Ethel Pedrick, whose son Charles, who was killed while loading a wounded comrade onto a helicopter in Vietnam, sews 150 Christmas stockings every year on the machine in her Alameda home; on Dec. 28, she starts the next years batch. (David Paul Morris / For The Times)
Judith Young, president of the American Gold Star Mothers, at its headquarters in Washington, DC. She is holding a page from the Washington Times newspaper which she uses to keep track of soldiers who have died. (Tyrone Turner / For The Times)
Young looks at pictures of five Marines killed in Iraq. Her group scans newspapers for death notices and tries to reach families, to let them know the Gold Stars are there, if needed. (Tyrone Turner / For The Times)
Applications for membership by mothers whose sons were killed in WWI. (Tyrone Turner / For The Times)
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Young’s son Jeffrey was killed in the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing. She keeps the Gold Star Mothers Washington clubhouse running, living out of a suitcase. (Tyrone Turner / For The Times)
