The name of the memorial refers to the Gold Star Mothers Club, formed in the aftermath of World War I.
Congress permitted the memorial to be constructed within Area 1, the central core of the District of Columbia centered on the National Mall, or Area II (adjacent to the National Mall and nearby federal lands).
[1] Under the rules established by the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003 (CWCRA), the memorial foundation had seven years (until January 2, 2020) to raise the necessary funds to build the memorial, and to obtain siting, design, and other approvals from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC), United States Commission of Fine Arts, and National Capital Planning Commission.
2819) was introduced to extend authorization to 2024, it did not advance and permission to build the memorial lapsed.
It rejected Freedom Plaza, the belvedere western terminus of Constitution Avenue on the shores of the Potomac River, and sites on Memorial Drive close to the Arlington National Cemetery Administration Building.