Steve Miller and his father, Ben, stood on Steve’s front porch near Stull, admiring the small red and white flag with one blue star hanging next to the front door.

The Blue Star Service Banner, displayed by families with loved ones serving in the U.S. armed forces, is a tribute to Steve’s son, Army Capt. Cale Miller, stationed at Camp McGovern in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A former Lawrence police officer, Cale Miller now lives in Tacoma, Wash.

The banners are nothing new to Ben Miller, 76, of Topeka. When he and his four brothers served their country in World War II, his mother was given a banner with four stars. She had to hand-sew a fifth star for the banner when Ben joined the service.

“I was the youngest and last to go,” Ben said. “I enlisted on my 18th birthday, Jan. 16, 1944. My mother, Lena, signed the papers.”

He recalled his mother telling him that the War Dads, a patriotic organization in Topeka, didn’t have banners with more than four stars.

Ben served on a minesweeper in Okinawa and the Gilbert and Marshall islands. His brothers Nicholas and George served in the U.S. Army in Europe, and brother Paul also was a sailor in the Pacific. Brother Max became ill early in his Navy stint, was hospitalized for more than a year and didn’t see combat.

Ben Miller, a retired Topeka Veterans Affairs Hospital employee, is the only surviving Miller brother.

These days, the blue star banners are being distributed mainly by the American Legion. Steve Miller picked up new banners for himself and his father at the Lawrence American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St.

Younger people may know the red, white and blue banners only from war movies. They faded in popularity during the Korean and Vietnam wars, and only a few popped up during the Persian Gulf conflict. The national American Legion is leading a push to bring them back.

Since October, the national organization has handed out close to 100,000 of the banners nationwide, said American Legion spokesman Joe March. That total doesn’t include banners that other flag companies have made available to the public.

American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 of Lawrence has given away 42 single-star and two double-star banners in the Lawrence area, said Don Dalquest, post commander. For information, call the post at 842-3415.

The banners are intended not just for parents but also spouses, siblings and other relatives of those on active duty during war or hostile conflict. Each banner can have as many as five stars.

A gold star replaces the blue star if the relative dies in service.