I would be willing to wager a small sum that until the Democratic National Convention last month most contemporary citizens of the United States of America had never heard of a Gold Star Family. Until the father of United States Army Captain Humayun Khan took the stage to tell his story, the phrase Gold Star Family was not familiar to the Kardashian Generation. Army Captain Humayun Khan was killed by an improvised explosive device (ied), while inspecting a guard post, on June 8, 2004 near Baqubah, Iraq.

The instant Captain Khan died his mother, his father and his siblings became a Gold Star Family.

Military.com shares the following:

If you have a family member who lost their life while in combat you may be entitled to the “Gold Star Lapel Pin “.

Public Law 534 – 89th Congress, directs the design and distribution of a lapel button, to the known as the “Gold Star Lapel Pin,” to identify widows, parents and next of kin of members of the Armed Forces of the United States who lost their lives;

After June 30, 1958
while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force;
while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party against an opposing armed force.*