The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Jim and Leslie Groves fly their Honor and Remember flag everyday to commemorate their son James Groves III who was killed in combat in Afghanistan.
“We know the true cost of freedom and that cost is a tremendous debt, and that’s a national debt that most Americans can not afford to pay,” said Jim, of Kettering.
James Groves III, 37, was killed on March 16, 2013, during his fourth tour and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He was an Army Chief Warrant Officer and left behind his wife and two sons. He was sworn into the army during his senior year of high school and served two tours in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan.
“He had a great sense of humor,” Jim said. “He had a great smile. He was a typical boy. He was a prankster.”
Their son’s death has led them to try to help pass legislation that would recognize the Honor and Remember flag in Ohio. Honor and Remember flags were created to be a national symbol of remembrance recognizing all military service members who died while serving or as a result of serving.
Honor and Remember, Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by George Lutz after his son was killed in Iraq in 2005.
House Bill 123 would allow public buildings to fly the Honor and Remember flag during normal business hours and at any location during a military memorial service. It also would give the Statehouse the option to fly the Honor and Remember flag on Memorial Day.
“I can think of no better way to honor our fallen young men and women than to remember them … and to fly that flag in their honor,” Jim Groves said. “Of all days to honor the fallen, that’s what Memorial Day is about.”
Non-personalized Honor and Remember flags can be displayed as a symbol of appreciation for the sacrifice of fallen soldiers and their families.
State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, and state Rep. Adam Miller, D-Columbus, introduced the HB 123 in March. Twenty-seven states have passed Honor and Remember flag legislation.
“One of my life goals is to continue to serve those who did,” said Rep. Joe Miller, who did not serve in the military.
He tried unsuccessfully to get the Honor and Remember Flag in the House’s version of the budget, but he told the OCJ he is talking to Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens about trying to figure out why there was pushback and possibly putting it in during conference committee — where the operating budget would go after the Senate’s version and before going to the governor’s desk for his signature.
David Root, the state legislative chairman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Department of Ohio, is also working to get this legislation passed.
“It’s just another flag that will help families find closure and remember their loved ones,” he said.
Previous versions of the bill
Similar versions of the bill have been introduced before, but have never passed.
The bill passed unanimously on the House floor in the last General Assembly, but it never got a hearing in the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee.
“I will not let this go. I will continue to keep fighting and pushing for this,” said Miller, who has now introduced this bill three times. “Not only was I surprised by the pushback, I couldn’t understand why.”
One word was tweaked in the latest version of the bill.
Miller’s bill from the last General Assembly said the “flag shall be displayed at the Statehouse” on Memorial Day.
The current bill says the “flag may be displayed at the Statehouse” on Memorial Day.
“We made it completely permissive,” Miller said. “It doesn’t have to be flown at the capital. All it is is a recognition.”
Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction, is the chair of the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee. When the OCJ reached out to Hoagland, his staff referred OCJ to retired Air Force Colonel Tom Moe who served in the Air Force from 1965-1995.
“Feelings by veterans and their families against the commercial, money-making flag called honor and remember, are strong,” Moe said. “The company that makes and sells the flag, in my opinion, preys on families of veterans, particularly Gold Star Families.”
Families of fallen soldiers don’t pay for their own personalized flags and can request one online at honorandremember.org/request-a-flag. Non-personalized flags are listed as $55 for a screen printed flag and $250 for a sewn flag.
The design of the flag
Most of the flag is red, which represents the blood of fallen soldiers. The white border at the bottom of the flag symbolizes the purity of sacrifice.
The blue star in the middle signifies active military service in conflict and the gold star inside represents the ultimate sacrifice of fallen soldiers. The flame inside the gold star is a reminder of the memory of the fallen soldier.
The folded flag beneath the star represents the final tribute to a life that was sacrificed for the nation.
Personalized Honor and Remember flags also have the name of their loved one, the day they died and where they died.
Opposition to the flag
Some people think the Honor and Remember flag looks similar to the Vietnam flag — which is red with a yellow star in the middle.
“The design of the flag itself is an insult to veterans of the Vietnam War as it mimics the design of the Vietnam Communist flag,” Moe submitted in rebuttal to Ohio’s Honor and Remember flag legislation in December 2020.
Root, who served in the military during the Vietnam War, disagrees with that assessment.
“It doesn’t look like the Vietnamese flag to me at all,” he said. “I think (the Honor and Remember Flag) is a perfectly good design.”
Miller said a lot of things are going to “trigger” people.
“Maybe you shouldn’t let a color trigger you,” he said. “And if you don’t think you’re gonna have red … then I’m sorry, it’s truly not really accurate.”
“If you don’t like the design, don’t fly it,” he said.
Another pushback with the Honor and Remember flag is some people think this would replace the United States flag when it comes to honoring fallen soldiers.
“(The Honor and Remember flag) detracts from the sacred symbol of the U. S. flag, the symbol of sacrifice and honor of all those who have served the United States in many ways, especially in military service, many of whom have given their lives in this service,” Moe wrote in his 2020 rebuttal.
Root doesn’t see it that way.
“Nothing is going to replace the American flag,” Root said. “That is our flag. And that will always be. This flag is just an additional flag.”
He said it’s no different from the Ohio State University flying their own flag.
“(The Honor and Remember flag is) just another flag that will help families find closure and remember their loved ones,” Root said. “It’s not gonna replace any flag at all.”
