Un believable !

[nastygunz]

Decorated Veteran, 90, Fights to Raise Flag in His Yard
Thursday, December 03, 2009  

AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo

A veteran of three wars who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor is now facing an unlikely enemy â€" his neighbors.

Col. Van T. Barfoot, 90, has raised the Stars and Stripes every day at sunrise and lowered them every day at sunset since he served in the U.S. Army. But on Tuesday he received a letter from the law firm that represents his homeowners' association, ordering him to remove the flagpole from his Richmond, Va. yard by 5 p.m. on Friday or face "legal action."



The homeowners' association at Sussex Square community told Barfoot that the freestanding, 21-foot flagpole that he put up in September violates the neighborhood's aesthetic guidelines.

Barfoot had sought permission to install the pole shortly after he moved into the community â€" a complex of townhouses where the grounds are community property â€" last June. The board denied his request in July.

But Barfoot and his family say there is no provision in Sussex Square's rules that forbids erecting flagpoles. And for Barfoot, that's a cause worth fighting for.

"There's never been a day in my life or a place I've lived in my life that you couldn't fly the American flag," Barfoot said in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In a statement released last night, the association sought to defend its position against a growing chorus of outrage.

"This is not about the American flag. This is about a flagpole," reads the statement from the association, which insists that Barfoot directly violated its board's July ruling.

"Col. Barfoot is free to display the American flag in conformity with the neighborhood rules and restrictions. We are hopeful that Col. Barfoot will comply."

The statement reminded the public that many American flags hang from homes in the Sussex Square community, and that the board members object only to Barfoot's freestanding flagpole.

But Barfoot says he has always flown the flag from a height: "Where I've been, fighting wars ... military installations, parades, everything else, the flag is vertical. And I've done it that way since I was in the Army," Barfoot told the paper.

Barfoot is one of the country's last living World War II veterans who received the Medal of Honor. He also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War and earned a Purple Heart. In WWII, Barfoot showed his mettle in Carano, Italy, where he single-handedly destroyed a set of German machine gun nests, killed eight enemy soldiers, took 17 prisoners and stared down a tank before destroying it and killing its crew â€" all in a single day. Exhausted by his herculean efforts, he still managed to move two of his wounded men 1,700 yards to safety.

"Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers," reads the official citation for his Medal of Honor.

Barfoot's resolve is now once again being tested.

"I've flown the flag at my home as long as I can remember," said Barfoot, who lived in rural Amelia County before moving to suburban Richmond. "This is the first time in the last 36 years that I've been unable to put my flag up on the same pole, the same staff and take it down when it's time to come down.

"I don't have any qualms with [the board's] authority, but the thing about it is that I cannot get enough conversation out of them where we can try to work out a solution," Barfoot said.

Neighbors largely have expressed their support, but he realizes that ultimately it's up to the nine-member association board whether to grant an exception to the rules.

"Emotional torture is what they've done to my father," said his daughter, Margaret Nicholls. "He has lost sleep, he worries about it constantly. He just doesn't understand. He thinks that if it's on his property they can't tell him what to do."
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The American Legion - December 3, 2009


The American Legion has joined the fight being waged by a Medal of Honor recipient against a Virginia homeowner association's demands to remove a flagpole.

Col. Van Barfoot, 90, a World War II and Vietnam veteran, was ordered by the Sussex Square Homeowner's Association to remove the flag pole from his front lawn after he flew the U.S. flag on Labor Day and Veterans Day. The association is claiming that the flag pole is not "aesthetically appropriate."

"The association underestimated the fight left in this elderly veteran and now they have to contend with the determination and persistence of Col. Barfoot's 2.5 million friends in The American Legion," National Commander Clarence Hill said. "Col. Barfoot has hired legal counsel. The American Legion is prepared to help with the expenses and fight these disgraceful actions by the association. Where is the common sense here? Is this anyway to treat any American, much less a true hero like Col Barfoot?"

Fighting for the flag is not new to The American Legion, the nation's leading authority on flag etiquette. Since 1989, The Legion has been fighting for a constitutional amendment that would grant Congress the authority to protect Old Glory from desecration.

"The flag is a symbol of our country," Hill said. "People should fly it proudly. That's all Col. Barfoot wants to do. If he were desecrating the flag, instead, the association couldn't do a thing to stop him. We proudly stand with Col. Barfoot and say ‘enough already!' Let him keep the flagpole and fly the flag as often as he wants. He certainly earned that right."

"What the association is doing is especially disgraceful given the fact that our president has ordered another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in defense of our freedom," added Joseph Caouette, The American Legion's Chairman of Americanism. "I wonder what they think of all of this."


Comments from our members

MOH flagpole

Sounds like the association hangs out with the aclu.

Comment posted by eddy5119 on December 4, 2009, 10:10 am.

                           

Flag Pole

This ***** has to stop

Comment posted by DARTS1969 on December 4, 2009, 10:04 am.

                           

Welcome Home

Since Vietnam we have seen a down fall of the National Pride from the people of this country. On 9/11 the put up flags and and tied yellow ribbons around everything that wouldn't move.

But let's face it, this country has no guts for WAR and the things that come with it. They don't understand what it means to have that Flag blowing in the yard. The sad part is that they don't care either.

Stand Tall OlD Glory Stand Tall

Comment posted by James Lovelace on December 4, 2009, 9:45 am.

                           

If the homeowners

If the homeowners aasociation believes that they can bully Col. Barfoot, they have another thing coming. They are now going up against the entire country on this one. Col. Barfoot is originally from Mississippi and he has the support of the entire state behind him.

Comment posted by Tinkertoy on December 4, 2009, 9:39 am.

                           

WTH?

The association needs to apologize profusely to Colonel Barfoot, then get their uptight butts out there for his daily flag ceremonies. This situation is beyond disgusting.

Comment posted by ccboothe on December 4, 2009, 9:31 am.

                           

Flag

I am 22 yr veteran and life member of American Legion and VFW. I consider it outrageous that an American war vetran is at any time not allowed to fly the American flag at his own home, his placve of work or anywhere else in the United States.

[msmith]

I seen this on Fox news website. I voted that he should be allowed to have his flag pole. This really is outrageous! They say it's not the flag, it's the flag pole. Come on, it's almost stupid to ask someone to fly Old Glory by hanging it on their porch or one of those sticks that goes out horizontally from a porch post, you know the ones that people put the season banners on. This country is going to hell in a hand cart and it's got my shorts on fire. 

[nastygunz]

HUGE reaction across the country...I read the home owners association disconnected their phone..the good thing it has shown me is there are still some patriots left in this country...I am especially proud of the American Legion