Honor a Fallen Warrior

February 10, 2005 Peter Busch Reports Homeowners association deems Stars and Stripes an eyesore

Every day, rain or shine, the Stars and Stripes beam from Jim LaMont's back yard.

The retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel erected the flag pole outside his Tucson home in January of 2004, in honor of his youngest son, Andrew, who died in a helicopter crash during the first month of the war in Iraq.

LaMont was so stirred upon hearing the news of his son's death, that he even offered to re-enlist.

"I tactfully found out that the Air Force had no vacancies for 79-year-old retired Lieutenant Colonels," says LaMont.

So LaMont made his stand, by raising the flag, but what he sees as a beacon of freedom, others in his neighborhood see as a 30-foot-high eyesore.

LaMont's homeowners' association recently sent him a card requesting the flagpole be removed, even though LaMont says, when he put it up, there were no HOA rules prohibiting it.

Inside the HOA meeting Thursday, the issue of LaMont's flagpole was to be raised, but Eyewitness News 4's interview requests were denied by board members and our cameras were asked to leave before the meeting started.

As for LaMont, he says he'll do what the board says, but until then, he'll keep saluting the flag, like he's always done.

"All that was required ... was to fill out paperwork"?

For this, there was war with the HOA?

I live in AZ. Home of Davis-Monthan AFB and the Bone Yard. Folks here like horses, trucks (big'uns, with lotsa tires), Flags, Country (music and dancing), and Mexican food. Not ashamed of rodeo, either - we have a parade every year. So it sounds really unusual for a "Ban our Flag" story, but there it was in the news. WEB search showed your forum. Very disturbing, as you can see from previous messages.

So I decided to make a trip to check this out. The neighborhood is not very old, but has an old fashioned feel. Real small lots in real close together. Has a "get out and walk around" feel to it. So I did. Lots of American flags, some faded, some on flag poles (!) in front of the houses. Big flag and pole in front of the community center. Curious, for a place that doesn't like the American flag.

Doug from Upland - is there more to this, that you found out from your call? Dave seems like a helpful kind of guy. Lots of Vets live here. Lots of flags. Lots of ... wind. Heavy winds much of the time, it appears. Did y'all know how much noise a big flag makes in a heavy wind? Surprising, it never occurred to me. And those metal clips that hold the flag on the rope ... they go CLANK, CLANK, CLANK, CLANK all day against the pole. Amazing what you can find out, if you look into things. Like, if you have written rules in your city, and you have the job of serving your community, you are required to enforce them or you can end up in trouble? So they say in the news.

Maybe retired Lt.Cols don't have to fill out paperwork to make changes to property, I don't know. I must remember to ask my big brother about it, but it seems to me, he learned to follow rules during the time he spent in the service.

Thanks, for your kind reply, Doug. Thought I could help, but was too late, and that is okay, it seems.

Most flag poles there were either mounted on the house or same height as house, but one was way, way higher. Not far from community center. I wonder if that was it?

Like I said, folks like to fly the flag. My guess, it was really a noise issue, folks wanted some peace and quiet after buying a house in a tight community; kinda like hearing nearby dogs that bark all day. There were some planes from DM flying around, but they did not linger. They bother some folks in town, but most tend to call it "The Sound of Freedom" and let it go at that. Noisy for a few minutes then quiet again.

Some indication that the folks who volunteer to deal with all this agreed to approve the "exterior architectural change" some time ago, on account of the circumstances (retired Vet, son KIA, and all). But needed paperwork done to cover the HOA, to deal with all the other folks who want exemptions to the rules. (Rule is, fill out your idea on a form and send it in, so it can be reviewed, adjusted to fit the area, and approved). They aparantly have been trying to get an application for the pole submitted for quite awhile, but there was no response that they could use. Now I'm wondering if the reporter hurried a little and forgot to ask more questions before submitting his news report, it seems very brief. Short on details, long on human suffering and drama. A great read, Good versus Evil, Black Vs. White. And the forum comments really had me going. It took hours for me to put this together, one scrap at a time, asking around and listening. Hard to get much of anything for that effort. Wore me out, and I still don't get it. Why not just fill out the form? Retired, but too busy? My brother would say: "A form? Okay sounds good."

I wasted the better part of a precious day on this. Got all spun up for nothing. Chalking this up to a self-inflicted wound. No need for this to have happened, far as I can tell. I'm done with it. Oh, one more thing. If someone got flamed ... it might not actually be justified. Hope every one involved can get over it and move on.

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