Gold Star family to attend fallen heroes ceremony
Midge Beachem and her husband, James, are proud members of an elite group, but it’s a group that no one would willingly join.
The Beachems are a Gold Star Family, one of 46 such families who will attend the Fallen Heroes Memorial Wall ceremony Saturday at an Army Reserve center in Darien, Ill.
The ceremony will honor 46 soldiers who were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their families will travel from 28 states to attend the ceremony.
“I hate the wars, but I am proud of what my son did,” said Mrs. Beachem, a longtime resident of Ross.
Her son, Army Spc. Robert E. Hall, 30, of Bellevue was killed in action on June 28, 2005, in Baqubah, Iraq.
He was on duty guarding the entrance of Forward Operating Base O’Ryan when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb.
Spc. Hall had served eight years in the Army and was a member of the Individual Ready Reserve when he was called up for active duty. He was assigned to Company C, 467th Engineer Battalion, 412th Engineer Command.
As the 10th anniversary of his death approaches, his mother remembers the hallmarks of his life, including what would have been his 40th birthday — April
23.
“His bedroom is still here in our house and his pictures are in the living room,” she said.
At events such as the Fallen Heroes Memorial Wall ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Beachem will meet people who understand their loss, share stories about their son and listen to the stories of others.
Those who have not lost someone in war generally are reluctant to bring up the names and memories of those who have died, Mrs. Beachem noted.
The Gold Star designation for parents, spouses, children and siblings dates back to World War I when families flew banners and flags with blue stars for each of their children serving in the military.
If a soldier died, a gold star replaced the blue star.
In 1947, Congress approved the Gold Star lapel button to recognize the sacrifice of families who lost a loved one during service in a war.
Many people, however, do not know about it.
“There is not enough out there about the Gold Star,” Mrs. Beachem said.
Spc. Hall grew up in Ross and graduated in 1993 from North Hills High School.
In his civilian life, he worked as a driver for Waste Management Inc. in Ambridge.
In addition to his mother and stepfather, his survivors include his wife, Tracie, of Coraopolis; his daughter, Rachael, also of Coraopolis; his brother, Steven of Bellevue; and his sisters, Tara Hall of West View and Lori Unver of Boston.
Spc. Hall was 3 years old when his father was killed in a steel mill in Baltimore, his mother said.
His daughter, Rachael, was the same age when her father died.
James Beachem raised her son, Mrs. Beachem said, which makes him a “Gold Star father.”
The trip to the Fallen Heroes Memorial Wall ceremony was coordinated by the Army Reserve Survivor Outreach Services, a group that Mrs. Beachem finds to be helpful.
She has also attended outings, including Pirates baseball games and a trip to Hershey Park, provided by groups including Operation Warrior Wishes and Western Pennsylvania Families of Fallen Heroes Foundation.
She is thankful for their efforts.
She still meets regularly with a Veterans Affairs therapy group.
“We just got a new couple, and it’s less than a year since their son was killed,” Mrs. Beachem said. “They asked when will the pain stop.”
After 10 years, “the pain is not as deep, but it is still there,” she told them. “It will never go away.”