Large, delicately tied yellow bows with several intricate loops decorated the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Club, Wednesday, April 9, as troop supporters from across the Capital District gathered to honor the nation’s servicemen and women.
The yellow bows — a simple decoration with a significant message — were made by Carol Pingelski Hotaling, who has organized the event for the past four years.
It’s a day set aside to remember the troops, Hotaling said of Yellow Ribbon Day.
An enormous American flag waved in the breeze outside the lodge suspended from the ladder of a Maple Avenue Fire Department truck.
Hotaling said the day is not about politics or whether you support the war, but a day to remember the people who sacrifice for their nation.
Hotaling, known throughout the area as the `Yellow Ribbon Lady,` has been making the bows for 17 years, since Desert Storm.
Hotaling and others including members of the Air Force, Army National Guard, Marines and Navy came out to support those serving abroad and especially those missing in action.
`It’s my life,` Hotaling said. `Nights I don’t sleep, I make bows.`
Hotaling sent more than 240 bows to Batavia, Ohio, for the March 30 homecoming of the remains of Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, who had been missing since he was captured April 9, 2004, in Iraq when his convoy came under attack.
`Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin, like all the citizen soldiers of the Guard and Reserve, set aside his civilian role and civilian life to serve his nation and our Army,` said Warrant Officer Tammy Crawford, from the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters in Troy, who provided the keynote address. `His status as POW/MIA missing captured is a constant reminder of the tremendous sacrifice our nation is making overseas. Men and women from across New York state and across the country are answering the nation’s call.`
Three soldiers are still missing in Iraq to date.
Louise Carnesale and Maureen Tagliafierro from the 42nd Infantry Family Readiness Group, a support group of families and friends whose loved ones serve in the Army National Guard 42nd Infantry Division, explained the symbolic nature of the `table set for one.`
The table is a ceremonial gesture typically conducted at military functions to remember those missing from the ranks.
Carnesale, chair of care packages and fundraisers for the group, said several non-military people are unaware of the practice. She said it was an opportunity to share the practice with the public.
`We should never forget,` Carnesale said.
Carnesale and Tagliafierro also collected items to send in care packages to the troops overseas from the 42nd Infantry in Troy.
According to Carnesale, more than 400 men and women from the 42nd Infantry will ship out in April or May.
The group will be holding a Teddy Bear Picnic at the Saratoga Springs Veteran’s of Foreign Wars post No.420 Saturday, May 17, to commemorate Armed Forces Day.
They will be collecting teddy bears 10 inches or smaller to send to troops in Afghanistan.
She said the troops would keep the bears for 24 hours before passing them on to an Afghan child.
She said the picnic would feature lunch for $4 and activities for children throughout the day.
`It’s going to be a lot of fun,` Carnesale said of the event.
Vicki DiMura, the mother of the late Sgt. David Fisher of Watervliet, attended the ceremony Wednesday as well. A scholarship honoring her son, who was killed in Baghdad in December 2004, will be given to a student from Christian Brothers Academy in Albany, according to Hotaling.
Fisher was from the Army National Guard 42nd Infantry Division in Troy and a graduate of Watervliet High School.
The scholarship is provided through the Let Us Never Forget Foundation’s Keith Matt Maupin Scholarship fund.
Patriotic music, including the 1973 single, `Tie a Yellow Ribbon,` by Tony Orlando and Dawn, was played by PJ Davis, who owns PJ’s Bar-B-Q in Saratoga with his wife and two children.
Davis met Hotaling through a local radio station he worked for when she would call in and request songs for soldiers.
He said that Hotaling came to PJ’s Bar-B-Q three years ago, and asked if they would be willing to tie yellow bows to poles outside his establishment.
Davis agreed to put up the bows, and has since worked with Hotaling on Yellow Ribbon Day events.
`We’re very happy to do it,` he said.
April 9 also marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraqi Liberation signified by the fall of Baghdad.
Hotaling will not stop making yellow bows anytime soon.
`I will keep on going,` she said. `They always need new bows in Ohio,` Hotaling said.
Claremont County, Ohio, is known as the yellow ribbon capital of the world.
Donated yellow ribbon from the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 358 in Ballston Spa will ensure that Hotaling can continue to make the yellow bows to remember the troops.
The post donated 102 rolls of ribbon, according to Hotaling.
Making yellow ribbons is not the only way Hotaling supports the troops. She also volunteers with local groups to send care packages to soldiers overseas.
For all her efforts, Hotaling was named the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Citizen of the Year.
Frank Mihalek, the past exalted ruler of the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge No. 161, who was master of ceremonies for Yellow Ribbon Day, said he has seen first-hand all of Hotaling’s efforts, especially for the military, and he thought that she was a very deserving candidate for the recognition.
Gov. David Paterson and Sen. Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, officially declared Wednesday, April 9, Yellow Ribbon Day in New York state to remember all of our troops, according to Hotaling. She said she is appreciative to Bruno and Paterson for the declaration.
Michael Russo, director of the 20th Congressional District represented U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Hudson, at the event. Charlie Diamond, district chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Troy, also came out in support of the troops.
Other notable guests were Kay Moody, president and co-founder of the Albany chapter of Blue Star Mothers and Katie Moshier, of Guilderland, whose husband, Timothy Moshier, was killed in Iraq in April 2006. In February, Moshier chaired the STRIDE event in the Capital District for Wounded Warriors, a nonprofit organization for severely injured veterans.“