Virginia Homeowner’s Board Orders 90-year-old Medal of Honor Winner to Remove Flagpole, or Else!

In a priority mail five-paragraph letter, the Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond has ordered Colonel Van Barfoot to remove the pole by 5 p.m. Friday or face legal action. According to the letter, Barfoot would have to pay all legal fees and costs if the legal proceeding pursued by Sussex Square Homeowners Association is successful.

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Family members say Barfoot is the most decorated American combat veteran alive. He has been awarded more than 20 medals, including the Medal of Honor, The Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, The Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. This fall, his native state of Mississippi named a portion of a highway after him and a building at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, is named in his honor. Wounded in combat three times, the World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veteran raises the American flag every morning on the pole, then lowers and folds the flag in a three-corner military fashion at dusk each day. Although the homeowner's association doesn't explicitly forbid flagpoles, its policy stipulates they must be "aesthetically appropriate," which means only short flags on porches are permitted. Margaret Nicholls, Barfoot's daughter, said the board ordered her dad's free-standing flag pole removed in July, ruling that such flag poles are not pleasing to the board's eye. But Barfoot holds a more dignified respect for the flag:

"[a short flag on a porch] shows you got it in the half mast position... you can walk around here and I'll bet you the American flag is hanging out in the rain, nobody ever checks it."

The Homeowners Association remains adamant in prosecuting Barfoot for violating the board's denial of his request to erect a flagpole. Barfoot flew the flag on Veteran's Day this year in spite of the board's decision.

"This is not about the American flag. This about a flagpole," reads a statement issued by the board.

Not flying the flag would be a sacrilege to Barfoot:

"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," he said.

Barfoot's daughter who lives a few doors away said, "Dad sort of feels like this is the end." But she and her husband are not giving up. They are trying to generate support for her father's flag-raising rite that he has performed for most of his life. Since this saga began, Barfoot has received a sympathetic outpouring and offers of help from a lot of people, including national radio talk show host Mark Levin and US Senator Mark Warner.

Write Colonel Van T Barfoot at: 11815 Coat Bridge Ln, Richmond, VA 23238 Write, phone, or fax the law firm representing the home owner association at: Coates & Davenport 5206 Markel Road, Suite 200 Richmond VA 23230 Toll Free: (800) 450-8311 Local Phone: (804) 285-7000 General Fax: (804) 285-2849 Real Estate Fax: (804) 285-3426 Phone Sussex Square Service HOA at: 804-740-8795