Yellow ribbons back up for troops in Mid East

[thedrifter]

Article ran : 01/27/2003

By MIKE SHERRILL
DAILY NEWS STAFF

A lot of emotion can bind a piece of ribbon. That’s especially true these days, as Marines and sailors begin to deploy in large numbers from Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station. For many it’s like déjà vu. Gulf War memories return, as some get the same gut feelings.



Connie Stokes-Starnes and her 9-year-old daughter recently re-enacted a Gulf War custom.



They tied a yellow ribbon around a tree in their yard.



The ribbon shows they have a loved one away. It also shows the solidarity and the strength the troops leave back home.



“I didn’t see any, and I thought I was sticking out,” Stokes-Starnes said.



But her family has not been the only ones shopping for ribbons. In some places, they’re in short supply.



“We’re waiting for another shipment so we can make some more bows,” Michelle Vitt, an employee of Party Suppliers in Jacksonville, said last week.



She said the store had a run on the ribbons last week in the days before the big snowstorm. The bows increase in price as they get larger, ranging from a couple of dollars to about $14.



Micheals Arts and Crafts also had people buying bows and ribbon.



One Micheals employee even held a bow-making party because her and many of her friend’s husbands were deployed.



Debra Thetford, the floral designer who makes Micheals ribbons, said she understands if younger military wives would not want to display a ribbon.



because it signals their husbands are gone.



However, her son has yet to be deployed, but when he is deployed she’ll get a ribbon for her own home.



“He’s leaving for a reason,” she said. “It’s sad to see him go, but all moms have to proud at a time like this.”



People who want something scaled down from a big bow are turning to Carolina Party Inc. in Swansboro for small yellow ribbons that cost around 35 cents. The store’s owner bought them from a supplier shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, and many have been sold lately.



“People have been looking for ways to demonstrate what’s in their heart,” owner Diane Delorier said.


Contact Mike Sherrill at msherrill@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 237.


Tied to tradition: Hailey Starnes, 9, ties a yellow ribbon around a tree in her family’s front yard to remember her father, Lt. Col. Glenn Starnes, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 10 Marines, who has deployed. The ribbon will remain on the tree until he comes home.


Sempers,

Roger

[fishon]

Thanks Rger. I will go out and buy a Yellow Ribbon and tie it to my tree in front. Also I will recommend it to my Legionair members at our next meeting Tuesday. Semper Fi Frankie