Rooms With a Few : Community for Gold Star Mothers Has Many Vacancies

Thousands of women across America who are struggling to get by could live in a gated Long Beach community with sunny gardens, a pool, a chapel, a library and a recreation center--and with rents of about $250 a month.

But only 71 of the 348 apartments are rented to the occupants for whom they were intended.

The complex is the national retirement home for American Gold Star Mothers, available for mothers who lost a son or daughter in war.

For the time being, the other 277 apartments are rented to widows or widowers of war dead, mothers of those who survived a war and female veterans until Gold Star Mothers can be found to occupy them. The mothers must be at least 62 years of age to qualify.

American Gold Star Manor was built in 1975 on 23 park-like acres. It cost $6.2 million, and until 10 years ago was filled with mothers of the nation’s war dead.

“We have never had so few Gold Star Mothers living here. Its purpose since its inception has been to provide housing exclusively for Gold Star Mothers,” said Edward F. Leonard, a retired Navy captain who has managed the retirement home for 17 years.

The reasons for the lack of Gold Star Mothers is open to debate, but many say the low-key organization, with only one full-time employee, does not get the word out. Others say that the mothers of Americans killed in Vietnam do not want to be reminded of their tragedies.

“We had 100% Gold Star Mothers here until 10 years ago,” said Irene Prentice, 91. “Our numbers have been steadily declining since. One of our problems is most mothers who lost a son or daughter during war have never heard of the Gold Star Mothers.”

Her son, Robert, was 22 when his B-25 was shot down in the Pacific by the Japanese on March 6, 1945. She has lived in Gold Star Manor since 1976.

“This is a beautiful place. We have everything here, everything you would find at the most expensive gated condominium. This is heaven on earth for those who live here.”

The organization was founded in 1928, and its membership reached a peak of 21,000 during the 1970s. In 1984, there were 517 chapters across the nation with a membership of 5,673. Today, 323 chapters have about 3,000 members who pay dues of $10 a year.

Winona (Winnie) Tucker, 72, of Jerseyville, Ill., is president of the American Gold Star Mothers. Her only son, Arthur, an infantryman, was killed in Vietnam eight days after his 19th birthday.

“There were 58,000 Americans lost in the Vietnam War, and most of their mothers are still living,” she said during a telephone interview at the Washington headquarters of Gold Star Mothers. “I’m sure many of the Vietnam mothers would love to live at the manor if they only knew about it.”

But others said the complex might not be not appealing to mothers of those who died in Vietnam.

“Most of the Vietnam mothers I have talked to are still bitter, so upset because of that war that they don’t want to be reminded of it by coming to a place like this,” said Catherine Poteet, 70. She and her husband, Ben, 75, are one of nine couples in the retirement complex. Their son, Thomas, was 20 and a private first class in the Army when he was killed in Vietnam on April 3, 1967.

“I’ve tried to explain to many mothers who are widows and lost sons in Vietnam that they could have a much better life if they moved here. We’ve had open house here, but Vietnam mothers did not come out.

“Especially now with the recession, you would think they would want to move here, particularly if they were in need.”

The idea of a national home for Gold Star Mothers began when the organization bought 93 acres of World War II Navy housing at Spring Street and Santa Fe Avenue in 1957. Property values increased, and in 1972 the organization sold 30 acres for $1 million and leased 40 acres for development of a mobile home community.

The retirement home was built and operated with investment earnings from the sale of the land 20 years ago, from the mobile home park lease and income from apartment rentals.

Residents of the home, at 3021 Gold Star Drive, are unabashedly patriotic and fly American flags from their balconies every day.

“We fly the flag to honor America and in memory of the loved ones we lost in the service of their country,” said Marvel Peterson, 83, of Holdrege, Neb., who has lived in the manor 17 years. Her son, Dale, was in the Air Force and was killed at 21 during the Korean War.

But members emphasized that they are not a “crying organization.”

“We don’t get together and cry. That’s not our purpose,” said Nora J. Golsh, 67, former national president of the Gold Star Mothers from La Crescenta. Her son, Stephen, was 23 when he was killed in Vietnam while in the Army.

“We feel very comfortable with one another because we share this common bond. And we are very proud of the American Gold Star Manor.”