War ties up demand for yellow ribbon

esidents in some Southeast Missouri towns are tying yellow ribbons around the old oak tree -- and any other tree they can find -- to show support for U.S. troops in the war in Iraq.

Flower, fabric and hobby shops are scrambling to meet the demand for yellow ribbon, both for outside decorations and as lapel decorations.

Pat Parsons-Pullig would like to see more around Cape Girardeau and Jackson. "There are husbands fighting over there," said Parsons-Pullig of Jackson. "Mothers want to see their sons come home. We should have yellow ribbons tied everywhere."

Parsons-Pullig has tied a yellow ribbon to a white birch in her yard.

As a member of the Spirit Boosters group at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, she has been handing out yellow lapel ribbons. The group has distributed about 1,000 of the lapel ribbons to employees and volunteers over the past week and expects to distribute another 800 over the next few weeks.

"Everyone wants one," said Parsons-Pullig, whose late husband, Ken Parsons, served in the Army during the Vietnam War. He died three and a half years ago, and his wife has since remarried.

"When my husband was in Vietnam, I tied a lot of yellow ribbons around the old oak tree," she said, recalling the 1973 Tony Orlando and Dawn song.

Showing support

Like Parsons-Pullig, Rodney Carlson hopes that more people will display yellow ribbons on their trees.

"A lot of people are supporting the war, but it doesn't seem like they want to show it," Carlson said.

He and his wife, Marion, have decorated two trees and a telephone pole in their yard at 2807 Gordonville Road in Cape Girardeau with yellow ribbons that were swaying gently in the breeze Tuesday.

Their son, Bruce, is a Marine serving in Kuwait. "He is guarding one of the supply dumps over there," his father said.

The war is also personal for John Kirk, 19, of Jackson whose 27-year-old brother, Jason, is serving in the Air Force stationed in Saudi Arabia. He flies planes that refuel other Air Force jets in midair.

Kirk and his parents, Kay and Roger, have tied a yellow ribbon to the oak tree in their front yard at 1443 Rolling Field Drive in Jackson.

"It shows support to everybody that is over there," Kirk said.

U.S. Sen. Kit Bond urged all Missourians to tie yellow ribbons to their trees as a show of solidarity.

"Not every American supports this war to liberate Iraq, but we all can support our troops in combat and those who have been captured," said Bond, who tied a ribbon to a tree on his property in rural Mexico, Mo., Tuesday.

Yellow ribbons are a common sight in Piedmont, a Wayne County town which has a population around 2,200.

"We have them all over town, said Mayor Gaylon Watson. Yellow ribbons decorate the town's war memorial in the city park. They're on the front of City Hall, the police station and the city library. A support-the-troops "Yellow Ribbon Day" rally on Monday drew about 200 people. Watson said it was a good turnout for such a small city, which has about 40 armed forces members in the war.

The war has hit home there. Sgt. Eric Percy, a Marine from Piedmont, suffered shrapnel wounds in combat with Iraqi soldiers March 22. He is recovering in a Kuwaiti hospital, the mayor said.

Selling out

Retailers throughout Southeast Missouri say there is heavy demand for yellow ribbon of varying sizes.

Hobby Lobby Creative Center in Cape Girardeau has sold out of its two most popular sizes of yellow ribbon in the past two weeks. "It has really been unbelievable," said David Vaughn, store manager, who expects another shipment of yellow ribbon later this week.

The store sells 10-yard rolls of the ribbon.

"I am sure we've sold over 200 rolls of it," he said.

Sharon Bodenstein, owner of Toni's Flower House in Cape Girardeau, has been giving away yellow lapel ribbons since the war began. There's a huge demand nationwide for yellow ribbon, she said.

"It is hard to find yellow ribbon," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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