Soldier's Wife Says 'Bring It On'

As Board Votes For Sign's Removal

Article Courtesy of The Tampa Tribune

By JULIE PACE
Published March 10, 2006

TAMPA - The board offered to move the patriotic tribute to her husband to a more prominent spot in the Westchase community.

Stacey Kelley said no, she had promised him it would stay in her yard while he was in Iraq even though she recently learned it violated deed restrictions.

David Kelley had asked her to post a "Support Our Troops" sign in front of their house in Westchase in northwest Hillsborough County. She put up the sign in December, and it wasn't until last month that she got a letter telling her the sign had to go.

Westchase deed restrictions prohibit residents from posting signs in front of their homes unless they are "for sale" or "for rent" notices. Exceptions are made for signs from home security companies.

The association's board of directors voted unanimously Thursday night for the sign's removal despite being barraged by scores of negative telephone calls and e-mails earlier in the day.

Kelley appealed to the association, asking it to make an exception to the rule and allow her sign to stay. Wearing an Army T-shirt and carrying a bag covered with photographs of her husband in uniform, Kelley said she has to keep the sign to make sure people remember his sacrifice.

Her husband "feels, and his unit feels, people are forgetting," she said.

Board President Daryl Manning, an Army reservist who also served in Iraq, told Kelley the community does support the troops. But she has to follow the same rules as other residents, he said.

"You open this Pandora's box, and there's no saying what we'll end up with," Manning said.

According to the association's violation procedures, it will be about a month before the fines are levied.

Kelley said she has not received any complaints about the sign from residents in Stonebridge, the gated Westchase neighborhood where she lives. Instead, residents have gone out of their way to offer support, she said, including several neighbors who decorated her vehicle Thursday with patriotic messages.

Kelley's devotion should be an inspiration to the community, said Westchase resident Jovanna Hoagland, whose son spent more than a year in Iraq. Hoagland was one of about 50 people who attended Thursday's meeting, and she said displaying symbols of support is one of the few ways military families feel connected to their loved ones overseas.

"That's all you can do, is show your support in the community," Hoagland said.

Showing support for her husband and other troops has become Kelley's passion. In addition to the sign, she flies a U.S. flag outside her home. She also has a room covered with photos of David and military memorabilia.

Since news of Kelley's fight to save her sign has spread, she's received almost 300 telephone calls and e-mails of support from across the nation. Many are from people offering to help pay her fines. Others have suggestions for ways to get around the association rules, including one Realtor who offered to let Stacey Kelley post his company's "for sale" notice on her sign.

The Kelleys purchased their home in Westchase about five years ago and have split their time between here and Fort Carson, Colo., where David was stationed before being deployed. He is expected to spend a minimum of two years in Iraq, working with an Army transport unit.

David joined the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks, his mother, Melinda Kelley, said. She commended her daughter-in-law for fighting to keep the sign and said she deserves as much respect as the troops.

"It's not just that person who's sacrificing their life, it's that person's family," Melinda Kelley said.

David Kelley is currently on a mission, his wife said, and she won't be able to contact him for about two weeks. Their next conversation, the one where she has to tell him about the association's decision, will be difficult, she said.

"I'm going to hate to have to tell my husband," she said. "It's going to break his heart."