A veteran who served his country in the United States Marines during the Vietnam War just came out victorious in a two decade-long battle against his Homeowners Association (HOA) over his right to fly the American flag on his property.

Veteran Richard Oulton began this battle back in 1999, when his HOA informed him that he must take down his flagpole because his neighbors had complained that it was a disturbance to their community. Enraged that he was being told that he could not fly the flag that he had risked his life for, Oulton took the case to court. Unfortunately, he lost the case and had to take the flag down in 2003, but the veteran refused to give up.

Wanting to fight for his right to honor his brothers who died in Vietnam, Oulton enlisted the help of Virginia Del. John McGuire (R-Henrico County), a former Navy SEAL who assisted Oulton in getting his voice heard. Finally, earlier this month, Oulton got the victory that he had been fighting for the past twenty years, and he can now fly the American flag once again!

To mark his victory, Oulton is planning to fly the American flag that was in his military bunker when he served in Vietnam. During the war, Oulton’s battalion lost 749 of his brothers, giving it the monicker “the walking dead” because it had the highest casualty rate of any single battalion in the history of the Marine Corps.

“It’s one memory I’ve kept. It’s very important to me. It’s kind of a tattered now but…lot of memories,” Oulton said of the flag.

“Our men and women in uniform oftentimes risk their life or even sacrifice their life for freedom and I think the least we can do is get a flagpole up so he can remember his brothers,” added McGuire.

Find out more about this incredible story in the video below.