RICHMOND, Va. — A 90-year-old Army veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II is thanking people who supported his battle to keep a 21-foot flagpole in his front yard, now that his homeowners’ association has dropped its demand that he take it down.
Retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot read a statement Wednesday thanking “neighbors and people all through the country who have supported me in flying the American flag here in front of my home.”
Barfoot’s comments came a day after the Sussex Square homeowners’ association dropped threats of legal action against him. He had erected the flagpole in September, despite being denied permission to do so because it violated the neighborhood’s aesthetic guidelines. The association originally had threatened to take Barfoot to court if he failed to remove the pole by Friday.
“In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference,” he said.
The issue generated attention nationwide, including support for Barfoot from Virginia’s U.S. senators. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday called the homeowners group’s request “silly.”
Neighborhood association president Glenn Wilson said that the dispute wasn’t about the flag or patriotism, but about the pole. He said that many residents of the suburban townhouse community fly their American flags on house-mounted poles.
Barfoot, a Mississippi native, was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II 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 earned the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.
State News
Medal of Honor vet vows to fly US flag unhindered
- State News
-
-
MDOC battles back against inmate cell phones
State corrections officials are going high tech to combat the problems of illegal cell phones making their way to inmates.
-
Turtle egg rescue at space center billed success
The turtle rescue effort at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is winding down.
-
US terror training in Yemen reflects wider program
U.S. special operations forces are expanding their training of the Yemeni military as the Obama administration broadens its program to counter terrorism in countries reluctant to harbor a visible American military presence.
-
Most Miss. school districts favor dress codes
The Mississippi School Boards Association says a recent survey found that 61 percent of the state’s public school districts require uniforms or something similar.
-
Time of quadruple killings not known; IDs released
A 26-year-old woman originally from Slidell is identified as the fourth victim of a quadruple killing in a trailer park near Lake Charles.
-
Rust seeks partners in restoration
Rust College has asked the Marshall County Board of Supervisors to support application for an $800,000 grant to help restore five historic buildings on the former Mississippi Industrial College campus.
-
Greenville homicide rate highest in Miss.
Although Jackson has had more homicides so far this year than any other city in the state, Greenville’s rate is nearly double that of Mississippi’s capital.
Greenville had 11 homicides through Sept. 1, compared with 28 in Jackson, the Delta Democrat Times reported Monday. -
Grant sought for Meridian’s historic Threefoot
Harsh economic times have stymied efforts to restore Meridian’s Threefoot Building, a 16-story Art Deco structure now listed as one of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places.
-
Rehabbed eagle injured again, back with Bolm
A bald eagle nursed back to health and released in June is back with a Vicksburg wildlife rehabilitator.
-
Hermine gives south Texas another tropical lashing
Tropical Storm Hermine gave a wet and windy punch to Texas on Tuesday but left only minor scrapes in the storm-weary Rio Grande Valley, which is proving resilient this hurricane season after taking a third tropical system on the chin.
- More State News Headlines
-
MDOC battles back against inmate cell phones
