Say it with a yellow ribbon.
That is the idea for a campaign by Fergus Legion members who are hoping to spread yellow ribbons across not only Centre Wellington, but right across Wellington County for all of July.
That is the month Canada starts bringing home troops from a war that has lasted for nearly eight years in Afghanistan and seen nearly 200 Canadians killed in action.
The Fergus Legion has been honouring each of the fallen soldiers at its branch, with a picture and details about each one of them.
When past president Brian Bielby attended the Legion District annual convention in Owen Sound, someone brought a yellow bow and suggested Legions in the district could do something positive to welcome all soldiers from across Canada who had served in Afghanistan.
“It was just a suggestion that was put on the floor,” Bielby remembered. “I don’t know how many will get involved.”
Bielby brought home a sample yellow bow. He said, “Everyone at the district meeting seemed to think it was a good idea. People were happy to take some [samples] home.”
The Fergus Branch liked the project and Bielby became the chairman of the welcome home campaign. There were a number of obstacles.
“This isn’t like Remembrance Day, where we’ve been doing it for 70 years,” he said.
The ribbons are made in China, and he obtained several boxes of them from a distributor in Texas.
When Bielby and three volunteers met to check the material and supplies, there was plenty of debate about how to tie them, and what size they should be.
It was evident then that tying such ribbons was not going to be particularly easy.
“The expert ribbon is 15 feet long,” he said. The material is three inches wide, and a finished bow is roughly 12 inches across.
Legion members quickly decided to enlist the help of Diane Smeltzer, of Abbey Rose, in Fergus. A lesson took place on a Monday morning, and by Thursday, eight volunteers had created the first 100 bows.
They were first used to decorate the Fergus Legion, and those will be sold as part of the Yellow Ribbon Campaign. The cost is $5 and any profit will be turned over to the families of those who served in Afghanistan.
The idea is to have businesses and individuals display them. Bielby hopes all merchants in Fergus and beyond will fill the main streets with yellow bows.
He hopes people in the community will purchase ribbons to fasten to trees on their properties, and even in parks. The idea is a sea of yellow. He planned to contact Elora Legion’s Ashley Woods to enlist that Branch in the project.
Bielby said the campaign will begin on July 1 – an excellent day to think about Canada and its Armed Forces – and it will run all month. Canada starts bringing home its troops this month, a project that will continue into the fall, with 1,000 peacekeepers remaining.
One of the considerations was how many ribbons to prepare.
Bielby set an arbitrary figure of 300, but he admitted he has no idea how popular they will be. He did note, though, that if the demand quickly outstrips the supply, he can obtain more ribbon supplies in two days. Those, of course, will have to be tied by volunteers.
Why a yellow ribbon?
Volunteer tyer Mary Barber had fond memories of dancing to Tony Orlando and Dawn’s Tie a Yellow Ribbon ’Round the Old Oak Tree – but that song had nothing to do with a military yellow ribbon campaign.
Truth be told, the song’s lyrics are about a convict returning home after three years in prison and being unsure of his welcome.
The song and poem that appears to have started the idea of yellow ribbon campaigns came from She wore a yellow ribbon, and that has appeared in various forms for at least four centuries, according to Wikipedia. It is based upon the same general theme. A woman of destiny is under some sort of test or trial as she waits for her beloved to return.
The song was likely brought to North America from Europe by English settlers. The origin of the yellow ribbons seems likely to have come out of the Puritan heritage. It was during the English Civil War that the Puritan Army of English Parliament wore yellow ribbons and yellow sashes onto the battlefield.
Yellow is the official colour of the armor branch of the U.S. Army, used in insignia, and depicted in Hollywood movies by the yellow neckerchief adorning late 19th century, horse-mounted U.S. cavalry.
The U.S. War Department’s Regulations of 1872 and 1898 show no neckerchief of any colour was required by dress code. They were, however, a popular accessory to cope with dust.
In the United States military, the symbol of the yellow ribbon is used in a popular marching song.
The first version copyrighted was the 1917 version by George A. Norton, titled ’Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon.
The lyrics were altered and the song re-titled She Wore a Yellow Ribbon by Russ Morgan for the 1949 movie of the same name, which featured John Wayne. It was performed by several popular musicians in the 1940s.
Since then, a yellow ribbon was flown in 1979 by Penne Laingen when her husband, U.S. diplomat Bruce, was held captive during the Iran hostage crisis.
It was among the first of the modern yellow ribbon campaigns. During the Iran hostage crisis, a yellow ribbon was a symbol of support for hostages held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Laingen, the wife of the most senior foreign service officer being held hostage, tied a yellow ribbon around a tree on the lawn of her Maryland home.
That ribbon primarily symbolized the resolve of the American people to win the hostages’ safe release, and it featured prominently in the celebrations of their return home in January 1981.
The yellow ribbon saw renewed popularity in the United States during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. It appeared along with the slogan “Support our troops,” in the form of yellow ribbons tied to trees, and countless other contexts.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Operation Yellow Ribbon was begun by Transport Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to terrorist attacks.
Canada’s goal was to ensure potentially destructive air traffic be removed from U.S. air space as fast as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets. It commenced the operation after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all aircraft across the United States.
The FAA then worked with Transport Canada to reroute incoming international flights to Canadian airports. As a result of Operation Yellow Ribbon, 255 aircraft were diverted to 17 different airports across the country.
The ribbon is significant in a number of other countries.
In Denmark and Sweden it has become an Armed Forces symbol for support of troops in missions.
Japan’s Medal of Honor uses a yellow ribbon to acknowledge professionals who have become public role models. In Malaysia, the yellow ribbon is used as a symbol of “press freedom.”
The yellow ribbon symbol became widely known in the 1970 song written by Levine and L. Russell Brown.
Displaying yellow ribbons is now widely recognized as a sign of loyalty to family, friends or loved ones away in the military – or to welcome them home.
But whatever its origins, Bielby likes the idea of the campaign for a couple of reasons.
First, “it supports our troops. Second, it’s very visual … It’s upbeat.”
Bielby said the Fergus Legion recently had the opportunity to welcome home a man who served in Afghanistan.
“So seldom do with have a chance to honour the ones who come home,” he said. “It’s very positive.”
