A nearly two-decade story over the right to fly an American Flag in a neighborhood in Central Virginia has now come to a happy ending after an area lawmaker teamed up with a veteran Marine homeowner to ensure that the “Stars and Stripes” can hang high over Henrico County.
WRIC reports that in 1999, the Wyndham Homeowner’s Association (HOA) told resident Richard Oulton the 25-foot flagpole on his property that flew an American flag violated the neighborhood’s by-laws. The rules only allowed flags to be flown on a six-foot pole attached to the house.
Oulton, a Marine veteran, flew the flag to honor the “749 Marines that [he] served with” in the 1st Battalion 9th Marines who were killed in action during the Vietnam War. Due to the high casualty rate, the battalion earned the nickname of “The Walking Dead.”
At the time, the HOA was controlled by the developer, but recently, there has been a change of management and is now run by the homeowners themselves.
In the 2000 General Assembly session, then-State Senator Bill Bolling (R-Hanover) sponsored the “Wyndham Flag Bill” to make the developer attempting to ban the American flag as a “visual nuisance” illegal. The bill passed unanimously and was later signed by Governor Jim Gilmore (R).
The statute provided that no HOA can prohibit a homeowner from flying a flag unless they disclose it at the time of sale. However, a judge ruled that the law did not apply to Oulton’s case, ordering him to remove the flagpole and the flag by March 1, 2003.
“I’m standing in my front yard being told my American flag is a visual nuisance and I can’t fly it in support of the troops in Iraq. I think it’s horrible but I have to comply,” he said in 2003 interview.
Nearly two decades later, Oulton received reinforcements in the likes of Delegate John McGuire (R-Goochland), a former Navy SEAL, to help him solve the issue and allow him to honor his fallen brethren by flying the American flag outside his home.
“The one thing that unites us in this country is that American flag,” said Delegate McGuire. “And when I heard about that I was like we got to get that American flag up.”
Since last year, moving through two appeals, the duo has been working with the Wyndham HOA to let Oulton resurrect his flag pole.
Interestingly enough, the Republican lawmaker was able to help secure the deal without having to propose any new laws, statutes, or ordinances.
“They asked us to poll our neighbors and we pulled (sic) all of the neighbors that were adjacent, nine houses and was 100 percent support,” explained Oulton.
“The Wyndham Foundation has always permitted Mr. Oulton to fly the American flag. The only special approval needed was for the size and location of the flagpole in question,” the association’s president said in a statement according to CNN.
“Mr. Oulton made the original request 18 years ago, which was managed by the developer-controlled board. The request was then denied, and no further request was submitted by Mr. Oulton until late Fall 2018. The Wyndham Foundation Homeowner’s Association has since been working diligently with Mr. Oulton to come to a resolution that is in the best interest of the resident and the community. We are happy that we were able to help Mr. Oulton get his flagpole.”
Delegate McGuire said, “When I went to Richard [Oulton] to tell him that he would get his flagpole, he had tears in his eyes.”
Speaking about the flag he will fly, which flew at his bunker in Vietnam, Oulton explained, “It’s one memory I’ve kept. It’s very important to me. It’s kind of a tattered now, but lot of memories.”
The new flagpole has been erected at Oulton’s home in Wyndham and he his planning to raise “Old Glory” for the first time at a ceremony on April 27, where his wife, Ava, says they are trying to limit the event to veterans, but are still expecting hundreds of people to attend.
