News-Record.com

GREENSBORO - A veteran whose American flag was taken down this week because it violated apartment complex rules will be allowed to fly his flag after all.

And as a bonus, there will be a big, new American flag he can see every day on the property.

Don Way, an 86-year-old Navy veteran who served three years in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Bunker Hill during World War II, had mounted a 10- by 16-inch flag to the outside door frame of his home at Woodstream Apartments on West Friendly Avenue.

The lease agreement prohibits attaching anything to the exterior of the buildings or in common areas, and Way's flag was removed.

Way complained, and management relented Friday morning.

"We've received a great deal of response, and obviously we're going to revisit our policy when it comes to the American flag," said Julie Small, area manager for Mid-America Apartment Communities, a company based in Memphis, Tenn., that owns Woodstream Apartments. "We're working on that right now."

Way will be allowed to fly his flag, and in addition the apartment complex will replace two marketing flags flying from poles at the front of the property with an American flag and a North Carolina state flag.

"What they're going to do is buy a large flag to put up in front of the property," Way said. "I thought that was nice of them."

Small said Mid-America bought the flags for its poles Friday in Raleigh, and they were bringing them to Greensboro as soon as possible.

"Corporate headquarters called me and apologized, which was very nice," Way said. "... I wasn't doing it for publicity or to draw attention to myself. To me, it was the principal of the thing, you know?"

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com