“Gold Star” license plates are now available from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. The license plates allow relatives of U.S. soldiers killed in the line of duty to honor their fallen family member. To be eligible to receive the special license plates, the licensee must be a direct relative of a soldier killed in the line of duty.

Gov. Jim Gibbons gave the first two Gold Star license plates to Roger Varela and Sally Wiley at the DMV office in Carson City.

Varela, a Fernley resident and the founder of the Gold Star Families of Northern Nevada, was presented Gold Star license plate 0001. Varela’s son, Ray, was killed near Baghdad May 19, 2007, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Wiley, a Gardnerville resident, received Gold Star plate 0002. Wiley’s son, Sean, was killed Feb. 15, 2009 near As Salam, Iraq. His vehicle was also struck by an IED.

The Gold Star license plate does not raise funds for any organization. The cost for a set is $1 which is the cost to produce the plate.

The Gold Star plates feature a single gold star next to the letters “FV”, which stand for Fallen Veteran.