Emily
Wickstrom | Capital Journal
Dennis Edwards, Ed Kruse and Dick Frantsvog, of Rapid City, John Fleming, of
Sturgis, and George Lutz, founder of Honor and Remember, stand in front of the
flag Lutz made after his son was killed in Iraq.
Military
honor tour makes SD stop
By
Emily Wickstrom
emily.wickstrom@capjournal.com
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 - 12:44:55 am CDT
PIERRE
— After George Lutz’s son, George Lutz II, was killed by a sniper bullet
while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, Lutz started visiting with families that
had lost loved ones.
After finding there was not a symbol that recognized the men and women of the
United States
armed forces, he completed the Honor and Remember Flag.
On Tuesday, Lutz was met in Pierre by four members of the American Legion
Riders Post 22 of Rapid City, including Dennis Edwards, Ed Kruse and Dick
Frantsvog, of Rapid City, and John Fleming, of Sturgis.
Lutz is the founder and executive
director of Honor and Remember Inc., of
Chesapeake
,
Va.
Fleming, senior assistant director of American Legion Riders, said the four
decided to escort Lutz after their road captain, Matt Oniel, found the
information on the Honor and Remember website about what Lutz was doing. Lutz
will be escorted to
Rapid City
and
Mount Rushmore
by the members.
“As a Vietnam vet, it is an honor and very cleansing for me to show respect
to those people that gave their life for me,” said Edwards, who is on a tour
across the United States talking to elected leaders about how South Dakota can
help the Honor and Remember vision.
“I felt like I needed to be in front of these legislators and governors. It
was my message, so I thought the best person to hear it from would be me,”
Lutz said.
South Dakota
is the 27th state Lutz has visited and he has traveled more than 9,000 miles.
Lutz started at Dover Air force Base in
Delaware
on June 7.
“I started at Dover Air Force base because that is where fallen soldiers
first come home,” Lutz said. After he completes his journey on Nov. 11,
Veteran’s Day, at the
Arlington
National
Cemetery
, Lutz said he will have traveled more than 25,000 miles.
Lutz said he and his son, Kenny, 26, designed the honor flag. It’s red with
a yellow star outlined in blue and a flame on the inside of the star. The
words “Honor and Remember” are across a white bar.
The flag is intended to be flown below the
United States of America
flag.
“We researched symbolism that the military used. Each detail of the flag
symbolizes an important part of the overall meaning of the flag’s
message,” Lutz said.
Lutz said the red field represents the blood spilled by brave men and women
throughout history of
America
’s military. The white field below the gold star recognizes the purity of
sacrifice. The blue star represents active service in military conflict and
originated with World War I. The gold star signifies the ultimate sacrifice of
a warrior in active service who will not return home.
The folded flag signifies the final tribute to an individual life presented to
the family for their significant loss. The flame is an eternal reminder of the
spirit that has departed this life yet burns on in the memory of all who knew
and loved the fallen hero.
Lutz said he is visiting each capital city as well as other cities that are
easy to veer off to, although he doesn’t spend the same amount of time in
each city.
Some towns he spends three to four days and other towns he spends as little as
one day.
“Every state is unique, incredibly different and beautiful. I’ve met with
so many great people and wonderful families that have lost love ones,” Lutz
said.
Lutz said he plans to present 100 flags to gold star families.
