Strangers unite to support Iraq infantryman

Mike and Alice Minnis are not alone as they await the return of their son, Michael, from combat duty in Iraq. A friend's flier encouraging neighbors to display yellow ribbons in support of the Minnises has had heartwarming results.

HARRISONBURG — On July 4, Alice Minnis bought a yellow ribbon and attached it to the lamppost in front of her home. As she tied the puffy bow to the light that illuminates the path to her front door, Alice Minnis thought about her son, Cpl. Michael Minnis.

She thought about the little boy who donned a miniature military uniform and saluted for a picture when he was 5. She thought about the teenager who graduated from Harrisonburg High School and started classes at Blue Ridge Community College, but who quit because he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.

And she thought about the man who survived boot camp at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla., and who was deployed to Iraq in June to help fight a war like no other.

It was Independence Day — a day to commemorate America’s freedom. For Alice Minnis, 47, and her husband, Mike Minnis, 46, it was also a day to celebrate their son’s life. Michael was born July 4, 1984, and this year he turned 22 somewhere in Baghdad with a rifle at his side.

A couple of days after hanging the bow, Alice Minnis was outside when a woman from her neighborhood stopped to ask about the yellow ornament. She said she didn’t want to pry, Alice Minnis recalled, she just wanted to know if the Minnises’ house on Nelson Drive was the home of a soldier.

Alice Minnis explained that the ribbon was for her son, a fire-support specialist with Company A, 23rd Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, who had been deployed to Iraq.

The woman, whom Alice Minnis didn’t know at the time, thought more needed to be done to support the Minnis family and the armed forces.

Unbeknownst to the Minnises, the woman, whom they now know, is Carolyn Edlind, 59, and her husband, Gary Edlind, 60, made yellow fliers and distributed them throughout the neighborhood. The fliers said: "Please join our neighbors — the Minnis family — 1163 Nelson Drive — with yellow ribbon in your front yard — signifying a wish and a prayer for the safety of their son, Michael, as he serves our country in Iraq."

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