Life throws obstacles in front of us all the time, but only the strongest and most dedicated refuse to roll over, regardless of the time or the cost involved in honoring a promise.
Richard Oulton joins us On The Commons. Richard was a Navy Corpsman assigned to the Marines of the First Battalion of the Ninth Marine Regiment and served on the front lines in Vietnam. His battalion sustained the longest combat in the history of the United States Marines. In the process they suffered the highest death rate in the Marine corps’ history, earning the nickname of “The Walking Dead”. The fact that Richard could not save all his wounded “boys” as he calls them, affected him deeply. When he came home he brought the flag that he had flown over his bunker with him promising “his boys” he would never forget them. Twenty years ago when the flag first flew on a shiny new flagpole in his front yard the local HOA reared its ugly head. As I said, the strongest and most dedicated refuse to roll over regardless of cost and time when it comes to keeping a promise. Tune in for an incredible story of love, dedication and determination.
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There were times during this interview that tears came to my eyes. Richard sounds like a man that is good to his core. I am grateful for his service to our country during the Vietnam War and respect him for standing up against his HOA and never giving up the fight.
To think he came home, attended college and law school, then worked hard all his life, honored his fellow Marines with the flag that flew over them as they were taking their last breaths, spent his retirement fighting for the right to fly the flag at his home on a flag pole and ended up nearly going to jail (all because of corruption), and today sees that pole up with the flag again after not a bloody battle on foreign soil but a legal battle with his HOA is beyond words.
Some little power hungry despots should NEVER have the opportunity nor legal right to do this to Richard or anyone!
When my dad passed away my family erected a very tall flag pole with the flag that covered his casket in front of our lake home located in a community that my dad developed without an HOA. Nobody had any right to tell us that flag pole could not be there. Some joked that it looked like a Perkins Restaurant but nobody was offended. They understood we were honoring a man that had served in the US Army during WWII and was on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 and they understood our love for him. They also knew he built a beautiful lake community where they enjoyed life, freedom and friendship. Until I listened to this interview with Richard I did not realize how fortunate we were to be able to put that flag pole up without a fight, legal battle, neighborhood ugliness, or protest. All because my dad knew the nightmares of HOAs and would never have anything to do with them!!!
I salute Richard Oulton! What a man! Semper Fi