User talk:ISRG

WHY A YELLOW RIBBON?

As a young boy growing up I enjoyed watching old western movies with the cowboys and Indians, especially when the cavalry would show up at the last minute to save everyone. I also enjoyed the regular western TV shows like Bonanza, Wild Wild West, Branded, and even F-Troop. My dad liked those too, but he also enjoyed the military-style shows like Combat, Rat Patrol, Twelve O’Clock High, and Hogan’s Heroes, as well as the classic military movies. Since he is a Korean War veteran, I sometimes pictured him in some of those shows as being the hero who rescued his buddies or got behind the lines and killed the enemy so his troops could safely advance. The movies and television shows at one time showed a vision of strong men and a nation sure of itself and its intention. You can no longer say that same idea exists today. Our country has become tainted as to how American’s are to react to certain situations in the world. We express our patriotism, or lack thereof, through the same contaminated idealism of our country being pushed around and being passive if the going gets tough or if we may not be politically correct to suit the masses. Now that I have been in the military for over twenty-seven years, I have a better idea of our military and its traditions. I’ve always wondered why we celebrate the troops coming home with yellow ribbons. In the shows where “men were men” and good always won over evil, one of the lowest names a man could be called was “yellow” or some derivative of that. Sometimes a man would be called “yellow-bellied” or a remark would be made about the “yellow streak up his back”. Look in the dictionary under “yellow”, it lists the various synonyms such as cowardly, dishonorable, contemptible, etc. After talking with a few older people and doing some research on the internet, I have come across a few suggestions as to why we utilize yellow ribbons. One custom suggests it comes from a Civil War story about a prisoner’s homecoming returning from the Andersonville Prison. Then there is the old 1949 western movie “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” starring John Wayne, John Ford, and Joanne Dru, but that has never been a contention of the origin behind the yellow ribbon or the modern tradition of its use. The tradition most people of our day are familiar with is from the 1973 song from Tony Orlando and Dawn called, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”. In 1980, when the American hostages were captured and held in Iran, is when the American people resurrected the yellow ribbon campaign as by that time most of them were very familiar with the Tony Orlando song and were more familiar with its history than of anything that had happened generations before. Once the American hostages released, it was not until Operation Desert Storm came upon us that the ribbons became popular again. I have actually spoken to people who have never heard the Tony Orlando song, due to their age or just not listening to that genre of music, and they said they never knew why the ribbons we use are yellow. They were just following the crowd and doing what everyone else was doing. Don’t we teach our children not to follow the crowd just because “everyone else does it”? Yet, we as adults don’t follow our own advice. POW / MIA organizations began to adopt the red ribbon as their choice of color for support and solidarity. Then the AIDs activists started using the same red ribbon and that caused a conflict. Some people were confused over what the ribbon wearer was actually supporting. To this day, although yellow is generally used by the public for POW / MIA awareness, the POW / MIA “Dining-In Ceremonies” still use a red ribbon tied around the vase that holds the single red rose. There is a wonderful teenage suicide prevention program in San Diego, California and another one in Canada that I have been told is a great program and has saved many lives. They have no original design for their organization other than they have adopted the same yellow ribbon. When you wear the yellow ribbon, display it on your vehicle, or adorn any object, how is anyone to know what it is you are trying to show support for? So many organizations have adopted the symbol that it pretty much seems to have lost any value except for whatever the “cause of the day” may be. The controversy of the yellow ribbon still exists; especially from those who are old enough to remember when being called “yellow” wasn’t a good thing. I have heard people comment that when they see a yellow ribbon used for the purpose of supporting our military troops, they wonder “Why are we are using the same symbolism that we would give a coward or a prisoner?” If the man in the Tony Orlando song was a prisoner (which he was; read the words to the song), what did he do to get put in prison for 3 long years? Was he a thief, rapist, or drug offender? We don’t know the answer to that question, but why would we want to compare the character of the prisoner to our troops? Don’t our military personnel deserve the right to have their own emblem of support that can in no way be mistaken for other causes? Back in 1917, during World War I, Captain Robert L. Queissner had two sons serving on the front lines. He designed the Blue Star Banner which became the unofficial symbol of families who have loved ones serving in the armed forces. During World War II, the Department of War recognized the use of the banner and issued specifications of the proper display and use of the banner. The blue star was replaced with a gold (not yellow) star if that relative was killed or died in service. These 2 banners have distinct symbolism and cannot be mistaken for any other use. Our troops today deserve the same respect to show honor for them by using a symbol for their courage and loyalty that can in no way be thought of in any other context. We have used the yellow ribbon for so long that we don’t really care about its origin. Would be too much trouble to change the color of the sticker on our automobiles or the ribbons on our trees? Is it asking too much for our military loved ones to be set apart distinctly from other people and organizations who may have haphazardly chosen a symbol that they themselves don’t know why they chose the yellow color other than to jump on a bandwagon already in progress? My suggestion is to use the good old-fashioned tri-color--red, white and blue. That way everyone will know the use is for the solidarity of the AMERICAN troops. The tri-color, with the stars and stripes, is distinct from any other organization or country. It cannot be mistaken for any other use than to unify our country and show support and solidarity for our troops. They are not cowards and they are not criminals getting out of prison: they are OUR American heroes. Don’t they deserve that? My twenty-year-old son has been deployed overseas twice in two years. We will be honoring him and his comrades with the blue star banner and the ribbons that commemorate Old Glory, not the “cause of the day” yellow ribbon. We are proud of him being the fourth straight generation from our family to serve his country. Don’t hide the pride we have for our troops behind a yellow piece of cloth whose meaning has been diluted and hidden with the passage of time. Wave the red, white, and blue.