Medal of Honor Winner Army Col. Van T. Barfoot

                                                                                                      ACVDN
With the help of President Obama, Senators Warner and Web, Van Barfoot Wins Another One.

RICHMOND, Va. — One of the nation's oldest Medal of Honor winners was back in the fight Thursday, this time against a neighborhood association that wants him to take down a front-yard flagpole.
Supporters, including President Obama and Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb, have been falling in behind 90-year-old retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, a World War II veteran awarded the lofty Congressional honor for actions including standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

Barfoot put up the 21-foot flagpole in September in front of his suburban Richmond home. He raises the American flag daily at sunrise and retires it at sunset.

Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, Medal of Honor Winner Respects and Displays the Flag. How did he get the Medal of Honor? While his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944 he stood up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

This story has a happy ending.

                                                                               Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 9) -- A 90-year-old Medal of Honor winner can keep his 21-foot flagpole in his front yard after a homeowners association dropped its request to remove it, a spokesman for Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Tuesday.

The Sussex Square homeowners association likewise has agreed to drop threats to take legal action against retired Army Col. Van T. Barfoot, Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said.

The association had threatened to take Barfoot to court if he failed to remove the pole from his suburban Richmond home by Friday. It had said the pole violated the neighborhood's aesthetic guidelines.

Dropping the issue effectively ends a request that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday called "silly."Warner and Sen. Jim Webb, both Virginia Democrats, had rallied behind Barfoot, a World War II veteran.

                                                                                         Amherst County Democrats
Barfoot won the Medal of Honor for actions while his platoon was under German assault near Carano, Italy, in May 1944. He was credited with standing up to three German tanks with a bazooka and stopping their advance.

He also won the Purple Heart and other decorations, and served in Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1974.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States. Because of the nature of its criteria, the medal is often awarded posthumously.

Established July 12, 1862 the Medal of Honor was first awarded during the American Civil War. In total 3,448 have been awarded. There are 104 living Medal of Honor Winners.
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