It is an American flag, which he calls a "flag of honor" because it has the names of the 9-11 victims on it.
And now the homeowners association agrees with me, not you. They said he could keep both flags up.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/retired-york-firefighter-wind-911-flag-flap/story?id=14997999#.TswSD1bU5QU
I have my facts straight sir.
Not sure what country you live in, but the thing in question(on the left) is NOT an American flag. They have a close-up of it in the video and it doesn't even resemble an American flag - unless they changed the one I wore on my uniform every day. Even the cop/homeowner flying it and the reporter doing the interview states very CLEARLY that it's not an American flag.
Welcome to my idiot list.
Even if we were to pretend - as you're doing - that it is an American flag, it would be against federal law and established flag etiquette to have any markings, writing or alterations on it.
As to the HOA allowing him to keep it, it's their perogative to allow someone to presume he's special and not subject to honoring the written legal contracts he agrees to.