Yellow Ribbon Bows Out For Now After Wind Blows Heroes’ Welcome

Battered by weeks of high winds, the giant yellow ribbon attached to the Coronado Bridge to honor troops returning from the Persian Gulf War has been removed. But it is expected to be replaced next month.

Looking tattered and torn after nearly two months on the bridge, the 135-foot bow was removed early Tuesday by volunteers who already have begun soliciting the nearly $7,000 needed to produce a sturdier replacement ribbon.

“We’re very disappointed, but we don’t want a tattered ribbon welcoming home our heroes,” said Lois Silva, who organized the project while working as personnel manager at Western Lumber Co.

“We had hoped to be able to take the old ribbon down and put the new one up at the same time, but unfortunately there’s going to be a bit of a gap,” Silva added. “But we want it back up there as soon as possible, because there’s still a lot of interest in it.”

The bow, which consists of more than 700 yards of nylon fabric and is held in place by more than 3,500 feet of rope and cable, takes about two weeks to construct, Silva said.

As a result, the new ribbon probably will not yet be in place when the aircraft carrier Ranger returns June 8.

The temporary disappearance of the bow is a particular disappointment to the families of service men and women who have not yet returned to San Diego from the Persian Gulf region, Silva said.

“A lot of people told us they’d rather have a tattered ribbon up rather than no ribbon at all,” Silva said. “But we just couldn’t feel good about it not looking as nice as we’d like it to be for our troops. They deserve the best, and they’ll get it.”