Before the green flag waves and the NASCAR industry recognizes fallen service members with 600 Miles of Remembrance on Sunday, George Lutz will be on the infield grass at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Along with dozens of other volunteers, he will lead the unfurling of a giant Honor and Remember flag. The flag, Lutz hopes, will soon become the federally recognized symbol of respect and appreciation for fallen service members – and a reminder for all Americans that those who gave everything for their country should never be forgotten.

Through his non-profit Honor and Remember, an official partner of NASCAR IMPACT, Lutz will host many Gold Star families at the race track this weekend, their fallen loved ones’ names adorning the windshields of NASCAR Cup Series cars.

Lutz’s new book, Tragedy to Tribute, recounts the story of his own family’s tragic loss when his son George Anthony “Tony” Lutz II was killed while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq in 2005.

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It’s been almost 20 years since Tony tragically lost his life in Iraq. You’ve since made it your life’s mission to ensure that his memory, and the memories of other fallen service members are never forgotten. Why was it important to tell Tony’s story in this way?

After Tony’s death, I went down a spiritual path, if you will, and in my conversations with God, I came to realize that I knew that I would see him again. But what I didn’t know was what direction I should take next.

I started to lean in the direction of … how were other families [of fallen service members] feeling? How did they gain comfort? What came to them that they could embrace and give them any kind of hope?

I started to go and meet families and talk to them and share with them. And I realized that they didn’t have that structure, that support group people need when they experience tragedies. And so over time I started gathering families for meals and other things, and these were opportunities to embrace, to cry together and to share stories of their loved ones.

What I realized during that time and through these experiences was that the one thing that these families wanted more than anything was for their loved ones to be remembered. That was the one thing that these families really clung to. So the burning question in my mind was … how can every family make sure that their loved one is not forgotten?

I came to the realization that something had to be created that got everybody’s attention. The families will never forget, of course. I wear Tony’s dog tag around my neck. It was on my son’s body before he was buried. But how do we ensure that every single fallen service member is not forgotten by the general population?

So I thought, well, I’m going to create a flag. And I’m going to get that flag on every flagpole in America, and I’m going to make sure that families, wherever they live, will see this flag flying. And once we educate the families and the population about what it means and why it’s important, then every fallen hero family in America will then know that the flag is flying for them and flying for their loved ones.

Tony’s death became a means for me to have this wake-up call and realize this was necessary — to put something together so that America would never forget. And then it took, you know, God’s hand on my life to give me the energy and the passion and the relentless pursuit to make sure that I never gave up until it was achieved.

Tragedy to Tribute chronicles the journey of the organization you founded, Honor and Remember, and its growth over the years. What are you most proud of when you consider the impact and influence that Honor and Remember has had since 2008?

Since its inception on Memorial Day of 2008, I never imagined that the Honor and Remember flag would become as prominent as it has become. But here we are and it’s taken a long time.

The POW/MIA flag came along in 1971. It was 18 years later that it was finally recognized by the U.S. government. So I knew this was going to take time and that it would be a journey that required a wise approach. And that approach was founded on building relationships. With NASCAR, we have a 14-year relationship and now we’re an IMPACT partner … that’s all part of this step-by-step journey.

I’ve driven to all 48 contiguous states and I’ve been to Alaska and Hawaii to bring this message to every legislator in America, and that allowed us to get 28 state adoptions of the Honor and Remember flag as their state symbol of remembrance. I’ve visited Capitol Hill and I’ve told my story and there have been seven bills in Congress to make this flag a national symbol. Currently H.R. 1363 awaits a vote.

All that didn’t come without effort and a focus of helping people understand that the flag was meant to be a gift to the families. If we could get the flag flying on all these flagpoles, we’d giving an amazing gift to families by letting them know that we haven’t forgotten. Freedom comes at a price, and so many Americans don’t know how to express thanks to those who’ve paid the cost.

The role of NASCAR and the industry’s embrace of Honor and Remember is featured prominently in your book. What does the support of the NASCAR community mean to you, personally? How is it advancing the mission of Honor and Remember?

The NASCAR relationship began by getting to know people on the ground floor and passionately saying, “Hey, I’ve got something I think is important and you should think it’s important, and maybe together we can make some small difference.” And that’s how it started.

NASCAR for years has done a wonderful job celebrating our military and honoring veterans, but you can’t honor the military without remembering the fallen. These men and women didn’t get to be veterans. They didn’t get to come home and have a family and a career and continue to live under the freedoms that they died to protect, right?

And I think that that message resonated with NASCAR and I was allowed to be that navigator for them, that advocate that would help the industry come together to remember the fallen. Together the message from the sport has been that we proudly remember those that gave their lives so that we could enjoy what we do on a weekend basis. And so, personally, it means the world to me. NASCAR has helped me tell this story on a much broader scale, and to a massive audience of race fans.

The 600 Miles of Remembrance has become such an integral part of the Coca-Cola 600 and, more broadly, the sport’s efforts to honor and remember the fallen on Memorial Day Weekend. What impact does this program have on Gold Star Families?

You know, we’ve been working on and evolving this for a long time and the collaboration with NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway and the race teams has been tremendous. It allows us to bring families that have been grieving to a place where they can not only lose themselves in the pomp and circumstance of an amazing race weekend, but they can also realize and recognize that their loved one has been embraced by a community that really gets it.

So the families come in and receive this behind-the-scenes experience that they’ve never had before, and with the addition of the names on the cars, you know, they’re just walking around on Cloud Nine. It’s a beautiful experience for them.

So, we’re actually bringing more healing to these families by bringing them together with each other, early on in the weekend and then giving them track tours and then letting them meet the race teams that they’re associated with.

It’s mind blowing for the families and to see how deeply NASCAR engages with this important message. It means the world to them.

What do you hope readers take from Tragedy to Tribute? And in what ways can NASCAR fans who are inspired to support assist in the cause of Honor and Remember?

One of the most important things fans can do is fly the Honor and Remember flag. It could be on their homes. It could be on their businesses. It could be on their churches, schoolyards or on the buildings of government legislators. And we’d like to see the flag 365 days of the year, not just on Memorial Day Weekend, because every single day is Memorial Day for a family somewhere in this country.

Next is helping us sponsor flags for families. We present personalized, handsewn flags. It is our mission to provide a flag as a free gift for every family that requests one. Honor and Remember has presented over 5,000 flags and we’re getting close to 5,500. Fans can visit Honorandremember.org to sponsor a flag or simply make a donation to our organization and support the cause.

We also have a federal bill in Congress, H.R. 1363. I would implore all fans to reach out to their local congressional offices and ask their members to sponsor the bill and help us get it passed by the end of this session, which is the end of 2026 and the year of America’s 250th anniversary.