Photos courtesy Glenn McKinney

They were everywhere during World War II. From the one- to four-star versions (above) that hung in the windows of servicemen's parents' homes, to the multiple-star flags like this one (left) in Cliffside Methodist Church, showing that 53 sons and daughters of the parishoners had gone to war.

If a serviceman had been killed, his blue star was replaced by a gold one.

It was common in churches to display a group of framed photographs of those in service. The one below is from the Cliffside Methodist Church sometime during the war.