Since Sept. 11, flying the flag has become common in America’s neighborhoods.

But the red, white and blue banner Donna Thompson received Tuesday night is extra special. It shows her status as a serviceman’s mother.

“It shows that I’m very proud of them,” said Thompson of Lawrence. “My sons are doing their duty.”

At a ceremony Tuesday evening, Thompson became the first mother in Lawrence to receive one of the Blue Star Service Banners they’re 8-by-16 inches with a blue star on a white field framed in red for having a child called to active duty after Sept. 11.

Thompson’s 33-year-old son, Jason Thompson, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve and an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, is stationed at Fort Bliss, Tex. He hasn’t been called overseas. Donna Thompson’s other son, 30-year-old Stephen Thompson of Topeka, is also a police officer and reserve member. He hasn’t been called to active duty.

“I just want all of our children to come home safely and soon,” Donna Thompson said after accepting the banner at Tuesday’s ceremony.

The banners were a common site during World Wars I and II.

Younger people may know them only from war movies, such as “Saving Private Ryan,” in which the Ryans’ Iowa home had a star for each of their four sons serving in WWII. The banners faded in popularity during the Korean and Vietnam wars, and only a few popped up during the Persian Gulf conflict. But now the national American Legion is leading a push to bring them back.

“It shows support for the troops out there,” said Don Dalquest, who was installed Tuesday as commander of Lawrence American Legion Post 14. “It not only honors the servicemen and women, it’s a reminder that these people have moms and wives and husbands back here in our community.”

Tuesday night’s presentation was the first in Lawrence, Dalquest said. But he hopes every family of a serviceman or woman will get a banner and display it.

“It’s a way for people to say, ‘I’ve got a family member in the service, and I’m proud of it,'” he said.

Dalquest said he didn’t know how many service families are in Lawrence, but there were at least the 65 members of Company B of the Kansas National Guard’s 2nd Battalion of the 137th Infantry who were called to active duty earlier this year.

“We would like all of their parents or families to receive one,” Dalquest said.

According to history posted on the Legion Web site, the Blue Star Service Banner was designed and patented in 1917 by an Ohio Army captain who had two sons on the front lines in World War I. The symbol caught on, and by WWII, the federal government was regulating how the banners could be made, who could display them and how.

They’re not just for parents but also spouses, siblings and other relatives of those on active duty during war or hostilities. Each banner can have as many as five stars.

What no one wants to see is the other part of the tradition, Dalquest said, which holds that when a loved one dies in duty, the blue star is replaced by a gold star.

Also at Tuesday night’s ceremony, Margaret Middleton was installed as president of the Legion auxiliary.