Back in Mississippi where he grew up, highway signs honor Col. Van T. Barfoot.
In March, the state legislature designated a stretch of state Route 16 near Carthage "The Col. Van T. Barfoot Medal of Honor Highway."
At the dedication last month at the Big Horn Restaurant, Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall said this:
Barfoot's "commitment and dedication of service to his country allows us to enjoy the freedom we experience every day."
Barfoot is 90. In May 1944, when he was an Army sergeant, he moved alone into German lines near Carano, Italy, destroyed three machine-gun placements, and took 17 prisoners.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. He has fought in three wars and received the Purple Heart with three clusters.
Yesterday at the Virginia War Memorial, Barfoot was recognized at Veterans Day ceremonies. He received a standing ovation.
Last night, he got back to his Sussex Square town house in western Henrico County -- a few miles from his daughter and a few miles from the World War II Veterans Memorial Highway, known as state Route 288. He has lived there since June.
Sussex Square is a different place than Carano or Carthage, the war memorial in Richmond or even the veterans highway near his home.
In Sussex Square, Barfoot is a violator.
He is flying the American flag from a flagpole, a violation of the community's standards.
"I put it up the second day I moved here. In Amelia, where I lived for 26 years, I flew the flag every day," he said.
Each evening, he strikes the colors, folding the flag in the three-corner military style that he has known since childhood.
"His father taught him the flag meant freedom and country," said Margaret Nichols, Barfoot's daughter.
It would be OK, according to the colonel, if the flag were on a pole attached to the porch or doorway.
"But I've always flown the flag from a staff," he said. Barfoot could be penalized up to $10 a day.
"There's never been a day in my life or a place I've lived in my life that you couldn't fly the American flag," he said. "I feel like things aren't right."
Said Nichols: "He's digging in his heels."
Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 6496601 or bmckelway@timesdispatch.com.
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