High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World War II. The blue star was used on service flags to denote a servicemember fighting in the war. The program has since been expanded to include Memorial Markers and Memorial By-ways (since 1994). These markers are used in National Cemeteries, parks, veterans facilities, and gardens.