The "yellow ribbon gang" keeps tabs on four military men in the neighborhood who have been deployed, tying yellow ribbons everywhere and organizing homecomings.
By KAREN STEEN
Published May 4, 2003
CITRUS PARK - Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, but that didn't stop two dozen neighbors from celebrating as one of their own came home from Afghanistan.
"Thank you!" "We're proud of you." "Welcome home," shouted the crowd, clad in red, white and blue, as Sgt. Ovidio Perez II arrived with his father.
Perez, who returned to Citrus Park's small Woodmont neighborhood last month after six months of active duty, was surprised at the hero's welcome.
"I never really had a place that I called home," said the third-generation military man who grew up near U.S. Army posts in Europe and South America. "That's definitely changed. I've always felt like an outsider, but I don't feel like that anymore."
No wonder. Trailing from the neighborhood's entrance and along every street, on every tree in front of each of the 150 homes, hundreds of yellow ribbons shone through the darkness to greet him. Perez is one of four men from the neighborhood involved in military active duty overseas. The neighbors have decided each deserves a hero's welcome.
It all began with four Woodmont women who formed what they call the "yellow ribbon gang."
Early in April, they began tying yellow ribbons on every tree. Their enthusiasm took them outside Woodmont, to other sites that returning troops would see upon returning to Tampa. The women have tied more than 2,000 ribbons - from MacDill Air Force Base to Tampa International Airport, to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and along thoroughfares such as Dale Mabry Highway and Kennedy Boulevard.
"We blaze. We tie fast. We've gotten it down to a science," said Connie Dengler, a member of the gang that includes Sue Ann Jones, Tee Schantz and Lisa Spirko.
Jones started it all after she saw a neighbor wrapping a yellow ribbon around a tree in front of her home and asked its significance. The neighbor said it was a reminder to those who've been called to serve, that she cares about them, is thinking about them and appreciates them.
Jones went straight to the store and purchased 10 yellow plastic table cloths. She cut them in strips and piled them into her little red wagon. Pulling it behind her, she began going through the neighborhood asking if she could put bows on neighbor's trees. The next day she called her friends and asked them to join her.
Along the way, the women discovered that four men from the neighborhood were serving in either Afghanistan or Iraq. They put photos up at the entrance to the subdivision and provided updates to the neighbors about their heroes overseas.
In Iraq, Cpl. Andy Hoagland of the l5th Marine Expeditionary Unit received an e-mail photo of the Woodmont yard signs. He wrote back, "The guys got me a tent all to myself so my head would fit comfortably. They are just jealous!"
Spc. David Westbrook, of the Headquarters Division, Third Infantry, has been securing the Baghdad airport and hopes to come home in six to eight weeks. He has maintained his sense of humor through this ordeal. He recently told his parents that Ted Koppel was imbedded with his unit. but the guys are tired of Ted and want to trade him for a "hot babe" reporter.
Woodmont's fourth military hero is Senior Master Sgt. Michael Russell, who was deployed to Afghanistan a month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and has since returned home.
As they have tied their ribbons, the women say others have joined the effort and shared their enthusiasm.
"When people see us tying the ribbons, they honk and chant "USA! USA!' " Jones said.
"One day we were tying ribbons along Gandy Boulevard, when a man pulled over and told Lisa Spirko, "I feel like you're doing this for my son.' All she could say was, "We are.' "
So many are tying ribbons that organizers say it's hard to find yellow table cloths. One Little League mother is having her baseball players wrap all the trees in the park where they play.
At the Veterans hospital, "all the guys there wanted us to tie ribbons to their wheelchairs," Jones said. She was overcome when a veteran told her, "this means so much to us. When I came home from Vietnam, I didn't get this kind of welcome."
When Perez told his parents he'd be returning, first to Colorado for demobilization processing and then on to Tampa, the yellow ribbon team planned his homecoming.
Perez, a sergeant in the Fifth Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, was all smiles when he got out of the car with his father. He gave his mother a long, hard hug. Then he shyly walked through the crowd shaking hands and hugging neighbors.
When he reached the doorway, neighbors James and William Hsiung sang all three verses of "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood. Then Dengler presented Perez with a white polo shirt with a flag insignia and the words "Woodmont Hero" and a plaque with a quote from Gen. Andrew Jackson:
"Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it."
The women also raised more than $1,000 in donations to erect a large welcome sign at the Tampa International Airport last week.
It reads: "To Our Troops: Welcome Home. And Thank You."
