VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The 12th annual "Run for the Fallen" is underway.
The annual four-day event kicked off Thursday, May 2. The 240-mile Honor and Remember Run for the Fallen will honor 808 military members with ties to the state of Virginia who have died since the 2000 USS Cole attack and the beginning of the War on Terror.
Along the way, the runners stop and pay tribute to Gold Star families by reading the names of the deceased, rendering a salute, and presenting them with a flag.
While the trek is about remembering the lost troops, it is equally about their loved ones.
"We bring in the families of those that have sacrificed, we love on them, and make sure that they haven't been forgotten," said Honor and Remember founder and run organizer George Lutz.
Lutz himself is a Gold Star father. His son, Tony, died in 2005 in Iraq.
"I think that he had to give his life and everything else had to fall into place for me to be able to give this gift and bring this gift to America. And that's a powerful burden to bear. But I'm so passionate about it and believe so strongly in it that I can't think of anything else that I would want to do, you know, in my life," he said.
"Honor and Remember" is a year-round effort. The organization plans a fundraising golf tournament on June 10 at the Greenbrier Country Club.