- April 19, 2024
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The old song says, “Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree.” On Stratford Place, a road off Hand Avenue, there’s a yellow ribbon around oak trees, palm trees and even telephone poles.
Driving down the street, you see a yellow ribbon in every yard, thanks to resident Janie Rocke, a woman whose grandson, Marine Lance Cpl. Danny Rocke, has been deployed to Kuwait with plans to go to Iraq.
“This all happened because I was going to place one ribbon until he came back,” Rocke said recently. “I went to a neighbor and asked if I could put a ribbon in their yard. Later I thought, why not do it for the whole street?”
When neighbors saw ribbons appearing, they wanted one in their yard. One house has no trees, so Rocke put it around the mailbox.
Yellow ribbons have been used to show service men and women they are not forgotten since the 1973 song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the Old Oak Tree.”
Rocke bought out all the ribbons in local stores and then started ordering them online. She said she has purchased eight rolls, each 150 yards long. They occasionally need replacing, especially after storms.
A neighbor down: the street, Travis Miller, appreciates the effort. A six-year Army veteran, he said it’s good to support the military whether they are deployed overseas or stationed in the U.S.
“It just shows the love,” he said.
Miller served in South Korea and two tours of duty in Afghanistan as crew chief and mechanic for a Blackhawk helicopter. His wife, Amanda, is currently on active duty in the Army.
Andrea Rocke, Danny Rocke’s stepmother, said people tend to forget that the nation still has military overseas in combat. She also noted that some people have forgotten the purpose of the ribbon.
“We put ribbons on our street and some people asked what they were for,” she said.
Danny Rocke’s dad, Sean, thinks the ribbons are “fantastic.”
“Too often we forget there are military in harm’s way,” he said. “A lot of people have family members not at home, and they are not in a nice place.”
Janie Rocke has two ribbons on a tree in her yard, one for her son and one for his friend, David Stonerock, a marine currently on a tour in the Pacific Ocean.
She plans for the ribbons to stay up as long as there are people deployed.
Rocke is active with American Legion 120 and veteran causes. A member of Ormond Strong, she wrote four letters a week to national guardsmen when they were deployed.
“I am currently pouring my heart into the Invisible Wounds Memorial to honor all our veterans who have lost the battle to PTSD, and the thousands who battle this monster on a daily basis,” she said.
The Invisible Wounds Memorial campaign aims to install a memorial in every county in Florida to raise awareness of PTSD and traumatic brain injury. The first memorial is set to be installed in Palm Coast this fall.
