Yellow Ribbon Committee needs more banners

Out of the 500 banners that need to be prepared to welcome the homecoming of NMI soldiers three months from now, only 170 have so far been collected by the Yellow Ribbon Committee.

Although, the committee is very thankful for the contributions of the CNMI community, committee chair Tania Fleming Mesa and president Rita L. Chargualaf said they would need more banners to cover all the streets on Saipan. Chargualaf said they are still short of at least 500 banners. “The more we have the more the coverage,” she said.

The Yellow Ribbon Committee recently urged the entire community, especially the local government and its attached agencies, to give a hand in preparation for the homecoming of local soldiers who have fought in war-torn Iraq.

Mesa and Chargualaf together with the Commonwealth Utilities Corporations staff busied themselves putting up the banners in Garapan. Mesa said the first banner they mounted was at the Johnny’s Bar and Grill in Garapan all the way to the south of Beach Road.

CUC’s Gary Camacho said the agency extended its assistance by helping posting the banners on the streets because it’s the agencies way of appreciating the deeds of the NMI soldiers who are continuing to fight for peace and liberty.

Mesa earlier said that, in less than two months, troops belonging to the 29th Brigade, 100th Battalion, 442 Infantry, Echo Company will be coming home from their 18-month deployment in “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

“We, the family members, are humbly asking the community to come together in supporting us welcome home our soldiers,” said Mesa in a letter she and Chargualaf forwarded to the Governor’s Office last week.

In line with the upcoming homecoming event, the committee is seeking the assistance of the community through any kind of donations or any form of assistance, said Mesa, “so that a warmer welcome would be prepared for the CNMI soldiers.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring the banners may contact Mesa at 234-1615 or mobile 483-4689. Interested parties could also email her at tmfleming74@hotmail.com.

The Yellow Ribbon Committee is under the “CNMI Troops Familia Network,” which is a newly established non-profit organization engaged in recognizing the efforts and sacrifices of the CNMI soldiers fighting for world peace and freedom.