Marines Warn Against Display of Yellow Ribbons

The patriotic gesture of displaying a yellow ribbon to show support for U.S. troops in the Middle East is being discouraged by Camp Pendleton, where officials are concerned the ribbons could invite crime.

“I’ve seen them on car antennas and on porches. Either way, you’re marking yourself ‘follow me home,’ ” base spokeswoman Capt. Rose-Ann Sgrignoli said Wednesday. “It’s not a good idea.”

Base officials worry that the ribbons might call attention to wives left alone while their Marine husbands are deployed. At least one crime reported in North County might be linked to showing a yellow ribbon.

Carlsbad police are investigating the Aug. 31 sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman who was attacked at gunpoint as she walked from the Plaza Camino Real shopping center at dusk.

Detective Ray Trujillo said the suspect “made reference to the yellow ribbon on her vehicle.”

But, he cautioned, “There’s nothing to indicate the suspect picked her out because of that.”

Since the early 1970s, when singer Tony Orlando popularized a song about tying a yellow ribbon around a tree, displaying the fabric has demonstrated patriotism and support for American hostages in Iran and Lebanon.

Ribbons began appearing on sprawling Camp Pendleton and the neighboring community of Oceanside after a large contingent of Marines was hurriedly deployed to the Middle East in early August. The exact number of departed Marines hasn’t been disclosed.

At the time, Marine officials were concerned about keeping confidential the names of Marines and dependents because of possible terrorist reprisals against families.

The Marine base’s alarm over displaying yellow ribbons has reached organizations such as the Armed Forces YMCA, which makes and has distributed about 100 of them.

Karina Kingman, director of family programs, said she is aware of worry that the yellow ribbons might identify a Marine dependent living alone, but she noted “we’re still giving them out. They’re for everybody. I have one and my husband’s not (a serviceman). It’s just to show support.”

Kingman said: “I know it is controversial. If you’re a wife home alone, you have to make that decision on your own.”

Sgrignoli said military dependents are being informally advised not to show yellow ribbons, and a more formal statement will be printed next week in the base newspaper, The Scout.