Plus Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell briefed reporters on Operation Moshtarak in Afghanistan. Pentagon

‘We will pay his legal bills if necessary,’ says National Commander

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Legion has joined the fight being waged by a Medal of Honor recipient against a Virginia homeowner association’s demands to remove a flagpole.

Col. Van Barfoot, 90, a World War II and Vietnam veteran, was ordered by the Sussex Square Homeowner’s Association to remove the flag pole from his front lawn after he flew the U.S. Flag on Labor Day and Veterans Day. The association is claiming that the flag pole is not “aesthetically appropriate.”

“The association underestimated the fight left in this elderly veteran and now they have to contend with the determination and persistence of Col. Barfoot’s 2.5 million friends in The American Legion,” said National Commander Clarence E. Hill. “Col. Barfoot has hired legal counsel. The American Legion is prepared to help with the expenses and fight these disgraceful actions by the association. Where is the common sense here? Is this anyway to treat any American, much less a true hero like Col. Barfoot?”

Fighting for the flag is not new to The American Legion, the nation’s leading authority on flag etiquette. Since 1989, The Legion has been fighting for a constitutional amendment that would grant Congress the authority to protect Old Glory from desecration.

“The flag is a symbol of our country,” Hill said. “People should fly it proudly. That’s all Col. Barfoot wants to do. If he were desecrating the flag, instead, the association couldn’t do a thing to stop him. We proudly stand with Col. Barfoot and say ‘enough already!’ Let him keep the flagpole and fly the flag as often as he wants. He certainly earned that right.”

“What the association is doing is especially disgraceful given the fact that our president has ordered another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in defense of our freedom,” added Joseph Caouette, The American Legion’s Chairman of Americanism. “I wonder what they think of all of this.”

With a current membership of 2.5-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

Colonel Van Barfoot
RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Col. Van Barfoot has until Friday at 5 pm to remove his flagpole or face a civil suit. The 90-year-old veteran is shocked and gratified by the outpouring of support from around the country.

His daughter, Margaret Nicholls said, “The response has been unbelievable. What started as a local story has grown into a national outcry to help my Dad.”

The neighborhood association has yet to decide whether Colonel Barfoot will be fined $10 per day every day he raises the American Flag but the 5:00 Friday deadline is looming.

“No matter the outcome,” said Margaret, “we want something good to come out of this.”

To donate in honor of Colonel Barfoot, please send your donations to the address below. Make all checks payable to USO. All donations will be turned over immediately to the USO, so we can continue to support our troops.

Send donations to:

Stand Tall for Colonel Barfoot

c/o The Hoople Group

12105 Browning Court

Richmond, VA 23233

WASHINGTON, June 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Four-Star Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey (ret), has called for “a new approach to Cuba” including “decisive and rational efforts to bring Cuba back into full engagement with the economic and political dynamics of the Americas.” McCaffrey, now Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at West Point, has served as SouthCom Commander in charge of U.S. forces in Latin America and also was U.S. National Drug Policy Director.

In an op-ed in the Miami Herald this week, McCaffrey stated, “The Obama administration has made an excellent first step to eliminate some restrictions on travel to the island, loosen constraints on remittances, and re-engage in migration talks. Read More »

WASHINGTON, May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Representatives from leading military veterans’ organizations will examine what they call recent judicial attacks on veterans’ memorials and preview an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial (Salazar v. Buono) at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, in the Broadcast Operations Center, Room 480, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W.

Speaking along with military veterans will be Henry Sandoz, who has been the memorial’s caretaker since 1984, and members of Liberty Legal Institute, who represent the veterans’ groups in legal briefs filed in the Supreme Court.

The high court’s decision could either save or destroy thousands of veterans’ memorials on public lands, according to the press conference participants.

At issue is the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial, an eight-foot-tall cross that was erected in 1934 by World War I veterans to honor American dead from all wars. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit to remove the memorial, arguing it violates the Constitution because of its religious symbolism.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against an earlier attempt to exchange one acre of federal land, in which the memorial sits, for five acres of private property elsewhere within the Mojave Desert Preserve. The memorial cross is currently covered by a plywood box. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in October.