[Singles] FW: Van Barfoot died March 2, 2012

Wed Jul 18 12:21:28 CDT 2012

________________________________
From: Teresa Arellano
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 11:18 AM
Subject: Van Barfoot died March 2, 2012

.... he died an American hero.

 May he Rest In Peace.

Van T. Barfoot died at the age of 92 on 2 March 2012.

Remember the guy who wouldn't take the flag pole down on his Virginia property a while back?

You might remember the news story several months ago
about a crotchety old man in Virginia who defied his local Homeowners Association, and refused to take down the flagpole on his property along with the large American flag he flew on it.

Now we learn who that old man was.

On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg, Texas. That probably didn't make news back then.

But twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy, that same Van T. Barfoot, who had in 1940 enlisted in the U.S. Army, set out alone to flank German machine gun positions from which gunfire was raining down on his fellow soldiers.

He advance took him through a minefield but having done so, he proceeded to single-handedly take out three enemy machine gun positions, returning with 17 prisoners of war.

[cid:5DBB039DCD6F4BDCBDD30174371068AB at ownerc7eb4ae52]

And if that weren't enough for a day's work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.

[cid:56A141762EA04B4B8F504B7642EB4FD4 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

That probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a Colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam, a well deserved Congressional Medal of Honor.

[cid:69E3C4703CC648FA9E6DA9BE5835C55A at ownerc7eb4ae52]

[cid:CF9646E2CA674682B2AF6D7B060DC733 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

What did make news...

was his Neighborhood Association's quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran
chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home.

Seems the HOA rules said it was OK to fly a flag on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were "unsuitable".

[cid:1399251166494055BBD237CF028906FF at ownerc7eb4ae52]

[cid:52B5BA6C0D7947E19844B33E50E2BB9E at ownerc7eb4ae52]

Van Barfoot had been denied a permit for the pole, but
erected it anyway and was facing court action unless he agreed to take it down.

[cid:27407B08AA5A4B9684572C74A19819C0 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

Then the HOA story made national TV, and the Neighborhood Association rethought its position
and agreed to indulge this aging hero who dwelt among them.

[cid:202CFDEE8EB0473EA40A4BCD18F0EBE8 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

"In the time I have left", he said to the Associated Press, "I plan to continue to fly the American flag without  interference."

As well he should.

And if any of his neighbors had taken a notion to contest him further, they might have done well to read his Medal of Honor citation first. Seems it indicates Mr. Van Barfoot wasn't particularly good at backing down.

[cid:48C65BAC5C134FCBAA0ABBBCD4DAE949 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

Van T. Barfoot's Medal of Honor citation:

[cid:6D581CA548C94A0090209BFABD73F00C at ownerc7eb4ae52]

This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor Society,  is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry:

[cid:446F8D178A8046268B6044DB9F06F9D5 at ownerc7eb4ae52]

If you got this email and didn't pass it on
- guess what - you need your butt kicked!

I sent this to you, because I didn't want to
get MY butt kicked! Do the right thing!

WE ONLY LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE! AND, BECAUSE OF OLD MEN LIKE VAN BARFOOT!

Obviously, he is not related to anybody in congress!

[cid:4DD3EC8436034E97A16035D86F6C239E at ownerc7eb4ae52]

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