(Dec. 3) -- Every morning, Medal of Honor winner Col. Van T. Barfoot raises the American flag in front of his home in suburban Richmond, Va. Every sunset, he takes it down. Now his neighborhood's governing board says the stars and stripes are fine, but Barfoot's flagpole must go.
In July, the Sussex Square homeowners association denied Barfoot's request to erect the 21-foot pole, ruling that it violated the community's aesthetic guidelines, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. But the 90-year-old Army vet put it up anyway and has been flying the flag daily since Veterans Day. On Tuesday, he received a letter ordering him to remove the pole by Friday or face legal action.
The board does allow flags to fly from small poles mounted on homes. Barfoot doesn't understand why a free-standing pole is forbidden.
"Where I've been, fighting wars, displaying the flag, military installations, parades, everything else, the flag is vertical. And I've done it that way since I was in the Army," he told the newspaper.
Barfoot received the Medal of Honor for his battlefield heroics in Italy during World War II. He also fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars. News of his fight to save the flagpole has generated offers of support from fellow vets, the newspaper reported, but Barfoot's neighbors are split over the issue.
In July, the Sussex Square homeowners association denied Barfoot's request to erect the 21-foot pole, ruling that it violated the community's aesthetic guidelines, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. But the 90-year-old Army vet put it up anyway and has been flying the flag daily since Veterans Day. On Tuesday, he received a letter ordering him to remove the pole by Friday or face legal action.
The board does allow flags to fly from small poles mounted on homes. Barfoot doesn't understand why a free-standing pole is forbidden.
"Where I've been, fighting wars, displaying the flag, military installations, parades, everything else, the flag is vertical. And I've done it that way since I was in the Army," he told the newspaper.
Barfoot received the Medal of Honor for his battlefield heroics in Italy during World War II. He also fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars. News of his fight to save the flagpole has generated offers of support from fellow vets, the newspaper reported, but Barfoot's neighbors are split over the issue.
