"I think we can both agree that Trump should have ignored Mr. Khan's comments (although, I gotta admit, that was one hell of a line and delivery by Mr. Khan). It appears that we might disagree on the reasons we both think Trump shouldn't have said what he said, or really anything."
We may disagree on the reasoning, but there is no doubt in my mind that Trump should have just kept his pie-hole shut. We can argue whether or not they "gave" their son, but the fact remains that they lost their son through his service to this country, and they deserve a level of respect that Trump, who is notoriously thin-skinned, would not give them at first.
"It appears that you might believe that a member of a Gold Star recipient's family should never be challenged on any public comments (i.e. they are untouchable and can say anything they want, without exception and therefore, should never be questioned by anyone). Just as they have the right to free speech, I so does everyone else."
I do believe that - not that their opinion takes precedence over anyone else's, but that they have the right to say what they think without being challenged. I did not serve in the military - I started college during the tail end of the Vietnam war and had a student deferment, and by the time that deferment expired the war was winding down and they were no longer drafting. My older brother served in Vietnam, and my father served in WWII. Because I never served, I have the utmost respect for the families of those who did and who sacrificed their lives for this country. If they want to talk, I'll just listen. I may not agree with them, but I won't challenge them.
"To be honest, I don't really understand the label/term that is currently associated with family members of Gold Star recipient, "Gold Star Family" or "Gold Star Mother/Father"; after all, the "family" wasn't awarded the Gold Star."
It has nothing to do with being awarded a Gold Star. Dating back to at least WWII and including Korea and Vietnam and now the Middle East, a family would hang a small flag with a blue star in their window to let everyone know they had a child in service. If that child died in service, they would replace it with a small flag with a gold star. That's where the term "Gold Star family" came from, and even if they never displayed that flag, any family that lost someone in a war is considered a Gold Star family.
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