Honoring and Remembering

This Memorial Day weekend we take time to honor and remember the brave men and women of the United States armed forces who went away to serve and never came back. They and their families have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Cpl George A. Lutz II paid the ultimate sacrifice to his country while serving in Fallujah, Iraq on December 29, 2005. With the shot of a sniper’s bullet, he joined the ranks of those we honor this weekend.

But is a weekend truly enough to take time to pause and reflect?

George Lutz, and many other Americans think there is more that we can do to honor and remember the fallen.

As the father of a fallen service member, Lutz has the unique perspective of speaking openly to the grieving families of our fallen heroes. As one might guess, the concerns that the families typically have are that their sacrifice not be in vain and that the nation never forget.

At the present time, there is not a unified national symbol to honor and remember all of the brave men and women who died in uniform serving our country – from the Revolutionary War until last week. Not one symbol... Thus the Honor and Remember flag was conceived.

George Lutz, Founder and Executive Director of Honor and Remember, Inc., works tirelessly to ensure that the Honor and Remember flag serves as a continuous reminder of those who lost their lives defending our liberty.


The following Mission, Rationale and Goals can be found on the Honor and Remember web site:

Mission: To create, establish and promote a nationally recognized flag that would fly continuously as a visible reminder to all Americans of the lives lost in defense of our national freedoms. All Military lives lost not only in action but also in service, from our nation's inception.

Rationale: In our over 200 year history there has never been an official national symbol that recognizes in gratitude and respect the ultimate sacrifice made by members of the United States military in service to our nation. The Honor and Remember Flag was created for that purpose.

Goals:

1. To promote the vision of the Honor and Remember Flag and request that visitors to the website sign a petition and pass the word about the importance of this new symbol.

2. To build a consensus among the branches of the United States military, veterans organizations, service and civic groups, businesses and individuals in order to collectively solicit the Department of Defense and the United States Congress to propose and accept the Honor and Remember Flag as the official flag for honoring all fallen servicemen and servicewomen.

3. To promote broad national awareness of and groundswell interest in the flag, so that military, government and educational facilities as well as households throughout the country would begin flying the Honor and Remember Flag in recognition of our nation's fallen warriors.

4. To place one personalized Honor and Remember Flag in the hands of immediate families who have lost a loved one in military service to America.

At the present time, there are a few official state endorsements. However, endorsements from nationally recognized organizations have been strong. The journey will be a long one, but I look forward to the day when the Honor and Remember flag is flown across all fifty states.

So as I reflect on Memorial Day weekend and its meaning, I think of Cpl George A. Lutz II and the love of a father yearning to ensure we have one unified symbol to honor our fallen.

To learn more about Honor and Remember and its mission, please visit www.honorandremember.org

There is also an area on the site where you may sign a petition, to show your support.