Editor’s Note: This story was updated on July 15 with accurate language contained in the House’s National Defense Authorization Act. It was also updated to include comments from the flag’s supporters.
Vietnam Veterans of America, a national veterans service organization is pushing back against the use of an “Honor and Remember” flag because of a resemblance to the Bolshevik Communist flag and the flag flown by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the group claimed.
The organization argued July 2 that the flag “cannot serve as a positive symbol” for veterans who fought against communism. The flag shows a gold star on a red background — imagery reminiscent of multiple communist movements, VVA argued in a public statement.
“For Vietnam veterans especially, the striking resemblance to the flag flown by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and seen in all the images of North Vietnamese tanks invading Saigon on April 30, 1975, is impossible to ignore,” the group wrote.
A proposal in the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual, must-pass defense policy and budget bill, aims to exempt the Honor and Remember flag from a law that prohibits the display of any unapproved flags at military installations.
If passed, the flag would be included in a list of approved flags that also includes state flags, military service flags and the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, among others.
The Honor and Remember flag was created by George Lutz after the death of his son, Army Cpl. George “Tony” Lutz, who was killed by an enemy sniper in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2005. Since its creation, 29 states have adopted the Honor and Remember flag as an official symbol.
Separate from the NDAA, an effort is underway to designate the Honor and Remember flag as a national symbol of remembrance for service members and veterans who died as a result of their military service.
The proposal — originally introduced by Reps. Don Davis, D-N.C., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., along with 16 other cosponsors — was endorsed by the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in February and referred that month to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
That bill mandates that the flag be displayed at federal sites, including the U.S. Capitol, White House and national cemeteries on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day and other holidays.
“The brave men and women who laid down their lives in service to our nation deserve our deepest gratitude and lasting remembrance,” Kiggans said in a February statement. “While we can never fully repay the debt we owe them, we must always ensure their legacy is honored.”
VVA National President Tom Burke argued the idea has not been adequately discussed.
The American flag already represents the sacrifices of Americans who have died in defense of the nation, he contended in a statement.
“Rather than creating confusion and strife regarding official national symbols by introducing new federally recognized commemorative flags, VVA encourages Congress to direct its efforts towards policies that directly benefit Gold Star families, survivors, wounded veterans, and those currently serving,” Burke said.
The group’s position appeared to have deviated from its stance on the flag in 2009, when it granted permission in a letter to Honor and Remember, Inc., led by Lutz, to use the VVA logo on its website in a public show of endorsement.
The effort to use the flag as a national symbol has the support of numerous other veterans organizations, including AMVETS, POW/MIA Families, Abbey Gate Coalition and Brothers Keeper Veteran Foundation, as well as NASCAR and the National Hockey League.
In a 2025 letter of support, the Abbey Gate Coalition — a group of Gold Star families of service members killed at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021 — wrote that the Honor and Remember flag would fill a gap in national symbols dedicated to fallen troops and their families.
“The United States Flag represents our freedom. The POW/MIA flag reminds us of those who never returned home, but there is still no national emblem that speaks solely to the sacrifice of the fallen and the grief carried by the families,” the group wrote.
“The Honor and Remember Flag would fill that gap. It is not political. It is not divisive. It is a simple, powerful message of remembrance, gratitude, and love from a grateful nation.”
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She's reported on veterans and military communities for over a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
