Elderly vet faces eviction in flag display

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SPRINGFIELD, Ore., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A 70-year-old Navy veteran has been threatened with eviction for displaying a large U.S. flag on a wall outside his Springfield, Ore., housing complex.

Edward Zivica says he displays the flag because he desires to show his patriotism on holidays, The Register-Guard, Springfield, Ore., reported. However, St. Vincent de Paul, the managing company of the Aster apartment complex where Zivica lives, says it's against tenant rules that bar hanging anything from exterior walls.

"This has nothing to do with it being an American flag," Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, said.

The long-running dispute came to a head when Zivica put up the flag Oct. 27 for Navy Day and was served an eviction notice by St. Vincent de Paul.

The notice says Zivica has until Nov. 15 to write a compliance letter stating he will no longer attach "any items to the outside of the building without written permission" or face eviction by the end of the month.

"I didn't think I'd be risking my home by doing this," Zivica said. "But it fits with the heavy-handed way this place is managed."

Zivica said he plans to write the letter because he has few other living options.

"I guess we'll see what happens," he said.