When Operation Iraqi Freedom began, U.S. residents hoped and prayed for the protection and safety of all the men and women serving thousands of miles away.
A glimpse of this was witnessed throughout The T&D Region as an icon of hope and remembrance -- the bows made from yellow ribbon -- began to color trees, mailboxes and newspaper boxes.
While the heavy fighting for the most part is over, thoughts and prayers for a safe, speedy return of those overseas remain.
Though worn slightly through use and exposure to the sun and rain, yellow ribbons continue to shine brightly in Orangeburg, expressing the attitude of a people and a city.
North Circle Drive residents are some of many throughout the county imbued with this spirit of hope.
Gwen Calcutt, whose brother served in the Army in World War I, knows the importance of remembering the military.
A ribbon on her front door and another on her T&D paper tube are just small, simple ways for her to express her feelings.
"I believe in the boys fighting there ... and support them 100 percent," Calcutt said. "I want to see them all come home."
The essence of the sacrifice and lives at risk, Calcutt said, makes one more appreciative of everything in life and the freedoms enjoyed.
"They could have been here instead of over there," Calcutt said.
A five-year veteran of the Korean War and the Berlin Airlift, Mayfield Barrs said he sympathizes with those soldiers who are away from home.
He was there, too.
Barrs' yard serves as a testimony of the closeness felt with both those gone before him and with the generation currently fighting.
A yellow ribbon is wrapped tightly around an oak that seemingly serves sentinel to his property, while another U.S. red, white and blue bow hangs on a lightpost.
"We can't make it without them," Barrs said, reflecting on the key role the nation's armed forces play in the protection and safety of the United States. "We have the best in the world."
Supportive of the war from its inception, Barrs expressed his pleasure at its brevity and now is hopeful for a quick and smooth rehabilitation process.
"There is still a lot of police work to do, ... but I think it is important that we help the people get their country straightened out and then welcome our troops back home," Barrs said.
Barrs' neighbors, Carrie and Scott Stevenson, share too in his patriotism. A yellow ribbon and U.S. flag are both prominently displayed in their front yard.
Mrs. Stevenson's sister-in-law's brother, Capt. Edward Jason Korn of Savannah, Ga., died in Operation Iraqi Freedom while inspecting the wreckage of an Iraqi tank.
Following the news of his death, Stevenson proceeded to dot her neighborhood with yellow ribbons.
"I have never had anything in a war affect me in a personal way," Stevenson said. "It had a very serious impact on me to see my sister-in-law lose her brother."
The news has instilled in her a desire to keep all the troops in memory "until all ... are home."
"Just because the combat is over, it does not mean that they are essentially safe," Mrs. Stevenson said.
The Times and Democrat, following a letter home from one of its own, photographer Larry Hardy, decided to spark the yellow-ribbon initiative shortly after the war began.
In the letter, Hardy said, "I would hate to think that the people back home aren't supporting us. I would like to think that every mailbox, telephone post, car antenna ... has a yellow ribbon tied to it." Hardy is on active duty with the Army Reserve in the Middle East.
Seeing the opportunity, The T&D, along with co-sponsors S.C. Electric & Gas and the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce, joined in the purchase and distribution of 16,500 yards of yellow ribbon to home-delivery subscribers throughout the region the weekend of April 5 and 6.
All was carried forth with the hope that the ribbons would find their homes on paper boxes, light posts or front doors.
This hope has been affirmed by campaign participation and those well acquainted the distribution of the ribbons -- the T&D carriers.
Shirley Hall, Holly Hill carrier, describes it as "the best thing ever done" in Orangeburg and throughout the county.
"It is a beautiful sight to see them," Hall said. "It shows that most are in full support of our troops."
On her route, which covers approximately 135 customers, Hall said only about 10 percent of the customers did not display the ribbons. A good majority, Hall said, were in one neighborhood and area.
Traveling on her route can become routine, but Hall said the yellow ribbons have lightened her morning journey.
"It gives you a good feeling to see them every day," Hall said. "People are proud and glad to be able to display them."
Throughout The T&D Region, 38 of the newspaper's 70 carriers reported about 85 percent participation in the campaign.
These numbers, along with the entire counting and distribution process of the ribbons, make Orangeburg carrier Lynn Williams exude feelings of pride and patriotism.
The hard work involved in making sure each paper had a ribbon in it was a tedious and time-consuming process. Williams said all was worth it.
"For me there is a feeling of pride to let people know that we care for our troops overseas," Williams said.
Focusing in the area east of Orangeburg near Shillings Bridge, Norway and Yorkshire roads, Williams' route covers a span of 45 miles and 150 customers.
About half of those customers have yellow-ribbon displays. Williams said the spirit of patriotism appears to go beyond merely the yellow-ribbon displays.
On Shillings Bridge Road, he cited a home where the entire porch was decked out in an estimated 20 small U.S. flags.
Whether it is seeing the flags or ribbons, Williams said he is "proud to be an American."
"I love the newspaper business, and this yellow-ribbon campaign was a rare and welcome opportunity for us at the newspaper to do something a little out of the ordinary,"
T&D Publisher Cathy Hughes said, "With the cooperation of sponsors like SCE&G and the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce, and the wonderful response from our own carrier force who just took to this idea and delivered those thousands of ribbons over that weekend, we were able to help the subscribers in The T&D Region put out a visible sign of their thoughts and regard for our troops."
For Hughes, the campaign's success has been both satisfying.
"It just makes me feel good all over again every time I see one of those yellow ribbons, whether it's on a T&D newspaper tube, a tree or a yard light," Hughes said. "It's just a really good feeling to see so many yellow ribbons throughout the area, and I think about the person who actually tied the ribbon, what he or she was thinking at the time.
"As the war in Iraq seems to be thankfully winding down, let me assure Larry Hardy, our own staff photographer, as well as the others who are in Iraq, 'We're still thinking about you, and these yellow ribbons prove it.' "
The yellow-ribbon campaign is a relatively new American tradition. It blossomed during the 1979-1981 Iranian hostage crisis and became a full-blown American tradition during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War.
Its origins are believed to be associated with Tony Orlando's popular 1970s song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," about a newly released prisoner on his way home in a bus headed toward Miami.
The prisoner, it is said, had written a letter to his wife asking her, if she were still interested in him, to let him know by tying a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree in the city square in the man's hometown of White Oak, Ga.
The bus driver slowed the bus to see whether the ribbon was in place. It was, and so the yellow-ribbon tradition began.
T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.