A Fine Day for Honoring Heroes In Danville

Early morning, Saturday, May 21st brought heavy rain to Southside Virginia, that tapered off just prior to the 10:00 a.m. scheduled start time for flagging at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History on the grounds of the Sutherlin Mansion, the home that served as the Last Capitol of the Confederacy.

The sun was shining by 11:00 a.m., when 54 folks had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the museum.  So many, in fact, that we were able to spread out and cover both sides of Main Street!

The Heritage Preservation Association (HPA) has been flagging in Danville every Saturday for the past 12 weeks.  A reporter asked HPA President Wayne Byrd how long they were going to continue flagging. His response was quick and firm "Until the flag is put back up!"

The response by Danville citizens was overwhelmingly positive.  Honks, waves and shouts of support came from most of the vehicles that passed by and we had good conversations with many pedestrians who stopped by to see what was going on.  Shortly after we arrived, a man approached with three dozen donuts.  He said he had driven by a few minutes earlier and felt compelled to come back and bring us a treat to thank us for being out there and forwarding the colors.

We were thrilled to be joined by about a dozen members of Actbac out of Alamance County, NC.

Out of the many good conversations that day, there was one that was out of the ordinary.  It is not unusual for people of color to agree with us, and/or express indifference about our flags or monuments, but one black man who stopped to talk with us took it a little further than that.

Mr. Lee had something on his heart he wanted to share and I asked his permission to share a bit of what he told us.  "It came down for a reason because it's time for us to stand up.  It's time for us to rise as Southerners."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IERZE3hIEE

 The HPA will continue flagging each Saturday 10:00 a.m. - NOON.  Grab your Third National and join them as they forward the colors, educate the public, and remind Danville City Council that as much as they would like to "move on", there are plenty of us who will #NeverForget.

News coverage here: http://wset.com/news/local/confederate-flag-supporters-rally-outside-of-danville-museum

After a quick lunch, we gathered to raise the first of THREE roadside battle flags that afternoon.

At the first site, which is on Hwy 58 in Danville, we were excited to have Rev. Dr. Herman White join us and help dedicate the 8x12 flag that will fly on a 30' pole.

Local heritage groups brought greetings and the crowd cheered as the flag was raised and dedicated to the Glory of God and in memory and honor of our Confederate heroes.

From there, we headed north on 29, to the site of an 80' pole, to raise a 20' x 30" battle flag.
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Once we left that site, it was just a short drive South on 29 and we reached flag site #3 for the day, #13 for Danville, and #23 in the Commonwealth. 

The final flag we dedicated was at the home of Mr. Anderson, and he brought out this photo of his Great Grandfather, Robert Anderson, a Confederate Veteran.

Mr. Anderson is a vet himself, and it was a real honor to dedicate the 13th Flag raised in Danville since August of 2015 to the memory of Private Anderson and all of our Confederate heroes. What a treat to get the chance to meet Mr. Anderson and what a poignant reminder that for so many of us involved in this fight...it's personal.

It was an incredible ending to an absolutely beautiful day in Danville.

These memorials were constructed and financed by the efforts of numerous local Danville citizens, who vow to continue to raise more flags until the historical flag is returned to its rightful and legally protected place on the grounds of the Last Capitol of the Confederacy.

Huge thanks to the Danville flag construction crew for their amazing efforts, and for the outstanding cooperation and effort on the part of the Danville HPA, SCV, UDC, SCV/MC, OCR and ANV/MC.

The 13 huge flags that now fly in Danville are a testimony to God's grace...and proof of what we can accomplish when we work together for our Cause! Legislative update on yesterday's hearing before the Supreme Court Write Panel:

http://www.godanriver.com/news/danville/appeal-argued-before-virginia-supreme-court-in-confederate-flag-controversy/article_504ab938-2205-11e6-b53a-639571083cb3.html

There will likely be a decision on whether the appeal will be heard in the next few days or weeks.

http://wvtf.org/post/how-confederate-flag-danville-could-affect-rest-virginia#stream/0 

 Virginia Flaggers

P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

The Handiwork of Heritage Haters

Just in case you needed another example of how the heritage haters will lie, steal, and slander good people in their vile attempts to further their Godless agenda, take a look at this meme, created and posted on the web a few hours by Kristopher Goad AKA "Goad Gatsby", a Richmond area agitator and "social justice warrior".

Mr. Goad illegally removed the trademark watermark from a photo from Judy Smith photography and added the wording shown below in white, claiming the gentleman in the photo is giving a "nazi salute" and has a "Neo-nazi" tattoo on his arm.

Obviously, the gentleman in the photo is waving back at one of the hundreds of Danville citizens who honked, waved, and gave us thumbs up and appreciation for our efforts yesterday. The tattoo on his arm...? That's a memorial to his wife, who died of cancer, as can be plainly seem when the photo is enlarged.

Yesterday in Danville, hundreds of good folks came together to promote our heritage and raise 4 new beautiful battle flags. After looking through the thousands of photos that have been posted, and finding none of the hate he so desperately needs to further his agenda, Mr. Goad decided to use the Internet and a photo editing tool to "create" it.

Congratulations, Toad. Although your attempt to slander a good man and intimidate heritage supporters has failed miserably, the very public exposure of your theft, lies and slander have once again helped to highlight the very real difference between us...and you and your ilk, who have no concept of the virtues of honor and truth.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WURdo-BjWTc&feature=youtu.be

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AcifeUNTE7E

‪#‎HeritageOfHonor‬
‪#‎winning‬

Virginia Flaggers

P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

On The Future of Confederate Memorial Day Ceremonies

A certain unemployed high school history teacher/blogger/Confederate hating amateur "historian" has declared that we are fast approaching "one final Confederate Memorial Day celebration".

Really? Where has this man been over the past month? Our service at Oakwood last Saturday had over 200 in attendance, which was DOUBLE the attendance of the year before, which was double the year before that, which was the first year the service has been held in years. Our newsfeed is FLOODED with reports and photos of ceremonies and events across the South...more than we've ever seen before, and on any given weekend, we have to decide WHICH Confederate event to attend because there are several to choose from.

Then again, it's really hard to take anything he says seriously, considering his track record on predictions. After all, this is the same man who once said:

"Prediction: There will be no Confederate flag on I-95 near Richmond" ... Kevin Levin Aug 18, 2013.

Hey Kev...how'd that work out for ya?

Here's the thing...we aren't going anywhere, and we will not, as much as you apparently would like to see it happen, let our veterans be forgotten. But PLEASE keep it up. With every attack and ridiculous post like yours, our numbers grow as does our determination to prove you, and the handful of other haters like you, wrong...AGAIN!
#winning

Susan Hathaway
Virginia Flaggers

P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

Photo: Confederate Memorial Day Service, Oakwood Confederate Cemetery, Richmond, Va. 5-7-2016 Courtesy of Judy Smith Photography