[Restore America]

Col. Van T. Barfoot, one of the country's last-surviving Medal of Honor winners, is under the gun from his Henrico County community's homeowner association. In a five-paragraph letter to Barfoot that he received yesterday, Barfoot is being ordered to remove a flagpole from his yard. The decorated veteran of three wars, now 90 years old, raises the American flag every morning on the pole, then lowers and folds the flag at dusk each day in a three-corner military fashion. In a priority mail letter, the Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond is ordering Barfoot to remove the pole by 5 p.m. Friday or face "legal action being brought to enforce the Covenants and Restrictions against you." The letter states that Barfoot will be subject to paying all legal fees and costs in any successful legal proceeding pursued by the homeowner association's board. Barfoot lives in the Sussex Square community in far western Henrico; its board of directors rejected a plea from Barfoot in July to approve the pole, disallowing the fixture on aesthetic grounds. There is no provision in the community's rules expressly forbidding flagpoles, Barfoot's daughter said. But she said the board ruled against her father's fixture and ordered it removed in July, deciding that free-standing flag poles are not aesthetically appropriate. Short flag stands attached to porches dot the community. "Dad sort of feels like this is the end," said Margaret Nicholls, Barfoot's daughter, who lives a few doors away. But she said this morning that she and her husband are attempting to generate support for her father's cause, a flag-raising rite that he has undertaken for most of his life. Barfoot received the Medal of Honor on the battlefield during World War II in Italy and fought as well in the Korean and Vietnam wars. A portion of a highway in rural Mississippi, his native state, was named in his honor this fall. A building at McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond also carries his name. Barfoot began regularly flying the flag on Veteran's Day this year despite the Sussex Square board's decision. He said in November that not flying the flag would be a sacrilege to him. "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.

[Rappini]

Get the American Legion and the VFW involved maybe they can help.

[olrtex]

The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 may be of help to this fine American. In addition, someone may need to file a grievance against the lawyer for the homeowners’ association if he is asserting a frivolous claim, which seems likely. You have to return hardball with hardball with scum lawyers.

[TChris]

I will never voluntarily live in a community with an HOA or oppressive covenants.

The power-hungry are the most undiluted at that level.

[SES1066]

I have a nodding acquaintance with Col. Barfoot through my father who also served in the 45th Infantry Division in WW2 and Korea. I last saw the Colonel at a Remembrance Service held by these old warriors at the Air Force Academy Chapel in October 2007 where he and my father sat together.

The idea that these petty p###ant bureaucrats are bothering this honored veteran makes me wish that Kipling was still around to compose another verse of "Tommy";
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,

[raybbr]

"Reveille"

A video appropriate to this thread.

[ExTexasRedhead]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpYVfHTajOg

Share with others.

[ironwill]

Call and or fax Coates & Davenport, the law firm representing the home owner association.

FLOOD THEM WITH CALLS!!

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

You can also visit their site and send them a message http://www.coateslaw.com/CM/Custom/Contact.asp.

Interestingly:

Professional Associations and Memberships:

Attorney David Davenport -

The European Arab Higher Arbitration Council

I’m not entirely sure what that is, but I sure don’t like the sound of it.

Please spread this around like wildfire!

[Moose4]

Dear Sussex Square HOA:

You are picking a fight with a man who stood alone, toe-to-toe, at seventy-five yards range with three of the most fearsome pieces of armored technology ever deployed upon a battlefield...AND WON.

What are you?

}:-)4

[kinsman redeemer]

Oh, By the way, Coates & Davenport, P.C. (800) 450-8311 (I suggest calling!) says,

Statement from the Sussex Square Homeowners Association Dec. 3, 2009

The Sussex Square Homeowners Association never intended its request that Col. Barfoot remove his flag pole as an affront to his patriotism.

This is not about the American flag. This is about a flag pole. And Col. Barfoot is not being forbidden from displaying an American flag.

With its request that he remove the flag pole, the association was discharging its duty to all the owners in the neighborhood. The association's position has merit and is supported by its Bylaws, Rules and Declaration of Restrictions and Covenants.

The association is optimistic that this matter can be resolved in a way that is mutually satisfactory to all parties and looks forward to Senator Mark Warner's involvement toward that end.

Anyone who wishes to offer comments may do so at colbarfootsflagpole@gmail.com

Thank you,

Coates & Davenport

Richmond, Virginia

The phoney email address at the end could have been "round_file@gmail.com" - So I suggest calling:
(800) 450-8311
Also the "Contact Us" link takes you to a form that works. That's a good alternative. The domain of the email address field must be legitimate - but that's all.