To the editor:

Open Letter to the Barrington Town Council: The situation has become untenable. The Barrington United Veterans Council (BUVC) can no longer support or be affiliated with a local town government that openly disrespects and marginalizes its veteran community by failing to maintain the sanctity and decorum of the Town’s Veterans Memorials.  

For over four years, the Barrington veterans have petitioned the Barrington Town Council to refrain from flying controversial and politically charged partisan banners under the US flag over our Veterans Memorial at the Town Hall; however, the Town Council has refused to acknowledge our wishes and continues to desecrate our Memorial.  

They have repeatedly rejected all requests for compromise: such as erecting a separate flagpole away from our memorial from which to fly these unauthorized banners, to moving the American flagpole away from the memorial, to even relocating the Veterans Memorial itself. 

The US Flag Code clearly states that the American flagpole should never be used for advertising purposes, and this includes the unauthorized display of political banners from the same lanyard regardless of their merit.  Nowhere in this country will you find military or veterans memorials being defiled in this manner. The American Flag is the only flag that represents all Americans regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and it should be displayed unencumbered and free of partisan political rancor. It is the one flag that has been carried into battle by every service member since 1776 and it is the only flag that is respectfully laid across the caskets of our war dead.

Since 1954, the Barrington United Veterans Council has faithfully and honorably represented the combined veterans service organizations of the town in order to provide a single voice, sound counsel and guidance to the elected and appointed officials of Barrington concerning all matters related to the town’s Veteran community.  

In addition, the BUVC has successfully executed all our Town's annual veterans ceremonies and events to include the celebrated Memorial Day Parade. We have erected monuments to our war dead, maintained the Town's Veterans Honor Roll, instituted a Lamp Post Memorial Banner Program, and have even helped to secure property tax exemptions for veterans and their surviving spouses. 

Unfortunately, the Barrington Town Council, which does not have a single veteran among its members, has chosen to virtue signal to controversial national political entities outside of our community rather than respect the wishes of those that have served and sacrificed from within the community.   

Therefore, effective immediately, the Barrington United Veterans Council will cease to exist as an official Town of Barrington government entity, and all its current members hereby resign in protest from their volunteer duties and obligations. 

We can no longer serve in good faith a local government that harbors such hostility and animosity towards its Veterans and its families. In the future, Barrington American Legion Post #8 will continue those Veterans functions deemed necessary.

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any wars, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”  -   George Washington

Respectfully the Undersigned Members of the Barrington United Veterans Council,

Charles Brule, Luigi Carusi, Louis DiCarlo, Donald DiPierro, Paul Dulchinos, Sr., Albert Girard, Jr., William Groves, Kenneth Lass, Joseph McCrae, Charles Peabody, Frank Santoro, Michael Tripp 

Barrington