Gold Star family pushes for new state license plate
By Jon Schoenheider
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GORHAM, New Hampshire (WMUR) — A bill moving through the state legislature could give New Hampshire Gold Star families more options for license plates, led by Gorham parents who lost their son overseas.
In November 2023, SSgt. Tanner Grone died in a helicopter crash before being brought home to a town-wide ceremony to honor him.
The 26-year-old was one of five U.S. Special Operations aviation soldiers to die during a routine training flight near Cyprus. Reports indicated the crash was due to an in-flight emergency, and not due to hostile actions.
To honor him in her own way, Tanner’s mom, Erica, got a “Gold Star Mother” vanity license plate in August 2024. At the time, she was the only family member who could get such a plate.
“It just didn’t seem right that I was the only one receiving this,” she said.
Since there were no additional vanity plate options for other family members, the Grones decided to make a change. The goal was to create a Gold Star plate for Steve as Tanner’s dad, and one for their daughter, Emily
“(Emily) was by my side the whole time,” said Erica, “and Steve and I made choices raising them together, it wasn’t me on my own.”
The family reached out to their local representatives to ask for more options. That included contacting State Rep. Michael Murphy, who is now the prime sponsor for House Bill 1070, the bill that would add more options.
Murphy said this wasn’t the first time other plates were suggested, as others have tried in years past.
“It wasn’t feasible monetarily,” Murphy said. “It cost a lot of money to change things over the plates, and that was taxpayer money. So that’s kind of why it all got shot down before.”
With support from other lawmakers and the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the Grones say they were informed the design would stay similar. Instead of “Mother” on the bottom of the star printed on the left side of the plate, the word would change to options like “Father” and “Family” on the new additions.
“We just wanted everybody to have their choice of what they wanted,” Murphy said.
It’s a choice that the Grones have heard other families want, too, which has bolstered their efforts. They say the idea has received traction online from other Gold Star families, some of whom tried to propose the same idea in the past.
“The time has come for it,” said Tanner’s father, Steve. “It’s the right thing to do.”
The bill was approved by the State House Committee and Finance Committee last week. It’s now waiting for approval in the State Senate.
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