Sgt. Maj. George Meisenholder, with the help of Mittie Warren, removes the bow of a yellow ribbon on the oak tree outside Warren’s house on Drummond Street Friday. Meisenholder had returned home from Iraq with others from the 168th engineering group on Wednesday.(Jon Giffin The Vicksburg Post)

[4/10/04]With one symbolic snip, part of the yellow ribbon tied around the old oak tree in Mittie Warren’s front yard fell to the ground Friday.

Warren tied the ribbon around the 2 1/2-foot-wide tree in February 2003 when family friend Sgt. Maj. George Meisenholder was deployed to Iraq with the Mississippi HHC 168th Engineer Group. She promised she wouldn’t take the ribbon down until he came home.

“We put it up in honor of George because he was the only one we knew going overseas. But today we’re just cutting the bow off. We’re leaving the ribbon on to remember everyone else still over there,” Warren said.

“It’s been a daily reminder,” she said. “Each time we pull into the driveway we see it and say a silent prayer for our troops’ safety.”

Warren and her husband, James, have been friends with Meisenholder and his wife, Darlene, for about six years. Warren said her sister introduced her to Darlene Meisenholder, and the two couples became great friends.

“Since we didn’t have family here, the Warrens became our family,” said Darlene Meisenholder.

George Meisenholder said he couldn’t be happier to be home.

“We had a wonderful homecoming Wednesday,” he said. “But I didn’t even recognize my wife when I walked right past her. She told me she was going to be wearing a blue T-shirt so I was looking for a blue T-shirt.”

Darlene Meisenholder decided to wear a flowered sundress instead and had cut her long hair short since her husband was deployed.

“I wanted to look pretty for him. He loves me in dresses,” she said.

Meisenholder said when he finally did recognize his wife the two hugged and cried.

“It was very emotional. It was as good as that feeling of our C-17 flying out of an air base about 30 miles north of Baghdad. We knew that if a missile hadn’t hit us by then we’d be OK and home soon. It’s so good to be home. We have all appreciated all the wonderful support from Vicksburg,” he said.

Meisenholder, 51, has worked for the National Guard Armory for 23 years and has been in Vicksburg since 1987. The Meisenholders will celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary on July 4.

The 168th’s mission was to manage construction in Iraq, and the group completed military tasks, civilian works and 1,500 projects.

About half of the group’s members are from Warren County and surrounding areas.