Col. Van Barfoot, Medal of Honor recipient, dies at 92
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Van Thomas Barfoot, a retired Army colonel and World War II Medal of Honor recipient who gained national attention in his fight to keep the U.S. flag flying in his front yard, died Friday in a Henrico County hospital.

In 2009, Col. Barfoot made headlines after he erected a 21-foot flagpole at his Sussex Square residence without the permission of his homeowners association. The association, which allowed flags to be flown on angled poles attached to houses, ordered it removed and threatened legal action when he refused.

The ensuing furor drew the support of two senators, a former Virginia governor, other leaders and veterans before the association backed down.

(The Richmond Times fails to mention that the Obama White House also supported Mr. Barfoot).

"Col. Barfoot was a remarkable man who demonstrated tremendous bravery in military service to his country during three wars," said Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va.



Read more: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/lifestyles/news/2012/mar/03/tdmain01-col-van-ba...


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Seems that there is no such thing as "private property" in the US anymore.

stay outta florida its a hoa haven down there..
its not their fault if you didnt get a copy of the covenants when you bought your house..
bought a brand new house there in the 80s  bout 7 years in it was time for new paint on the outside..around the same time i get a notice from the property mgmt outfit that ran the hoa that i need to paint my house..
i never responded, few weeks later the wifey and i spent a few weekends paintin  looked real good..
few months later(probally 6 after 1st notice)get a letter from the mgmt outfit that they are starting foreclousure proceedings cause i hadent painted my house..
after many phone tag attempts and the first bill for them filing the papers i get to talk to a real person..
conversation was something to the effect that i didnt paint my house
me  yes i did
them  well you never got your colors approved
me  didnt need to
them  yes you do
me  no i dont i painted it the same colors it was when i bought it
silence
me   do you ever get out from behind you desk and visit the sub division??
silence
me    you will remove all liens against my property
them  yes we will....

me  CLICK

In my law practice, I've done the organizational papers and rules and regs for several HOAs.  Particularly for condo associations.

Like just about everything, an HOA can be good or bad.  If you want total freedom ( well, almost ) to litter your property, have junk cars or boats parked in plain view, and similar stuff, then live out in the boonies on your own acreage.

But in suburban subdivisions, an HOA can be a good thing, if properly run and if the rules and regs are reasonable.  Always read them before you sign a purchase agreement; not after.

For instance, 30 years ago in the infancy of satelite TV, we all recall the huge dishes that may have been 10 or more feet in diameter.  Do you really want your subdivision neighbor to have that monstrosity right next your dining room window?

Do you want his 3rd car and boat constantly parked in his driveway, blocking your view of the street?

And, there really are people who will paint their houses pink or baby blue.  Want to live next door to that?

The Col.'s flag pole could be a touchy subject.  20 years ago I was a group commander in the Civil Air Patrol.  CAP at that time had a very extensive radio communications network, and unit commanders were encouraged, but not required, to have a CAP radio and functional antenna to receive alert messages when we were activated for search and rescue missions.  Since we live in the country, I had no legal prohibitions to putting up the antenna that stands about 30 feet high.

But I had a far more important prohibiton - my wife.  She declared that there was no way that thing was going to decorate her side yard, as it would have to be close to the house to get the wire inside to the radio set in my den.

Needless to say, I never had the radio.