Appreciated Support From Uncle Sam

To the Editor:

Just imagine being in the military overseas and receiving an e-mail from home with an attached picture of the Uncle Sam from the Danbury Fair with a sign attached asking to support the troops and your name. Well that what happened to me several weeks ago. Knowing that people at home and are thinking about you and asking others to do the same, does wonders for your morale. And Charlie did it in a big way. Then I find out that the town wants him to take it down, because they feel that he placed the sign there to draw attention to his business.

I just got back CONUS [continental US] from Iraq and the first thing I did was look up the article from last week. For the town enforcement agent to think that Charlie added my name and the LTC’s to the sign to draw more attention to the sign to get more business, he does not know Charlie.

I grew up with Charlie, worked for his dad for many years, always felt like part of his family; he’s my daughter’s godfather, he is more of a brother to me than a friend. So seeing Uncle Sam displayed where everyone can see him with a sign asking to support the troops and my name was a big deal. And will be one of the highlights of my deployment.

So as I read through the article I get to the part where the author writes that I went to Newtown High Class of ’84; Go Indians. But I do not have a Newtown phone number this is the 21st Century a lot of us use our cellphone and do not have a hard line. I get the feeling that he is implying that I do not live in Newtown.

Well he is wrong; I have lived in Newtown except a short period that I lived in Danbury since my family moved to Newtown in 1971. Kate and I chose Newtown as the place to raise our family and have lived and paid taxes on our home on Bari Drive since 1998. I was member of Newtown Hook & Ladder, ask Scudder [Smith, Bee publisher] to look at some of his picture of the fire department from the mid 80s and I’m in many of them. Or just ask around town and I’m sure that the author would run into a few people who know me.

I’ve been away from home for a long time, and I’m looking forward to returning to Newtown, catching up with friends and family. And would like to see the town reconsider why Uncle Sam is on display; he is not there to promote a business but to help keep everyone thinking about our troops who are still deployed overseas, and it would be a shame that a town official’s opinion and interpretation of an ordinance cause him to be removed.

Master Sergeant Tom Richmond

Bari Drive, Newtown                                                   October 25, 2010