loss of their beloved child,” said Paul Gwidt, commander of Post No. 492. The Gold Star Mothers statue is not a place of sadness. It is a place of remembrance, a place of peace and most of all a place to remember that you are not alone.”

In earlier wars, a family was notified that they lost their spouse, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister by telegram. The statue depicts a mother who has just received the dreaded Western Union telegram stating that she has lost her son and realizes that he is not coming home in the way she had planned.

About 300 attended the outdoor event.