A Memorial Day moment....

A friend of mine sent me the following article:

Slain Soldier's Mom Rejected by Gold Star Mothers

Membership Restricted to U.S. Citizens

By JIM FITZGERALD, AP

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (May 27) - Everyone agrees that Ligaya Lagman is a Gold Star mother, part of the long line of mournful women whose sons or daughters gave their lives for their country. Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan, but American Gold Star Mothers Inc., has rejected Lagman, a Filipino, for membership because - though a permanent resident and a taxpayer - she is not a U.S. citizen.

"There's nothing we can do because that's what our organization says: You have to be an American citizen," national President Ann Herd said Thursday. "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows."

Lagman has lived in the United States for more than 20 years.

"We can't go changing the rules every time we turn around," said Herd, the national president. "When we have problems within our organization with people not abiding by the rules, we just get it straightened out, we don't change the rules."

(T)he mothers' organization has received federal assistance....