The Blue Star Service Flag became a symbol of pride, honor, and service for families during World War I, with each blue star representing a family member serving in the armed forces and the banner hung in the window of the family home. It was designed and patented by World War I Army Captain Robert Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry, who had two sons on the front line, and it quickly became the unofficial symbol of a child in service. In January 1942, Army Captain George Maines requested information in a newspaper article about children serving in the armed forces, more than 1,000 mothers responded, and on February 1, 1942, more than 600 mothers organized the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. Their original goals were to bring their sons home, ensure they received the benefits they deserved, help service members' families help each other, and be there if something happened, and over the years those goals broadened to rehabilitation, hospital work, children's welfare, and civil defense while continuing to provide emotional support to members, support to active military troops, volunteer work with veterans and veterans' hospitals, and a sense of patriotism and respect for members of the Armed Forces. The Gold Star Service Flag marked the home of a family whose service member had given the ultimate sacrifice, with the custom of overlaying the Blue Star with a hand-cut Gold Star to show that the family member had died in service, a practice that began during World War I and has continued through today. Grace Darling Seibold of Washington, DC, whose son George Vaughn Seibold volunteered in 1917, trained in Canada, served with the British Royal Flying Corps and the 148th Aero Squadron, and was later confirmed dead in 1918, turned her grief into service by visiting hospitalized veterans and supporting other mothers whose sons had died in military service. After years of planning, twenty-five mothers met in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 1928, to establish the national organization American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., which was originally limited to mothers who lost sons or daughters in World War I and later expanded to include other wars and mothers of those missing in action while continuing to provide emotional support, volunteer service to veterans and veterans' hospitals, and patriotism and respect for members of the Armed Forces.