Thousands of yellow ribbons to welcome Manitoba soldiers

Families at Canadian Forces Base Shilo are tying yellow ribbons along a 100-kilometre stretch of Manitoba highways to welcome home soldiers who begin returning from Afghanistan next week.

The Military Family Resource Centre spent last week making more than 2,500 yellow ribbons and tying them to hydro poles between Portage la Prairie and Shilo along the route soldiers with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry will take when they return from their six-month tour of duty.

Melissa Quackenbush, who spearheaded the project, said the gesture will affect the families involved as much as it will the soldiers.

"It means a lot. It means having something to do before they come back and just letting them know that we've missed them and we can't wait for them to get here," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

"They'll maybe think we're a little crazy going out doing all of that, but I think that they'll appreciate it, they really will. They'll be really happy to see what we've done for them."

Soldiers returning over next few weeks

About 800 soldiers from the Brandon-area military base were deployed to Afghanistan in February.

"People are pretty excited, anxious, and ready to get back to normal life — as normal as it can be in the military — and to have their families back together again," Quackenbush said.

"It's one more month to go, so he's almost home — but there is still things going on, so you worry more because he's almost home," said Andrea Lucier, wife of Master Cpl. Jason Lucier, who is on his second tour in Afghanistan.

Lucier's four sons are looking forward to their father's return, but wonder if their dad will be different; that was the case after his last tour of duty.

"One time when my papers got dropped off, my dad thought it was a bomb," said Dustin, 11, a paperboy.

The boys are aware that their father faces danger overseas: "Any second of the day he can get killed," said Dustin.

Five soldiers with the Patricias were killed during the battalion's most recent overseas deployment, bringing to 15 the number of Manitoba-based soldiers among the 93 Canadian military deaths in Afghanistan since 2002.

Coping with the deaths of other Canadian soldiers is complicated for Lucier's sons.

"When they release the name, I'm still sad because a Canadian soldier died, but I'm also glad it wasn't my dad," said Brandon, 10.

Bonnie Korzeniowski, the Manitoba government's special envoy for military affairs, said earlier this summer a public service would be held for fallen Manitoba-based soldiers once the troops returned in the fall.