Those yellow ribbons are for the troops
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Yellow ribbon fever has taken hold of O'ahu drivers.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
The proof is probably just a car-length away on your daily commute, stuck to a trunk lid or a car door or both: Magnets shaped like 8-inch-tall yellow ribbons.
Magnets shaped like yellow ribbons signify people's solidarity with troops who are serving overseas.
Some say "Support Our Troops"; others say "Pray for Our Troops."
There are more than 9,000 Hawai'i-based troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, making the magnets a potent symbol of solidarity for folks here.
Hundreds of the magnets are being sold outside the Schofield Barracks PX every week by the wives of soldiers serving overseas.
They set up a table and sell an entire shipment — 250 magnets — in a few hours, said Debi Townsend, who helps with a family support group for Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. Bravo Company has sold about 1,000 magnets in just three weeks, raising money — at $5 a magnet — for a welcome-home party when the troops return. Other support groups are doing the same thing with similar, overwhelming response, she said.
One elderly man showed up twice, spending $100 on magnets he asked the wives to hand out free.
"It is amazing," Townsend said. "I'm not sure if it is just supporting our troops or they just want to show their pride or what."
"They love our guys," said Missy Davis, who also helps with Bravo Company.
"My husband and all of our friends are over there, and we want them to know we love them."
The magnets are so popular, they're being stolen off cars. Townsend has lost two.
