Lack Of Patriotism In Middlebury - MVFD Ordered To Take Support Our Troops Signs Down.

The Fire Department received a cease and desist order from the Planning and Zoning Commission stating that the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department has to remove the “Support Our Troops” signs that are displayed around Town.  They also stated they wanted the MVFD to remove all the American Flags that are hung along Route 188.

We like to know what has sparked such a unpatriotic move by the commission? The members of the MVFD put these signs up to support the brave men and women who are risking their lives on the battle fields of Afghanistan and Iraq.  

As of July 21, 2008, there have been 543 soldiers who have died in Operation Enduring Freedom and 4108 soldiers who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, for a total of 4651 total war dead. On top of that 2974 people died on September 11th, 2001 including 343 firefighters.

After September 11th there was a wonderful rise in patriotism in the country with flags hanging from every front porch and car antennas.  But, with everything in our country some people get tired and the novelty wears off. The members of the MVFD are a pretty patriotic bunch of guys, and those signs were up as a reminder that we have not forgotten about them, even though it has been years since 9-11, even though it is no longer fashionable to display signs of patriotism.  I am sure that every Veteran in Middlebury agrees with the MVFD.

In Woodbury, American flags adorn every telephone pole along Main Street during the summer.  It appears that they have not lost their patriotic spirit.

If you agree with the MVFD that the flags should stay up, and the signs should stay up until our troops are safely home, we urge you to make your opinions known to the First Selectman and the Planning and Zoning Commission. This unpatriotic action will only serve to embarrass the Town.