Medal of Honor recipient wins his battle to keep his flagpole

[Shamus]

This is but one of the reasons I will never move into a neighborhood with a homeowners association.Good for you Colonel;).


Virginia Veteran Wins Battle to Keep His Flagpole in Yard
Tuesday, December 08, 2009



AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo



RICHMOND, Va. — A 90-year-old Medal of Honor recipient can keep his 21-foot flagpole in his front yard after a homeowner's association dropped its request to remove it, a spokesman for Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Tuesday.

The Sussex Square homeowners' association likewise has agreed to drop threats to take legal action against retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said.

The association had threatened to take Barfoot to court if he failed to remove the pole from his suburban Richmond home by Friday. It had said the pole violated the neighborhood's aesthetic guidelines.

Neither Barfoot's daughter, Margaret Nicholls, nor homeowners' president Glenn Wilson immediately returned telephone messages.

Dropping the issue effectively ends a request that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday called "silly."

Warner and Sen. Jim Webb, both Virginia Democrats, had rallied behind Barfoot, a World War II veteran.

In a letter last week, Webb urged the association to "consider the exceptional nature of Col. Barfoot's service when considering his pride and determination in honoring our flag."

Barfoot's fight also has lit up veterans bulletin boards and blog sites supporting him.

Barfoot won the Medal of Honor for actions while his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944. He was credited with standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

He also won the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.

[Knaur Amarsh]

Good for the Colonel indeed. A 90 yr old MOH winning vet hoisting the national flag is unaesthetic .. jeez, what them association chaps lack in common sense and taste, they sure make up in free time.

[Southie]

Yeah homeowners associations can suck! In the "upscale" section where I live, we had a similiar situation about a flag pole. And a family that was told to take their "Yellow Ribbon - Support Our Troops" sign down because it didn't look good in the neighborhood. Their son was overseas fighting!

When I heard on the news last night that Col Barfoot won his "case" I did a "woo hoo" for him! Congrats to the Col!

[VarSity]

Us Brits arnt really one for having a flag pole in the front garden... But good job Col. Van T. Barfoot!

Honestly, short of rape and murder shouldn't Medal of Honor winners be able to do pretty much whatever they want?

"Hay Joe, take that flag pole down!"
"Ok, ill just go get the keys... I think I left them over with my MEDAL OF FRIGGIN HONOR! Get lost!"

...and thus ends the lesson.

[YellowFever]

Barfoot won the Medal of Honor for actions while his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944. He was credited with standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

He also won the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.

Oh yeah, someone who went through that is going to be really scared of "legal actions"

[chakos]

Hmm, flagpole in the front yard aint exactly something Aussies are keen on either.

Must be one of those 'only in America' things

Odd people..

[Prof]

We live at the top of the hill on a short, ~25 house cul de sac circle. All but two houses in the neighborhood always have a flag out. Nobody bugs the abstainers. No neighborhood covenant shit; just spontaneous & voluntary. Looks nice.

Prof

[Blue]

They are just lucky he is too old to go Rambo on thier ass. Evidently they haven't seen Eastwoods Gran Torino?

Honestly though, the older I get, the less I have to lose and the more brash and impatient I get. I just dare someone to tell me to take down my flag. Sure I will, then guess what I'll do with pole?

Bunch of unamerican assholes! Go build your f***ing fancy house somewhere else because that guy is one of the reasons you even HAVE A HOUSE!!!!

[astralis]

7th,

the irony is that most of the people whom showed up at the homeowners' association meeting not only had no problem with it, but warned the association that if they pressed it ALL of them would look like unpatriotic fools.

some people had to learn this the hard way.

[Dreadnought]

If they thought for a moment that a medal of honor recipient would remove the flag that he showed unwaving courage to defend only proves how much of a unpatriotic bunch of fools they really are. Hats off to the man for standing his ground and winning a right that was already his in the first place.

[Panther]

7th,

the irony is that most of the people whom showed up at the homeowners' association meeting not only had no problem with it, but warned the association that if they pressed it ALL of them would look like unpatriotic fools.

some people had to learn this the hard way.

I only heard about this around a month ago. I figured it would be next year before i heard anything further on this? Anyways, i too understood that it wasn't the flag that was reported to be the problem but the pole itself; Though i couldn't understand the home owners association's stringent position over this?

[Gun Grape]

I heard an interview with the president of the homeowners association and their lawyer.

They both say that they never wanted to sue but were afraid that if they didn't any member could do whatever they wanted to do without approval.

Using the flagpole being given an exception would have pretty much invalidated the bylaws of the association.

I understand their point. He didn't ask for a variance to the rules before putting the flagpole up. If they had let it slide than the new neighbors down the lane could paint their house some off the wall color, put in a chicken coop and claimed the right since "you let the old guy violate the agreement".

In the eyes of a Judge, and the Law, Joe the 20 year old punk and the 90 yr old man that earned the Medal of Honor are equal.

[Officer of Engineers]

Is the homeowners' association so stupid as to not grant the Colonel an exemption in a public ceremony ... on 11 November?

Apparently yes! If anyone else wants to decorate their lawns with pink elephants, they can goto the couts at their expense.

[Gun Grape]

Is the homeowners' association so stupid as to not grant the Colonel an exemption in a public ceremony ... on 11 November?

Apparently yes! If anyone else wants to decorate their lawns with pink elephants, they can goto the couts at their expense.

The problem was that he never asked to put the pole up. Even after he was notified.

The granting an exception, after the fact sets precedence. Their bylaws are useless if they do that.

[Officer of Engineers]

The granting an exception, after the fact sets precedence. Their bylaws are useless if they do that.

Horse puckey, GS. You mean to tell me that these idiots can draft a civil court paper but cannot draft an exemption supported by a majority of the association?