Whitehall Township Mayor Ed Hozza faced a small army of hostile military veterans during Monday night’s township commissioners meeting.
They were angry because the mayor had a POW/MIA flag taken down from a flag pole so a Syrian flag-raising event could be held outside the township building on April 18.
Some called for Hozza to resign.
One man claimed he violated federal laws.
Another compared him to “Hanoi Jane,” a name given to actress Jane Fonda, who will never be forgiven by many vets for what they consider her traitorous visit to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
The attack on Hozza came just a week before the primary election, where he faces a challenge in his re-election bid from fellow Democrat Jerry Palagonia, a township commissioner who was at the meeting.
After the meeting, when asked if it was a coincidence that the issue erupted just before the primary, Hozza chose not to respond directly.
But he added there is a history going back 25 years of heated controversy at the last board of commissioners meeting just before a Democratic primary for township executive or mayor.
At times, Monday night’s meeting threatened to get completely out of control. No one gaveled for order.
The meeting room was filled way over capacity, which Hozza later put at 55. Many people filled the seats and stood along the walls. Some sat on the podium right in front of the dais. Others simply sat on the floor.
The veterans want official township action so the POW flag is never again taken down.
“It’s going to happen,” promised Linda Snyder, president of the township commissioners.
Township resident Kevin Seyfried declared the only time the POW/MIA flag is allowed to come down “is when all 88,000 POWs and MIAs return home.”
He also maintained no other flag is allowed to fly on the same pole as the American flag.
And he said the U.S. State Department considers Syria a terrorist-supporting country — yet its flag was placed underneath the American flag at the April 18 program.
Seyfried asked township commissioners to take formal action so the POW flag “never comes down again.”
He also wanted “a public apology from all who were involved on April 18 to POWs, MIAs, their families, the veterans, the people of this township and the men and women serving our country today.”
Seyfried was loudly cheered and applauded.
Resident Don Sotak, Jr., claimed Hozza broke three federal laws on April 18.
“Arrest him!” yelled one person.
“Lock him up!” yelled another.
“He wanted the Syrian votes,” said a woman.
Sotak maintained it’s a federal offense to fly the flag of another country on the same pole as the U.S. flag or to take down the POW flag.
He also accused the mayor of failing to uphold constitutional laws as he swore to do when he took office.
“How do you plea?” demanded someone in the audience.
After the meeting, Hozza said he has not yet had time to research the issue, but does not believe he violated any federal laws.
None of the other township commissioners spoke in Hozza’s defense. He is in his eighth year as Whitehall’s mayor.
One man yelled at Hozza: “Are you a veteran, that’s what I want to know.”
Said another: “No, he isn’t.”
Gloves were off
The gloves were off between Hozza and Snyder from the very start of the meeting.
She sarcastically suggested he should be called King Hozza rather than Mayor Hozza.
“This is township-owned property, this is government property,” said Snyder, who suggested the Syrian flag-raising ceremony “should have been at the mayor’s home, on his flagpole.”
During the Pledge of Allegiance, Snyder made gestures with her left hand to encourage the audience until some were practically shouting the words.
She then guaranteed people in the audience they could speak as long as they needed “as long as no one gets hostile.”
She added: “If they take you away, I’m going along.” She was cheered and applauded.
At least three township police officers, including Police Chief Linda Kulp, were present.
At one point, as people were yelling at Hozza, Snyder ran her finger across her throat, simulating someone’s throat being cut.
Snyder said she had watched Hozza on WFMZ saying “we made the decision” to have a Syrian flag-raising program. She demanded to know “who are ‘we’?”
She polled each of the five other commissioners at the meeting and all said they did not know the mayor was going to do the flag raising and did not give their approval.
“And I certainly didn’t know,” said Snyder, “ because I would have been here with a sign protesting and doing anything I could to stop it.”
Hozza declined to immediately respond to her demands to explain “who was ‘we’” saying he would make a statement after everyone else spoke.
But many in the audience began shouting: “Who was ‘we’?” and demanding of Hozza: “Answer the question!”
After Hozza stated his position on the flag issue later in the meeting, Snyder again repeatedly demanded to know: “Who’s ‘we’?”
Hozza said: “The ‘we’ was the community that came to me and asked for permission to have their ceremony here at the township. And I granted that permission.”
Scolding the audience
People settled down a bit after Patricia Sweeney, the mayor’s executive secretary, stood up and declared: “The snide remarks have to stop!”
Because she was recording the meeting for the minutes, she said if people wanted to talk they had to go up to the lectern and identify themselves.
Sweeney spoke up again a few minutes later, saying: “Have some courtesy; you’re grown-ups.”
Eventually trying to get the meeting under control, Snyder said she would stay all night if people in the audience would just allow the person at the lecture speak.
Many who attended the meeting arrived on motorcycles adorned with American flags.
Some wore biker vests decorated with military patches, some wore American Legion or VFW caps and some wore military shirts or POW/MIA bandannas.
One man carried a POW flag into the room. Another clutched a folded American flag against his chest.
Many who spoke mentioned not only their own military service, but that of their relatives and ancestors as well.
The audience stood and applauded township resident Anna Rodriguez, a Gold Star mother whose son Nicholas “died for this country” while serving in the Marines.
Rodriquez told Hozza: “What you did not only disrespected our flag and our country, you disrespected my son. For that, I will never forgive you. Nothing you can say or do will ever change my mind about the way I feel about you.”
When resident Patrick Thomas mentioned that he was a 22-year veteran of the Army, and Hozza responded by thanking him for his service, many in the crowd groaned sarcastically.
One woman shouted: “It wasn’t good enough to keep the flag up.”
History teacher calls it a witch hunt
Township resident Michael Yadush, a history teacher at Whitehall High School, repeatedly said he was embarrassed by what was going in the meeting.
“I’m going to tell my students that what I saw here today was a witch hunt,” said Yadush. “I was embarrassed to say I was a resident of Whitehall.”
Yadush advised the audience to “keep it classy” and said: “I was hurting back there, watching what was going on in here.”
He said veterans at the meeting showed their passion, which he loved, but “some of them didn’t do it the way you should.”
He also advised Snyder to run a classier board “and not attack people and try to talk over people. I’m really embarrassed by your behavior running this board.”
“This is America,” responded Snyder as the crowd clapped and cheered her. “This is the way it’s supposed to be. If you don’t like it, that’s fine too.”
Township resident Shirlee Mittura commended Snyder for the excellent job she did at the meeting, saying: “I am embarrassed by the school teacher that was embarrassed by your conduct. I don’t think there was a witch hunt or anything else.”
Hozza’s apology
Because Whitehall Township has only one flag pole at its municipal building, said Hozza, the Syrian flag was flown under the American flag— but stressed the American flag was “at the place of honor, at the top of the flag pole.”
“I apologize for that action, not knowing what the flag etiquette was at the time,” said Hozza.
Defending himself, the mayor said: “I support our veterans by attending every Memorial Day and Veterans Day service in the township.
“I also attend the annual ceremony at the Hokendauqua American Legion to retire our American flags in a respectful manner.”
Hozza said he has sung at veterans’ funerals, including American Legion commanders and VFW presidents.
And he said his family honored the memory of Whitehall native Jesse Reed, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in July 2010, “by purchasing, out of our own pocket, the patriotic memorial banners that line Seventh Street” in the village of Hokendauqua.
While the mayor’s response was met with polite applause, he did not directly address the issue of the POW flag being taken down.
“I sat here and listened to nothing,” said Seyfried. “The thing we’re here for is you taking down the POW/MIA flag — not about the Syrian flag. I want an apology that you took the POW flag down.”
Hozza was loudly mocked when he responded by saying he often takes both the American and POW flags home to wash them.
In his comments after almost everyone else spoke, Hozza did indirectly offer justification for taking down the POW flag.
He read a 1988 township resolution, which encouraged support for veterans of the Vietnam War.
That resolution includes a section stating a flag displaying the POW/MIA logo “shall be flown on the township flag staff during those periods and at those times as so designated by the township executive.”
Snyder objected to that resolution, because it states flying that flag is at the will of the executive — the mayor.
Seeking a solution
Commissioners took immediate steps to form an ad hoc committee that will get authoritative answers about flag etiquette and consider formulating a new officials policy for the township, as some of the veterans requested.
“This we don’t want to ever happen again,” said Commissioner Phillip Ginder. “We want to get it right.”
Snyder said commissioners need the help of veterans to come up legislation to resolve the issue.
“We will not write the legislation tonight because it would be too hasty,” she said.
Ginder suggested the committee include officers from the Hokendauqua and Fullerton American Legion posts, as well as the Egypt VFW.
Ron Dickert, adjutant of the Fullerton post, immediately volunteered to be on the committee, as did Seyfried of the Hokendauqua post.
Before the meeting ended, Ginder said the first meeting of the ad hoc committee has been set for 7 p.m. June 9 at the American Legion post in Fullerton.
While that won’t be a township commissioners meeting, Snyder said it should be advertised “just in case four commissioners show up. We don’t want to deprive any of the commissioners from going.”
Snyder said she also wants to be on that committee.
Ginder, who said he’s a combat veteran of Vietnam, said: “There’s so much to flag etiquette, I’m not so sure one person knows it all.”
Ginder said if there really is a federal law against taking down a POW flag, passing a revised township resolution won’t mean anything.
“More research needs to be done by the solicitor,” suggested Hozza.
Several people claimed to have information about flag etiquette, which is not necessarily the same as federal law.
Jeff Warren was the last resident to speak on the flag issue, after most of the people left the meeting.
Warren maintained there is no federal law addressing flying the POW flag, but added: “It’s a great idea to have a dedicated pole to keep it up constantly.”
Syrian-Americans apologize to audience
Despite some opposing the Syrian flag raising, two Syrian-Americans who spoke were greeted with applause.
Speaking on behalf of the Syrian community, Whitehall resident Aziz Wehbey apologized, saying there was no intention to disrespect veterans or active military at the flag-raising.
“At the ceremony, I saluted the armed forces of our great nation — the United States,” said Wehbey.
He said the United States and Syria “are fighting a common enemy called ISIS, that just attacked us in Texas.”
Wehbey maintained Allentown’s mayor refused to do the flag-raising because he “is taking the Islamic extremists’ side.”
Township resident Nidal Yacoub also apologized, saying there was no intention to insult anyone by having the flag raising.
“If what we did caused any insult to anybody, we do apologize,” said Yacoub. “We respect the troops, we respect the veterans.
“We come from Syria, but we’re American. We live here now. We don’t like to insult anybody. Accept our apology if that caused any harm to anyone of you.”
Yacoub suggested the township erect another flagpole for future flag-raising events.
Responded Snyder: “Even if you put another pole up, there may be people that do not want another country’s flag flown on American government property.”
Hozza suggested the veterans join with the Syrian American community to relocate the American flag pole to a more prominent spot in front of the township building and add another pole to add the Pennsylvania state flag.
“That would be a very good goal for the community to put this issue to rest,” he said, adding he also would be willing to make a donation toward that project.
Resident Lawrence Gutleber, a Vietnam vet who identified himself as commander of American Legion Post 426 in Coplay, declared: “That day that Syrian flag went up, every veteran was crying.”
Gutleber said Hozza should be ashamed of himself, accusing him of sticking a stick into the eye of Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski “because you don’t get along” and because Pawlowski refused to allow a Syrian independence day flag raising at Allentown City Hall.
Hozza explains flag-raising
Hozza said the April 18 Syrian flag raising was the first such event ever held in the township.
He acknowledged it was scheduled after a request by local Syrian Americans for a flag raising ceremony at Allentown City Hall was denied by the city.
Hozza said more than 300 members of the “American Lehigh Valley Christian Syrian community” participated in the Whitehall event, which included the singing of “God Bless America” and the national anthems of both the United States and Syria.
He said Syrian-Americans serve in the U.S. military and have given their lives in defense of America.
He reported that speakers at the hour-long event addressed the persecution of Syrian Christians by ISIS.
Snyder vs. Hozza
Snyder went after Hozza throughout the meeting, even after most of the audience cleared out.
She repeatedly complained said she is forced to file “Right to Know” requests to get information from the mayor and he does not respond to them with anything more than agendas.
He suggested she should just call him with her questions.
When Mittura demanded to know what Hozza had done about the Lehigh Valley Dairy, he responded by saying: “Who owns the Lehigh Valley Dairy?” He suggested she “ask the candidate over here” —Palagonia.
Snyder objected, saying Hozza was trying to turn the meeting into a political rally.
Snyder also got into an argument with Commissioner Phillips Armstrong during the meeting, telling him: “You don’t want the truth to be spoken.”
He began to respond but Snyder kept talking.
“She interrupts everybody,” said Armstrong.
Snyder said Armstrong wouldn’t be a commissioner if not for her, adding: “Shame on you.”
He suggested she should act professionally.
Later in the meeting, when Ginder was trying to write down which commissioner had made a motion, he said: “I have to get this right or I’ll be up the flagpole.”
Said Armstrong: “It’s too soon for flagpole jokes.”