Family & Friends of POW Hero PFC Frank Brooks Requesting Yellow Ribbons Displayed For Homecoming

photo: Kimberly Ashley

 story by Paula L. Ratliff:
 
U.S. Army Private First-Class and Edmonson County’s own, Thomas Franklin Brooks is coming home to Edmonson County.  Coming back to the hills and hollers and rocky terrain. Coming back to his family and friends. Back to Patriotism and pride and a community that has waited for his return for over 81 years.

And so, the welcome begins as the community prepares for his arrival and interment at the Hill Grove Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. CST. 

Anthony Madison, the owner of Madison’s Florist on Main Street stepped up in “Edmonson County fashion” and provided several large beautiful yellow bows for the family when they had their briefing meeting with the U.S. Army on August 23, 2023.   

The yellow ribbons perhaps brightened a dark moment as they had just learned the devastating information of his life.  
Madison is honored to have a small role in celebrating Frank’s return to Edmonson County and he will have yellow bows available at his florist.

The history of a yellow ribbon dates back to the English Civil War when the Puritan Army of English Parliament soldiers wore yellow ribbons.  It is believed that the Puritans brought this tradition to America from Europe by the English settlers. 
It is also believed that the tradition started based on a poem/song, “She wore a yellow ribbon” which appeared in various forms for at least four centuries.  It is about a woman waiting for her beloved to return.  Folklore says that during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) women wore a yellow ribbon in their hair to symbolize devotion to a husband or sweetheart that served in the military.

Paintings from 1888 show US Cavalry with a yellow scarf around their necks, although this was not part of the official uniform, and they wore different colors, perhaps to cover their mouths and nose from the tremendous dust while riding. 
There was a popular song, “Round her neck, she wears a yeller ribbon” which tells of love between a woman and her soldier. The song had been around for an estimated four centuries prior to it being officially copyrighted in 1917.   The song inspired a John Wayne movie, “She wore a yellow ribbon” in 1949.

In 1961, a pastor used the symbolism of a “white ribbon” as a sign of forgiveness when a prodigal son, who had spent time in prison and disgraced his family, wanted to return home.  He wrote to his family and asked them to hang a white ribbon in the apple tree if he was welcome to come home.  As the train neared his hometown, he could see a white ribbon on nearly every branch as a welcome sign to come home.  This account was documented in Reader’s Digest 1961.

Similarly, in 1971, a newspaper columnist, Pete Hamill wrote an article in the New York Post called “Going home” where an ex-convict is watching for a yellow handkerchief tied to an oak tree.  He claimed to have heard this story in oral tradition. In 1972, Reader’s Digest reprinted “Going home.”  ABC-TX aired a dramatized version of the story, and a month-and-a-half later, Irwin Levin and L. Russell Brown wrote “Tie a yellow ribbon around the Ole Oak Tree.”  The authors had heard the story while serving in the military.

The song was recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1973 and was a huge hit in the US and UK selling over 3 million records in 3 weeks.   The song is about a man who has completed his time in prison and he asked his love to tie a yellow ribbon around the oak tree if he is welcome. 

More recently, during the Iran Hostage Crisis, the yellow ribbon was used as a symbol of support for the hostages held at the US embassy in Tehran.  In November, 1979, a committee headed by Susan E. Garrett of the Jaycees ladies service organization in Leitchfield, Kentucky organized a campaign to “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” around public trees; as well as, encouraging people to wear tied ribbons on lapels in support of the US hostages being held in Iran.  The ribbon symbolized the resolve of the American people to win the hostages safe release and they were prominently displayed when they were returned home in January 1981.

The yellow ribbon was prominent during the Gulf War and Operation Desert  Storm representing “support our troops” and “bring our troops home.”   

On September 11, 2001 when the planes were hijacked and deliberately crashed into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania and the Canadian Government enacted “Operation Yellow Ribbon” to land hundreds of flights in their country for security and protection purposes.  They provided food, healthcare, and shelter until all was safe to travel.  It was a gesture of support for all of our citizens who were in the midst of a war.

Today, the yellow ribbon represents other topics, but is most prominently associated with our troops and bringing them home.   

As we prepare for Brooks’ homecoming, the route from the airport to the funeral home is unknown at this time, but it is suspected that his remains will arrive at the Louisville International Airport, traveling to Park City, thru Mammoth Cave Park and into Brownsville.  The funeral procession on Sunday, October 1st will travel from Patton Funeral Home to the cemetery on Dickey’s Mill Road.