Signs of support

Drive through the streets of Spokane, or whiz down I-90 this holiday season, and you’ll notice one car, truck or SUV after another decorated with bright yellow ribbons.

These “Support Our Troops” magnets multiplied this fall, perhaps the most tangible visual symbol of the Inland Northwest’s patriotism and compassion. Many local residents appear united in support of the military, regardless of their politics on the war itself, and those yellow ribbons remind military families they’re not alone. Especially during the holidays, those families stand at the center of the soldiers’ support system.

“It means a lot, obviously,” says Capt. Matt Nation, the Marine inspector-instructor based in Spokane. He trained the Marine Reserve’s Battery P, 5th Battalion, of the 14th Marine Regiment, now serving in Iraq. “It’s good to know that at the grassroots everyone supports their military.”

Those yellow ribbons are sold, at prices ranging from $3 to $5, at convenience stores, at Fairchild Air Force Base, over the Internet and at companies such as Instant Sign Factory in downtown Spokane. There, custom ribbons may be ordered listing a specific service member’s name.

Those magnetic yellow ribbons are also sold in Spokane as a fund-raiser to pay for postage for the large care packages which local Marine Reserve families regularly mail to the Al Anbar province in Iraq.

Just over a week ago, these families — the wives, girlfriends, moms, dads and children of 125 Marines of Battery P — gathered in a State Farm conference room on Trent to pack up huge boxes of goodies to send to Al Asad Air Base, where this unit provides airfield security.

These Marines won’t be home for Christmas so, as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” played in the background, their families loaded 250 care packages full of chocolate chip cookies, Corn nuts, red licorice, beef jerky, granola bars, Chapstick, Visine and socks. They posed for pictures and stuck family photos into magnetic Christmas ornaments to decorate the men’s lockers.

Later, in the middle of the hubbub, they paused to sing “Silent Night” and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” into a video camera. They’ll burn a DVD for their Marines to watch on Christmas morning.

Many of these men attended high schools in the Inland Northwest, including Rogers, North Central and University in Spokane and Spokane Valley. Their young wives spoke gently and tried not to let tears mess up their makeup, or dampen their smiles, for the video.

Nicole Hall, 30, a Central Valley High School graduate with blond hair and tender eyes, plans to spend Christmas with her in-laws this year.

She was seven months pregnant when her husband, Capt. Michael Hall, left for his first deployment in Kuwait, and they spoke during her labor by satellite phone.

“It’s hard,” she said. “You miss your partner in life. You keep a smile on your face so they can be strong.”

According to Nation, each of these Marines sleeps in air-conditioned metal quarters, which they call “cans” at Al Asad. They left Spokane on July 17.

While the base has come under several mortar and rocket attacks, these men have suffered no battle-related injuries.

Four-year-old Joey Robertson, a blonde little boy with a serious expression, wore a camouflage shirt and pants that night.

“I’m a Marine,” he said. “I’m Sgt. Joey.”

He didn’t know it yet, but over in Iraq, his dad, Sgt. Jeremy Robertson, had already paged through the catalogs his wife sent and picked out his son’s Christmas present, a talking Marine Corps G.I. Joe.

His mom, Jennifer Robertson, 29, helped organize this gathering. She took charge easily, zipping around in a T-shirt that spelled out “Marine Wife” in red, white and blue letters, pointing the families through the production line and dispensing smiles and hugs.

She finds it easier to give than receive.

The Marine Corps League called, she said, and offered to donate money and food to these families.

“It’s hard for us to take stuff for us,” she said quietly. “That’s very hard. None of the other moms or wives can.”

Across the room, 11-year-old Phillip Bowman, his brown eyes glowing, snapped photos of his mom, her friends and his sister. He grinned and launched into a brisk, friendly conversation, leading off with his love of hunting.

These days, he’s nearly as good a shot as his dad, Staff Sgt. Joe Bowman.

For Christmas, Phillip said, he plans to send his dad either jerky or summer sausage made from Phillip’s deer.

The father and son talk regularly on the phone.

“He says he’s bored,” Phillip said. “But my mom always says that’s a good thing.”

He reeled off a list of items the Marines love to receive, such as photos and comic books. Many of them have laptops or portable DVD players, and they can watch movies in their time off.

“They love candy,” Phillip said. “They can’t have anything that melts or carbonated drinks. My dad’s dying without Diet Pepsi.”

Gunnery Sgt. Rick Freier also showed up. He served during the first Gulf War, and he finds it tough to stay in Spokane while other Marines in his unit serve in Iraq.

He tousled the hair of Phillip Bowman and pulled little Joey Robertson, the sons of his friends, onto his lap, recalling his time in the Middle East.

Mail always boosted his spirits.

“In my experience a letter is the best thing to get,” he said. “When your name is called, it’s the best feeling.”

Frank Gomez, an Othello apple grower, drove 140 miles with his wife and his son’s girlfriend to help fill these care packages. Gomez keeps a network of family in the United States and Mexico informed about his son Jose Lyeva’s well-being.

Every day he watches CNN at 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.

“There’s a hole there that nobody can fill,” Gomez said. “You’re looking at the phone all the time to see when it’s going to ring.”

On the phone from Iraq, Jose gives laconic answers to his family’s questions. His dad knows there’s something he’s just not saying.

“It bothers you,” Gomez said, “It eats on your stomach.”

Like the rest of these Marines, Jose won’t be home until spring.

So for the holidays, Gomez and his wife, Rosa, packed up a box of Jose’s favorite food: flour tortillas, Rosa’s homemade salsa with jalapenos, habaneros and tomatillos, and a 10-pound bag of pinto beans.

“It’s going to be very, very authentic,” said Gomez, his face breaking into a smile.

The anguish and pride back home rivals the bravery overseas. That’s why support for these families is provided not only by the Marines, but also by the Family Support Center at Fairchild Air Force Base, which reaches out to families from all branches of the military.

Last year, the Fairchild group helped organize an effort called Operation Spokane Heroes, which was deluged with donations from the Spokane region for troops in Iraq.

This year, the staff directs people to a long list of opportunities to help both military members and their families at home.

The options range from buying phone cards to mailing letters to troops and from buying gift certificates for groceries for military families to donating snacks for the care packages they mail. (See sidebar for details.)

This year, as patriotism and holiday spirit converge, even the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Spokane’s North Side has been inundated with offers to help. The volunteer coordinator there busily schedules singing groups and crafters and asks callers to make donations to a VA gift shop that helps hospitalized veterans shop for free holiday presents.

As for the Marine Reserve families, they plan to continue to sell magnetic car ribbons through an espresso stand called Java Buzz at Bowdish and Dishman-Mica Road. The ribbons, priced at $5 apiece, read: “Keep Daddy Safe,” “Keep My Husband Safe,” “Support Our Troops” and “Home of the Free Because of the Brave.”

Postage alone for the first 25 holiday care packages they mailed this week cost $298.

“There’s been tremendous support,” Jennifer Robertson said. “Chester Elementary had a family fun night last weekend and sold $450 worth of ribbons. … I think everybody wants to help, and I think everybody is making the effort, especially at this time of year.”

One day soon, she said, these wives plan to head into the streets of Spokane to shoot another video, this one of all the “Support Our Troops” magnets they find clinging to people’s cars and trucks. They’ll mail it off to Al Asad, where their husbands on the other side of the world can wonder at those yellow ribbons, prayers made visible by the people back home.

.