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Van T. Barfoot

Van T. Barfoot (born June 15, 1919) is a retired United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II.

Van Barfoot was born on June 15, 1919, in Edinburg, Mississippi.  His grandmother was Choctaw Indian, but Barfoot himself is not an official member of the Choctaw Nation. Although he was eligible, his parents had never enrolled him.

After enlisting in the Army from Carthage, Mississippi, in 1940 and completing his training, Van Barfoot served with the 1st Infantry Division in Louisiana and Puerto Rico. In December 1941, he was promoted to sergeant and re-assigned to the Headquarters Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet in Quantico, Virginia, where he served until the unit was deactivated in 1943. He next joined the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, and was shipped to Europe.


























During the Italian Campaign, Sgt.Barfoot participated in a series of amphibious landings: the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno in September, and finally the landings at Anzio in late January 1944. His unit pushed inland from Anzio, and by May 1944 had reached the town of Carano. They set up defensive positions and Barfoot conducted patrols to scout the German lines. When his company was ordered to attack on the morning of May 23, Barfoot, now a technical sergeant, asked for permission to lead a squad.

Because of the patrols he had made, he knew the terrain and the minefield which lay in front of the German position. He advanced alone through the minefield, following ditches and depressions, until he came within a few yards of a machine gun on the German flank. After taking out the gun with a hand grenade, he entered the German trench and advanced on a second machine gun, killing two soldiers and capturing three others. When he reached a third gun, the entire crew surrendered to him. Others also surrendered and Barfoot captured a total of seventeen German soldiers. He had killed eight.



















When the Germans launched an armored counterattack later in the day, Barfoot disabled one tank with a bazooka, then advanced into enemy-held territory and destroyed an abandoned German artillery piece. He returned to his own lines and helped two wounded soldiers from his squad to the rear.



















Barfoot was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant. His division moved into France and by September was serving in the Rhone valley. Barfoot learned he would be awarded the Medal of Honor and chose to have the presentation ceremony in the field, so that his soldiers could attend. He was formally presented with the medal on September 28, 1944, in Épinal, France, by Lieutenant General Alexander Patch.


























Barfoot is one of the country's last living Medal of Honor recipients from World War II. He also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War and earned a Purple Heart. He reached the rank of colonel before retiring from the Army. He currently lives in Henrico County, Virginia, near his daughter. On October 9, 2009, the portion of Mississippi Highway 16 which runs from Carthage through his hometown of Edinburg to the border between Leake and Neshoba counties was named the "Van T. Barfoot Medal Of Honor Highway".



















Medal of Honor Citation

Second Lieutenant Barfoot's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17.

Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun.

He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.



















SAN DIEGO (May 24, 2008) Medal of Honor recipients pose together before an awards ceremony held in the hangar bay aboard the USS Midway Museum


Medal of Honor recipients, top left, Marine Corps Cpl. (ret) Hershel Woodrow 'Woody' Williams; Army 1st Lt. (ret) Vernon J. Baker; Army Staff Sgt. (ret) Walter D. Ehlers; Army 1st Lt. (ret) Charles Patrick Murray Jr.; Army 2nd Lt. (ret) Van T. Barfoot; Navy Lt. (ret) John Finn, and Marine Corps Pfc. Arthur (ret) J. Jackson pose together before an awards ceremony held in the hangar bay aboard the USS Midway Museum. The seven recipients received the Midway American Patriot Award and The National World War II Museum's American Spirit Award during the black-tie gala, "Beyond the Call of Duty." U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer R. Hudson (Released)


Van T. Barfoot Medal 
Of Honor Highway Named

























LEAKE COUNTY, MS (WLBT)- The Mississippi Department Of Transportation officially named a part of Highway 16 in Leake County Friday as the Van T. Barefoot Medal Of Honor Highway.

Barfoot is the last living Congressional Medal Of Honor recipient from Mississippi, from World War II. A sign was erected at the intersection of Mississippi Highways 35 and 16 in Carthage to designate the section of Highway 16 from Carthage to the Leake/Neshoba County Line.

It came as the result of an Act of the Mississippi Legislature in 2009. Barfoot, by himself, killed seven Germans, and took 17 German soldiers prisoner in Italy near Carano, in a single day, day May 23rd 1944. He then assisted two seriously wounded Americans 1,700 yards to safety and received the nation's highest military honor later that year.

"Don't place me on a pedestal. I am just someone who grew up at Rye's Creek and was very fortunate that God has been very good to me," said Barfoot, when asked how old he is now, says "above 90".

He lives near his daughter in Richmond, Virginia, but still says he is from Edinburg, Mississippi.


Some Advice At Fort Hood

























Six months at Fort Hood in Texas with World War II Medal of Honor recipient Col. Van T. Barfoot translated into a lifetime of good advice for Blake McIlwain, now retired from the Army and living in Pass Christian. "I was at Fort Hood in 1965 getting ready to go to Vietnam for the first of three tours and his advice to me was, 'Take care of your troops and they will take care of you,'" said McIlwain, now 80.

"Physically he is a big man, about 6-foot-7, dark hair when I knew him because he is Choctaw, but he has blue eyes," McIlwain said. "Believe me, he didn't have to tell you to do something twice. He had that look about him and the physical stature to go with it. But usually, he was gentle and soft spoken."

Barfoot, now 90,  was 45 when he inspired McIlwain to go to Vietnam and was commanding an aviation battalion. He would eventually retire as a decorated colonel. So would McIlwain, who prefers not to talk about himself but said one of the few remaining World War II Medal of Honor recipients who "should be able to fly a flag any way that he wants to."





















McIlwain learned about Barfoot's skirmish this week when he saw an Associated Press newspaper photograph of Barfoot raising a U.S. flag. Barfoot's skirmish with the Sussex Square homeowners association near Richmond began after Veterans Day when he was told to remove a yard flag pole on which he daily flies "Old Glory".



Van T. Barfoot And The 
American Flag Controversy

























In December 2009, the homeowners' association (HOA) of the Sussex Square, where Barfoot lives in Henrico County, Virginia, ordered him to remove the flagpole from which he flies the American flag. This news story first became public when Barfoot's son-in-law reported the story on local talk radio show, "Elliot in the Morning". The news story was soon picked up by Fox News and followed by several other national news networks. The story was widely followed on Radio, TV and the Internet.

























The HOA had retained the law firm of "Coates and; Davenport" to help enforce their order.  The association's bylaws do not forbid flagpoles, but the HOA ruled thar Mr. Barfoot, aged 90, would not be allowed to use flag pole "for aesthetic reasons."

Some people displayed their displeasure with the HOA in very clear terms. The homeowners association members as well as some residents of the neighborhood have started receiving death threats and promises that houses will get burned down if this issue isn’t dropped. There were some supporters of the HOA, citing that Col. Barfoot had signed a legal document.





































With Col. Barfoot's venerable age and military heroism, fate dictated that governors, legislators and thousands of U.S. patriots would weigh in on his side. The association relented. Col. Barfoot won when the homeowners' association dropped its request on December 8, 2009, effectively ending the controversy.

Two months before the Great Flagpole Dispute of 2009 began, Mississippi honored its native son by naming a stretch of Mississippi 16 near hometown Edinburg as "Van T. Barfoot Medal of Honor Highway."


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For over six months, I have been reading about Mr. Barfoot and the conflict about his right to fly the American flag on a pole in front of his house. I have been studying the various responses and arguments concerning the incident.

My thoughts on the matter are this:

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the burning and desecration of the American Flag is not illegal. That it is a act of Freedom Of Speech, which is guaranteed under the CONSTITUTION.

Therefore: I or any citizen has the right to fly the American Flag wherever we live. It is an act of Freedom Of Speech, which is a right guaranteed under the CONSTITUTION.

Therefore: If the Constitution gives me that right to fly the Flag, it is perfectly legal.. To prevent me from doing so, would be illegal. Any contract that I might sign (with anyone or any organization) that limits or prohibits my flying of the Flag would not be enforceable, since illegal agreements are forbidden in contracts, they are nul and void.

I would like to see the faces of those who would vote for or order any American citizen not to fly an American Flag or hang  those Blue Star or Gold Star flags on their property. Those who do this  usually do so in the shasows, in order to remain unknown. I would like for our children to see who is that unpatriotic SOB.

For most of my adult life, I have proudly flown the American Flag in front of my house, 365 days a year. I will continue to do so until I finish my journey. If any person, any organization, or any government official attempts to touch or remove it, I suggest that they come armed,,,  for I will be.


























Another Battle Fought Well!