Forty American Gold Star Mothers made their annual pilgrimage to Washington to honor the memory of sons and daughters who served and died in the U.S. military.The 2010 trip was supported by the Association of the United States Army’s George Washington Chapter.The tradition started in 1936 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a proclamation calling on government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings, and the people of the United States to display the flag and to hold appropriate meetings in their homes, churches, or other suitable places, on the last Sunday in September, as public expression of the love, sorrow and reverence of the people of the United States for the American Gold Star Mothers.On the first day, Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth was the guest speaker at a dinner reception at the Hilton Hotel in Tysons Corner, Va.Duckworth supported and applauded the mothers’ nationwide campaign to raise funds for the Fisher House at Dover Air Force Base, Del., by sharing her personal story of how the Fisher House enabled her husband to be close by while she was going through her long recovery and rehabilitation as a wounded warrior. To date, the Gold Star Mothers have raised $75,000, and they expect to exceed that amount by the time the house is dedicated.On the second day, the mothers visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and placed yellow roses at the panels listing their sons’ and daughters’ names.After saying a prayer and singing God Bless America, they boarded the bus and departed for Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60), where they laid tiny Lucite "Mother’s Tears" at gravesites.Later in the day, they returned to Arlington Cemetery to participate in a formal ceremony outside the amphitheater officiated by guest speaker Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent. This was followed by a wreath ceremony at the Tomb of The Unknowns and a reception at the American Gold Star Mothers headquarters.