The American War Mothers is a patriotic organization founded in 1917 in Indiana. It
was originally composed of mothers whose sons and daughters served in the United
States Armed Forces during World War I. Congress chartered the American War Mothers
as a national organization in February 1925, and later expanded its membership to
mothers whose sons and daughters had served in wars in which the U.S. was engaged
after World War I, including World War II, the Korean War, and any subsequent wars
or conflicts involving the United States. The goal of the organization is to "keep
alive and develop the spirit that prompted world service, to maintain the tide of
fellowship born of that service, and to assist and further any patriotic work; to
inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation; to
work for the welfare of the Armed Forces of the United States; to assist in any way
in their power men and women who served and were wounded or incapacitated in World
Wars or Conflicts of the United States; and to foster and promote friendship and
understanding between America and the Allies." (Feb. 24, 1925, ch. 303, §3, 43
Stat. 967.)
