Closing the Circle: Yellow Ribbons and the Redemption of the Past

In the explosion of public patriotism that accompanied the 1991 Gulf War, the most visible symbol of troop support was not the Stars and Stripes--although flags were profusely evident--but a recently invented tradition, the yellow ribbon. The practice of tying these mini-banners around trees had first surfaced during the 1979-81 hostage crisis as a sign of sympathy for embassy victims of the Iranian revolution. Its resuscitation ten years later, as nearly half a million troops flew to the Middle East, symbolically linked U.S. civilian and military personnel not only to each other, but to a home front that viewed their endeavors with pride and foreboding.Ribbon display during the Iran crisis can be traced to a Maryland woman, Penne Laingen, whose husband Bruce had been charge d'affaires at the Teheran embassy and who, after its capture, edited a newsletter for hostage families. In a 1973 pop song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," a beribboned tree had symbolized a woman's fidelity to her imprisoned husband, and Laingen promoted the idea in numerous speeches and newsletter columns. Ribbons quickly sprouted around the country, and the song itself acquired a patriotic sheen. As commiserative emblems, the ribbons amply illustrated Hobsbawm and Ranger's (1988) observation that traditions are invented, in many instances, as salves for crisis.But if it was the hostage crisis that sparked the instant tradition, it took a more elaborate and desperate crisis--the war against Saddam Hussein--to develop its potential. Even before the first bombs began to drop on Baghdad in January of 1991, yellow ribbons were being touted as symbols of national resolve, and the country was awash in a virtual "blizzard of satin and acetate" (Collins 28). Lassoed trees weren't the half of it. Homeowners hung ribbons on fences, flagpoles and doors, often in concert with seasonal emblems to create what Jack Santino (1992) has called "folk assemblages." The business community, which had rallied to a national cause in the 1930s by displaying blue eagles, now featured yellow bows in their windows and advertisements. Supermarkets decorated their coupon inserts with the supportive emblems and switched to yellow register tapes for the duration of the war. Newspapers and magazines ran the ribbons up their mastheads. Local governments sprinkled them throughout municipal buildings and public spaces. Churches expressed their sympathy with Desert Storm troops, if not with their mission, by adding satin bows to seasonal wreaths under the sign of the cross. Florists incorporated yellow ribbons into their arrangements. Novelty companies produced yellow ribbon bumper stickers, decals, buttons, pins, gimme hats, tee shirts and coffee mugs. One need not be cynically Marxist to observe that, on the home front, the six-week war was a small-business bonanza (Ballen 14).Nor did the yellowing of America come to a halt with the February ceasefire. As Desert Storm troops began to trickle home, the ribbons continued to advertise national solidarity. The tenor of bumper sticker philosophy moved from "Kick ass" to "Welcome home," but the yellow symbols remained as prominent as ever. An "Archie" comic book featuring the story "When Johnny and Jenny Come Marching Home Again" was littered equally with yellow bows and traditional bunting. The United States Postal Service issued a stamp honoring "those who served," with a slender ribbon snaking decoratively through its ads. Troops disembarking at Air Force bases were "decorated" with citizens' versions of the campaign ribbon (Brosnan 12). In Austin, Texas, a July 4 salute to Texas troops--sponsored by mogul Ross Perot and billed modestly as "the biggest celebration in history"--included a project that would have turned artist Christo green: A San Antonio engineer wrapped the Capitol building in yellow metal as part of a Texas-sized "Operation Yellow Ribbon." Twelve months after Saddam Hussein cried uncle, a million ribbons still fluttered in the breeze of a "reborn" America. …