From Tragedy to Tribute — How One Father's Loss Sparked a National Movement of Remembrance

0:00 The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are solely those of the hosts and their guests and not those of W FORCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability, explicit or implied shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURCY Radio. Well, good afternoon, Glad you could join us. If you've been a follower of our show, you know my heart towards veterans, in particularly military. Being a former United States Marine Corps marine, you have some understanding, and especially when it comes to Memorial Day. We often talk about what a hallowed day that is is and how difficult it's been for me over the years. So often the casual response to Memorial Day was happy Memorial Day, And I just did not seem appropriate to me to say happy Memorial Day because I've always coming, you know, from a military family, so to speak. Our dad served in World War Two. He was a medic in the European Theater was at the Battle of the Bulge with Patent as a medic, and in three of his sons, including myself

1:31 and my two older brothers, served in three other branches of the government, well except my second oldest brother serving the Army, as my dad served in the Army. My oldest brother was a career Air Force and then here I the third son in the United States Marine Corps. So everything that has to do with veterans and our love for country and patriotism, it's something that was very much entwined in our lives. I've heard me say on the show that it's very difficult for me when I think of Memorial Day because I just feel the loss, not having a direct loss myself, but just feeling an incredible amount of empathy for parents and families that you know, a Memorial Day is a hollowday. And when I met George Lotts for the first time and we were talking about his book, Tragedy to Tribute, he said something that really has stayed with me ever since we talked about this, and he says, Bill, he says, for gold Star families, every day is a Memorial Day. And I said, George, exactly every day is Memorial Day. And when George lost his son Tony in two thousand and five while serving in Iraq, he entered a world no parent ever wants to know. Now you can imagine that becoming a gold Star father. But out of unimaginable grief came an unshakable mission.

3:00 With faith and fierce result, George turned sorrow into purpose by creating the Honor and Remember Flag. It's a national symbol dedicated to recognizing the sacrifice of our fallen service members in a country where symbols matter even still, George is doing what no one has done before, establishing a unified, tangible way for America to say thank you, sincerely to the families who'd loved ones gave everything for our freedom. Join us right now as we welcome George Lutz, the author of the book Tragedy a Tribute. George Lutz welcomed the show. Good to have you with us. Sir, Hey Bill, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share the story.

3:43 It's so important to so many, Well. It really is. And again, you know, I echo and I've shared with people ever since we first met George, that you know, every day is Memorial Day. And it just so you know, rhymed with my reason and connected in my spirit because I said, yes, exactly, and it explains something that I couldn't put in words, I couldn't express before. All I knew was that there was some incongruity and there was just some mismatch about Memorial Day and a lack of reverence that I felt like all Americas should have towards you know, towards gold star families, towards those that paid the ultimate price, and that needs to be recognized more than just one day a year.

4:28 Absolutely, oh absolutely, I mean, if you think about it, we enjoy the freedoms that we have been given every single day, right you know, to you know, all of those freedoms to say what we want to move about the country to to to be able to you know, just you know, to carry arms, what you know, all of those things that are given to us because somebody stood up and said, you know, here I am take me right. I am willing to put my life on the line, you know, from my from my the land that I own, from my family who lives there, and and so you know, in my journey of just you know, obviously of grieving when it started for me, you know, and the opportunity that I've had, the blessing I've had to meet, you know, thousands of gold Star family members from every generation, you know, and realizing that they are grieving every single day, and everything triggers them.

5:25 Bill. You know, it could be a favorite song, it could be a letter that they just found, it could be a piece of clothing. And it's not just the day they died, but it's their birthday, the day they graduated from high school, you know, the day they got married, you know, whatever it might be that triggers that for a family member, you know, they have to live that for the rest of their lives. And these men are all and women are very all similar. They're very giving of themselves. You know, they're very selfless. You know, they wanted to do something better, you know, in their lives, and so they could have stayed home. You know, my son could have stayed home. He was a really smart kid.

6:07 He was a marketer, a salesman. You know, he he was already selling cars, buying and selling cars, and he was getting his real estate license and and you know he'd already had had one. He was married and had a child. I mean, he gave all that up because he saw that something horrendous was going on in the world and he believed he can make a difference. It's the same story, you know, one hero after another. And I really think that we as Americans, we've never had a way to appreciate that or even acknowledge that, you know, until this flag was created. Well, uh, George, as I've been sharing this flag, as I told you, I just got my flag here recently, and as I've been sharing with people, it's amazing how it touches them. Uh, you know what what you've done with this flag. As you say, symbols mean something in our country. This is why our flag means so much and why I got to tell you. I resent. I'll tell you up front. I resent the Supreme Court decision that says people are free to burn our flag. I just I cannot handle it, because you know, it is the flag that we all stood and gave an oath of office too. That never expires when you enter the military, right and like your son, you know you know that there's something in there. When you come and receive that call and you respond to it, you say, hey, if

7:39 not me, then who right, And that's what Tony did, right, do you mean, you know, and you talk to him, you know, maybe you can tell us a little bit of a story about when Tony said, Hey, Dad, I'm I'm going to enter the military. What did you tell me? Yeah, I mean Tony was his own man, as I said, right, he thought on his own. He had his own dreams and inspirations, and you know, he he was living, you know, apart from us, you know, not too far away. And he came in the door one Saturday morning and and said, you know, hey Dad, I'm I joined the army and and I'm leaving for a boot camp, you know, next Saturday. I mean, that was that was as quick as it was.

8:19 I mean, he never asked my opinion, He didn't ask my advice. I mean, he already was on his own trajectory. And you know, I just looked at him and I said, Tony, are you crazy? I said that there was a war going on. We had just gone we had just started going into Iraq and O three and uh. And this was when he came to me, right in the spring of three and and he said, Dad, I've got a skill set that I believe can make a difference. He said, I believe that the women and children of o Raq are being oppressed, and I can make a difference. And and so you know, what could I say. I mean, I couldn't argue him out of it. He already made his decision. So I just I just wrapped my you know, wrapped my arms around him. You know, I gave him a big hug. You know, I told him that I loved him, and I told him to keep his head down.

9:11 And and that's all the father can do, right, just be proud. Yeah, exactly. Was was Tony affected by nine to eleven? He was. It was after nine to eleven, as so many were, that he recognized that the you know, the horrific nature of that attack, and uh he talked about it and talked about it, and yeah, he was. And I think he made that decision. I mean within a year and a half later, right. He was. You know, he had he had enlisted, but you know, he only wanted to be in the US Army. That was, he only wanted one job, Bill, and that was psychological operations. It was a job that he felt was was very much aligned with his marketing kind of sales background.

9:57 Huh. And he thought that he wasn't influencer, you know, in and of himself, and he thought that that job description would fit him to a t. And he actually, most people don't test into it from civilian life, you know, they have to be already enlisted and then they move into it, right and he and he was his test course were so high that he actually tested right into that MS. Oh wow, So he pretty much had his choice at that point. Yes, I mean, how did he know about psyop? I mean, you know, he's not even in the military, you know, I mean, I get it. I mean I've been marketing most of my life in sales and that, so I I understand that. But I would have never thought.

10:42 Of course, when I went the military, I I had a broadcasting background. So the ironic thing for me, George, is that, of course I had two brothers already in Vietnam. I'd have been a third one. And so it's like saving Private Ryan that scenario, and the Marine Corps says, oh, you've been you're you've been in radio. We're gonna make you a field radio operator. I said, no, you don't understand. That's not the same kind of radio I was. I was juvenile, playing records, you know, taking dedications, telling people about the weather, you know kind of deal. Uh not you know, not announcing bombing coordinates. And uh but anyway, as things would work out and as God would design, because it was a God deal totally, I ended up in working working for public relations and basically was the voice of Camp Pendleton and did my humble version of good morning, Camp Pendleton for my uh, for my service, you know, to the country. But uh, but it was you know, it was interesting. But just to think I would never have thought I would not have known anything about a si of opportunity in the Marine Corps.

11:46 But come to come to find out that he had researched every branch of the service, and he had researched every job description. See he actually look, you know, found you know, found this, you know, because he wanted to serve so badly, and and and that was it, you know, once he founded he's he said, this is what I want to do. So George, did he have the sense of mission to think that in terms of SIOP is taking you a we if we might say the gospel message of freedom of America to Iraq? Is that what I'm hearing from you. Well, I mean, I guess in a sense that he thought that the Psyop opportunity would enable him to make a dent in bringing resolution right and bringing resolution to the conflict, you know.

12:38 Because they wanted to they wanted to make a difference. And he was. Actually involved in the first free elections in Iraq. He was only in there for six weeks before he died, but in those six weeks he actually was was an influencer and actually stood at the ready when they had their first free elections. So he he actually did make a difference. So he did a lot in six weeks time. That's amazing, George. Yeah, he loved Psyops so much. And you know, one of the one of the reasons he liked it so much was because he was just this lowly private when he went in right, and when he got in there because Psyops is a three man team.

13:22 It's only a three man team that are assigned to Marines. He actually was with the two six Marines when he died. But he was able to influence kernels in the Marines because they listened to the Psyops. Yes, and he was. Just so proud of the fact that he would say to me, Dad, you know, I've got colonels who actually value my opinion. And he was a smart kid. He was twenty five when he died. He wasn't, you know, in his teens, so he had he had experienced life already and had a lot of common sense. So he was in something that really what really you know, clicked with them, that really resonated and and he was really proud of and and he was he was listened.

14:09 To right well, you know, and I think that that is really the goal of every humanoid is you want to do what your design calls you to do. Tony was designed to do this, and he and and as he did his research, he discovered pretty quickly that this is where he needed to be and this was the branch of service that he needed to be. So he he was he was right where you know, uh, where his his own his own spirit, his own soul, where it matched up. And uh, you know, I know, in in counseling young men and you know, uh, employment opportunities in that I often say you've got to find that round peg that your round hole fits into. Sure, you know, because if you're a if you're if you're a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Uh, those those points of resistance are going to cause friction. You're not going to be a happy camper. Uh, and and everybody else around you is not going to be happy.

15:15 So obviously George Tony was such that he was so fulfilled in that duty and acknowledged by the brass Uh. And not only that, but that he was blessed with being very effective and that's amazing in a in a six week period. So obviously before he got to a raw Iraq, was he you know, how much time was he spending here in the country and training in that then? Right? So he he enlisted in three and then he went through his basic training, he went through his A I T training, you know, he started learning his language, and he went to language school. And so a year I guess a year and a half later, Uh, after all of his training, as he was getting ready to deploy, they knew they would deploy at some point, right, right, So what happened was in five, in the summer of five, he had a second child in early August, and then he was right right away deployed to Louisiana, where he was effectively doing search and rescue after Hurricane Katrina, and so he went down there as kind of this test case, you know, with their hum v's and you know, their high waters, you know, geer and and went down there to find you know, to find bodies. But one of the things you know, in using his training they were able to do was he actually, two weeks after the event,

16:47 they were actually able to rescue two ladies who had been hidden up in an attic for for over two weeks. And you know, he told me after that that deployment, he actually was deployed to to you know, to to uh to Louisiana. You know, that was one of the most rewarding, you know moments of his life. They they were doing their thing, you know, loud speakers and all the things that psyops do, and when they found these women, uh, they were able to put them in touch with their families via satellite phone. Of course, there wasn't any power or anything that was you know that was you know accessible at that point, and the families were already that were planning the funerals of these two elderly ladies. So you know, this was just the point that you know, he realized that, hey, I'm I'm doing something I really love to do, except this is something.

17:46 I'm being a part of. I'm being effective, you know, I'm using my training and I'm making a difference. And I think that really validated him, you know, as he moved into uh, you know, into deployment just a few short months later. Right. So here he is, he's got two kids. He goes to a rock and you know, George, when when you got the news that that you had lost Tony, Uh, share that with our audience. If it's not too personal. Well, you know it's emotional. It's it'll be twenty years Bill this year. Yes, And you know, I remember vividly that morning, you know we have. I was out for a morning walk, you know, in the backyard, and you know it was just you know, a crisp December morning and I was always walking to the back to enter the back of the house.

18:44 I looked over to the. Driveway to the left and I saw this, you know, this kind of non descript white van sitting in the driveway and you know, there wasn't any markings on it that I could tell from that distance, right, And I thought, well, it's it's early in the morning. It was probably about seven thirty in the morning, you know, a little early for anybody to be visiting, right, And it was just after Christmas. And so I went in the back door and I walked through the living room and my mom was who was staying with us at the time, uh, you know, had the door, you know, open, and there were these two two guys in uniform standing on the front stoop, you know, of the porch, and you know, she's looking at me. I'm looking at them, and she goes, well, what should I do? And I said, just let him in, mom, you know, just let him in. Yeah, And so I ushered him into the into the main room.

19:39 I yelled from my wife upstairs. You know. So they haven't said anything to you, but you're you're sensing this is not good news. Something something's going on, right, Something's going on, because I'm thinking it has to do with Tony obviously. Uh you know, these are Army soldiers. I'm thinking in my head, maybe Tony's hurt, you know. Uh, I'm thinking maybe they're at the wrong house. Yeah, anything. So my wife was getting ready for work upstairs, and I I just called for her to stop what she was doing and come downstairs. And of course, you know, once once she got down there. You know, they they pulled out this piece of paper and you know, started reading.

20:29 But essentially what they were delivering with those five words, no parent wants to hear. You know, we regret to inform you. And so you know what happened after that was pretty much of a blur. Right, what are we gonna What are we going to do now? You know, where is he right? You know, are we going to be able? We're gonna be able to see them see him? You know, what about our kids? You know I have five children. You know they weren't at the house. What about our kids? How are we going to tell them? What are we going to do next? I mean, you know all of those things that you don't ever as a parent want to have to consider.

21:11 So as you're going through this journey, just like you said, something that no parent wants to hear or be involved in and part of the healing process. I don't know if you ever get healed from this per se, but I guess just the process. I think you and I talked about this before when I was talking with a dear friend who lost a son. He told me, says, Bill, you never get over it, but you get through it, and I thought that was insightful. And as you are going through that process, you know, dealing with all the questions that you got hit with in in a flashpoint, you know, what do we do? You know, what about his siblings, what about his children, his wife, all this and you know, and you know, funeral arrangements, all this.

22:02 So as you go through all that and you're able to catch your breath, you begin to realize, because your son was a man of purpose, that there was no way your son was going to in any way possible, even on the other side of this human existence. He wasn't going to let you grieve yourself to death, so to speak, but that he was going to inspire you with a purpose that heretofore you probably never would have thought about in a million years. But his legacy left you with a passion and a purpose to do something and to create a flag, to create a movement that heretofore has just been kind of waiting for some leadership and a vision to kind of coalesce the Hearts of gold Star families. Is that fair to say?

23:03 Yeah? Yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know, the next two weeks after his death, you know, we're pretty numbing and all of the things that we had to go through. He was killed on December twenty ninth. He was buried on January thirteenth, and you know, a lot had to happen, you know, in that process. And once once we put him in the ground, you know, you know, the conversations in your head begin. You know, what am I going to do next? What am I going to do at all? Do I even want to live? You know, are just real serious questions, you know, that have to be answered.

23:43 They have to be asked and answered, you know. And and and I was angry at God. I mean, I put yellow ribbons around all of my trees in the front yard, and I knew that that now they were going to be black. And so I was. I was angry at God because because God should have warned me, you know, he should have given me some idea that this might happen, even though I joked with Tony, you know, prior in our conversation, right that, and so you know, I know that you're a spiritual man. And and and one of the things that that I wrestled with, I mean very adamantly and very emotionally with was you know, were the why questions that every family asked. Of course, you know the why and the what if? And so God, God just slapped me upside the head one day, very shortly and he said yeah, he said, I mean as audibly as I could. You know, imagine, you know, he said to me, hey, you know what. I know you're hurting.

24:55 I know you're hurting. Right, He says, I know what it feels like because I lost my son too. And then he said, I will tell you. This that your son and my son are together with me in paradise. And that's well, that's all I needed. Yeah, because my self, my selfishness at having lost him was was dissolved. It was dissolved. Not that I didn't miss him, not that I don't grieve over him, as you can tell. But he was a spiritual man. The last conversation we had together, it's in the book, was on aol Insitant messenger, where Tony said to me, typed out to me, Dad, God is literally my shield.

25:45 And so I knew that I didn't have to worry about him, yes, right, I just had to worry about me and what I was going through. And that flipped this the narrative. It flipped the narrative in a way that started me thinking about other families and what they were going through and how they were grieving, and what was their assurance and did they have their questions answered? And did anybody care? Right? I mean that became the question did anybody care? Because you know, after he died, I did a lot of research because I wanted to. I wanted to hold on to something that that would somehow.

26:27 Salve my pain. And part of that salve was knowing that he didn't die in vain, right, and that somebody really cared, right, that America had some way of acknowledging that. So this is this is the mission that I went on to try to figure out how to how does America care? What do they do? What do they say? You know? What could I embrace? I mean I had the yellow ribbons. I mean I saw the support our troops, pray for our troops. But my son was no longer a troop, right, So what did we do? I'll give you an example if I might, Yes, Ah, let's say we send there's only one hundred soldiers, there's one hundred troops, and we're back home going support our troops, you know, pray for our troops. You know, rah rah rah, Let's do what we can and all but one die. Okay, we're still back here, and this is a real visual that I'm impressed with. We're all still back here, going support our troops, support our troops, pray for our troops.

27:36 But most of them are gone. And so we we. Had no mechanism to remember the ninety nine, only to remember the one exactly. The only mechanism we had, Bill was Memorial Day. And as we've already talked about, that's not enough because the families think about their loved ones every single day. You know. We we wear them around our necks. You know, we tattoo of their names on our bodies. You know, it's all of that. But America doesn't understand, you know, because you know we're mostly apathetic. I mean, we're free to be apathetic, right, But I thought, how do I cut through the apathy and and do it in a in a good way, in a positive way, in a celebratory way.

28:28 And George, this is. All coming together not only in your own mind, but as you're talking with other gold Star families, right and you're starting to connect the dots and seeing, Okay, there's something consistent. Here, there's something that needs to be done. Is that? Is that? Is that fair? Yeah? Yeah, absolutely, Because the first thing I started to do when I was realizing that other families were going through this was to start to visit other families. And so I I began to attend funeral, military funerals. I live in a military town, so I began to attend military funerals every time I heard of one. And in five six oh seven, those were horrible years. You know, we were losing a lot of our service members. And I attended a lot of funerals, and I got to know those families. I got to hug on them, to cry with them, to hear their stories, to let them know they weren't alone. And then I started to meet heroes, families who died before Tony, you know, all the way to World War Two, you know, I was meeting children.

29:39 You know, I was meeting mothers from Vietnam, you know, from Korea. I was meeting. All generations of families. And the one thing the families wanted to know more than anything was that their loved one wasn't forgotten. And so this resonated with me over and over. Well, how come they're thinking that you what is it about that that that resonates so much with them? I mean, and why aren't they remembered? You know, where was the missing piece? And and after Tony died, I started receiving gifts in the house. You know, people just sent things to us. You know. They would send unfolded flags, they would send photographs, they would send greeting cards, they would send marble statues, I mean, any everything, anything and everything, quilts, paintings, and I would get these things and I go, oh, wow, this is nice.

30:37 But you know it's I'm not a taker. I didn't I don't like to get things. I don't like attention. You know, the only reason I'm doing this is because there's not many others doing it, right. And so I realized that I wanted to give a gift. I didn't want to get them. I wanted to give them, but I didn't know what that gift was. And the more families I spoke to, and now I've spoken to thousands of families, Bills thousands. And you've in all fifty states you've deployed to, right. I've been to all fifty states. And if we have a moment, I'll tell you about my trip to Ukraine to talk about those families. Oh wow, yes, yes, okay. But I realized I wanted to give a gift after speaking to all of these families, and I wanted that gift to be remembrance. And I didn't know what that looked like. I just know I wanted to give it.

31:28 And so, after attending funerals and talking to families and looking at different gifts I was getting, I knew it wasn't about just writing a story or going on television and telling my loss. It had to be something permanent. It had to be something legacy minded, right. And the one thing that I kept running into when I went to these funerals were flags. Flaglines. I kept seeing lines of US flags, you know, at the funeral with Utans right standing there, right, And so I kept going, I need to I need to do something like this. And what I finally realized was the fallen needed a flag. We needed to we needed to have a flag that represented our nation's fallen service members.

32:20 Now, when that idea coalesced in your mind, was that like three o'clock in the morning kind of idea or was it? How did the idea of this flag because I mean, this is just it's so awesome. It's almost like I have this sense that God himself said, hey, I got the symbol for you, right. It's it's such a mismash of processes in my brain. It's hard. It's hard to articulate exactly what that was. But I was a grieving dad. I'm an introvert, believe it or not. I didn't want to do it, but this idea came to me. We need a flag. We have flags for everything in this country. We know we have our US flag that represents our country. We have our POW flag that represents our fallen and missing. Every branch of the service has a flag. Every college and university has a flag.

33:15 Everybody has a flag. We even have a flag on the golf course that directs your golf ball. And I thought, the one flag we're missing, the one flag we needed, is a flag that represents the people who enable us to fly every other flag. If you look at it, if you look at it that way, yes, And so I didn't want to do it. I just wanted the idea to be taken and somebody to do it. So I started floating it around and saying, hey, what do you think of this? And you know, to my veteran friends, I'm thinking of it. We need a flag and oh yeah, that's a good idea. And so I finally wrote to my congressman, and my congressman came back, you know, months later, and said, well, we've asked around and the American flag is enough, so we don't need any other flags. And and honestly I was devastated. I thought, I went, come on, guys, men and women are losing their lives. We need to reckon how are we recognizing them? You tell me how we're recognizing them, and I'll embrace that right, that symbol.

34:26 And and so I was deflated for months and months and months until another conversation with God, I mean came from a from a word at church. We went and visited to another church and the preacher, you know, gave me a word from God and and said, God has told me to tell you that you are about to be launched on something that you've never expected. Buckle your seat belt because you're going to be launched. Uh, you know, so, so get ready. The countdown has begun. And I went, what what? My wife, I looked at you you and go what is he talking about.

35:06 Yeah, this is not of nowhere, right that he makes This is. Out of nowhere, completely out of nowhere. And so my wife says, well, maybe he's talking about the flag, and I go, nobody wants the flag, you know. I go and I'm not going to do it. I'm not talented enough to do it. I don't have the skill set. And so the next day, you know, in my prayer time, I said, okay, God, are you talking about the flag? And he said, if you think it's important, then you have to do it, and if you do it, then I will walk with you every step of the way. And I just I just went, WHOA. I said, yeah, I do think it's important. And this was in February of two thousand and eight, and by May.

35:54 Everything fell into place. Bill. I had the nonprofit organized, had I had my board complete, I had a website in development, I had the whole process of the flag design. And on Memorial Day of eight is when I unveiled it publicly to the nation to become our national our nations and national symbol of remembrance. Well and today, fast forward, we're what twenty eight state legislatures. Wow, two weeks ago we got we got New Hampshire. Well, congratulations, that's great news. I didn't I didn't get that report. So I'll add that, add that to the list.

36:39 And so slowly but surely they're coming around. As I mentioned to you, George, I mean, I believe this is why God brought us together and that we're to take it to another level. And of course, as I mentioned to you, I'm heavily involved with the with the Knights. I'm I'm a faithful navigator for for Palm City in Florida and the Fourth Degree the Surnights, the fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus are our central principle is patriotism. And so when I presented this to several of the board members right away, they didn't hesitate whatsoever. I said, Yeah, we're in. We're in. Get the flag. And so we got the flag and we're going to proudly carry it at every patriotic event in parade that the Knights are involved with. I'm talking with other assemblies as well to get them involved. I just so believe in what you're doing.

37:43 And now to hear the background, now this even makes even much more sense into why God has connected us and you know, I'll tell you I'm honored. I'm honored to co labor with you to this and George, well, well thank you. I mean, you know, as I go through this, you know, I have my my roller coaster ride bill. You know, there's a lot out there that you know, have they don't understand the depth of what this really and truly means. I mean, I I believe, I mean, and you know, try not to sound prideful at all, but I believe we're on the precipice of bringing pa, of raising the level of patriotism in this country because we've never stopped to recognize the lives that have been given for this country in such a magnanimous way, because we've relegated them to a day that nobody remembers, you know, And so it's not a piece of cloth. It's an opportunity for every citizen in America to stand up and say thank you to the people they don't know who gave them the freedoms that they enjoy every day. And so if you look at it in a way that goes beyond you know, goes beyond even history, it's that we're coming to our two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of our country's birth.

39:13 But I don't hear anybody talking about the sacrifice that was given to get to two hundred and fifty years. And so those lives should be celebrated just as vehemently as the birth of our nation, because they didn't get to come home and be veterans. They didn't get to come home and raise their families and to contribute in whatever career level that they were a part of. Tony would have made a heck of a difference in this life that he would have had a chance to come home. But now that he's gone, I think the difference in the he's making in his life is through this vision.

39:55 You know of what we have now. But if you look at all of all of. The things that are being done for only a few, right, if you look at post offices that are being named for heroes, roads and bridges and different entities their scholarship programs, but they're only for a few names. There's not everybody can't possibly be remembered. There isn't enough real estate in our country to name everything after everybody, right, And then there's families who will never come out of the woodwork, and even let you know. That they exist. Exactly, if you think about the Vietnam Era, they stop talking about their loved one's death. They didn't go out and tell their neighbors. They didn't make a big deal about it, because they wouldn't even left their own children talk.

40:46 There are other children, the siblings talk about it because it was too painful, and that has happened through generations. Exactly. Well, Georgie, and you think about it, and we do talk about it on this show. We say, for the I think we're at one point two million Americans who have paid the ultimate price going back to the American Revolution. One point two million. And as you say, they are family members that are still associated with the one point two million, you know, going back. Their heritage and legacy goes back to the American Revolution, and why shouldn't they be part of this of this honor. To date, you've presented nearly six thousand honor and Remember flags to gold Star families. There's a lot of gold Star families out there, and this, this honor and Remember flag is just oh, I mean it is. It just touches your heart.

41:45 And I know it's such a gift for those families. They cherish that because it's it's like it's part of their loved one that that has been lost. It's an ongoing remembrance. And I want those families to know that they're not alone, that there are millions of other Americans who are participating and sharing in their grief and their memory. And this is why it's so important to hear Tony's story. And you know, I was hoping we were going to have more time to even talk to because You've been so blessed to talk to other gold Star families and to hear their stories, and we have to do that is you know, have you back, George, so we can talk about these other stories as well, because this is what America is all about. I mean, but for them, we're not here today. You know, we're not enjoying the freedoms that are guaranteed, God given and guaranteed and clarified in case you had any doubt in our constitution and declaration of independence. George, We've got about four minutes left here, and I want to appeal. I want to appeal to our audience because this, you know, this show goes out you know, across the country and around the world, and for those that are in tune with what we're talking about.

43:11 I want them to engage and to and to join this movement of honoring those every day, not just on Memorial Day, but every day, to honor their ultimate sacrifice that they paid, so that you know, we can go out and you know, enjoy time with our family, go to a ballgame, do these things that you know, Tony can't do here and here and now and others who have paid that ultimate price. And and I just think what you've done, you know, for all of us here in coalescing, you know, coalescing the sentiment and the honor behind this flag, George, I mean, this is this is such a blessing. I know, people who contribute and the will part dissipate in this movement that they will be greatly blessed because with these flags, you are blessing others.

44:08 You're blessing other families. You're blessing other patriots in our country who may not have lost a loved one, but it will cause them to remember that our freedoms came at a price, right. Right, And I mean, and we can you know, get into the long discussion of survivor's guilt and not just the families that have lost. But it's the comrades, right that that lost their brethren and what they're going through, and some of those that have never even spoken to the families because it's been too painful. You talk about you talk about almost six thousand flags being being presented, Well, those are just the flags that were requested, Bill, Can you imagine the families that may not even know.

44:52 To request the flag that we haven't touched. You know. Those those are the ones that have come out of the woodwork. So to speak, and said, hey, I want you to I want to be recognized, you know, in this way. And so there's thousands more you know, to be reached, But then tens of thousands will never. Get give a flag too. That's why flying the flag, if you want to activate your audience, is that they should get an honor and remember flag and put it on a flagpole exactly because you're going to reach so many more thousands of people that go buy your flagpole than you might ever know in person. And so that's the visual I want to see across this country. There's thousands of flags flying on thousands of poles, so that thousands of families will recognize the fact that Hey, that business, they get it. Oh, that church, they get it. That's school, they get it.

45:46 You know, whatever it might be, that entity, that home depot, that Wendy's, that Chick fil A, you know, whatever it might be. We're sending messages of thanks across the entire network. Of this world. George. When people fly the flag and they take a picture and send it to the website. They can send it to our our email address. Okay, Uh, just if you go to Honor and remember dot org our website, right, Honor and remember dot org. All spilled out at the bottom is our contact information. I would love to see pictures of flags all over this country. Well, and also hit the donate button because we need donations. Uh you know these you know, buy a flag. There's different formats of the flag that you can fly in your yard. As George was saying, bigger flags for those that like us that are going to be using it on our parade events, this will fly very proudly alongside the American flag. And and you know again, you know we've got gold Star families that are still waiting to be presented their honor and remember flags, and you know you need budget. This is not uh this isn't cheap.

46:59 I mean when you see these flags, I mean they're very nicely done. They're great quality, George, I mean they really look good. And you know, and I know when when anybody has it, I mean they just you know, because it represents, it represents so much all in this flag. Like you say, the symbol that it represents, it's almost hard to put, you know, put it all in words, right. Every life. That's why it's so important. It specifically represents every life given in America for our freedom. Well, we've got to wrap things up. George Lots, the founder of Honor and Remember, a national nonprofit dedicated to permanent public recognition of every US service member who died in the line of duty. Go to the website. Do they go to Tragedy to Tribute dot org or they go to uh Honor and Remember dot org.

47:55 Well either one will get you to either one. Tragedy and Tribute dot org is the book specifically, but it will also take you to Honor and Remember dot org. Well, you'll learn more about what we're doing. There's thousands of pictures of flags presented to families and much more about what we have going. And for everybody in our audience. Thank you, thank you for your generosity, Thank you for coming alongside George Lutz and his family and all the other gold Star families out there that look at every day, every day of their lives until the day they die is Memorial Day, and this is such a way, very special way to honor each of those that have paid the price. George Lotz, thank you so much for being with us. Godspeed my friend.

48:42 I look forward to seeing what else we can do to come alongside and help the effort of honor and remember take care of my friend. Thank you, Bill, God bless you. God bless you, and you ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for sharing a part of your day with us. You've got the website and you know, I look forward to hearing you know about a great response to come alongside these very special and very special gold Star families that the price that they paid and the price that they will pay until they date to die. You know, how do you possibly repay that but to say thank you and if you can participate and donate and fly the honor and remember flag, God bless you, and whatever influence you may have, like tonyad, whatever you can do as an influencer to get your city, your state, whatever you know. To come along and proudly fly the Honor and Remember flag would be much appreciated. Thank you for being with us. May God bless you and keep you.

49:47 May make his face shine upon you. May he'd be gracious unto you and give you his peace. God bless Take care the supporting at the product