The Stichting Missing In Action (MIA) logo has off course a special meaning. It’s an owl which seems to grab a yellow ribbon. The owl generally stands in the mythology for death and/or misfortune. The yellow ribbon is associated with the army and is used in several countries for the use to support their troops or to provide hope for those troops to safely return home after their mission.
In the logo the yellow ribbon means that we are focusing on the homecoming aspect. After more then 70 years there are still persons waiting for the return of their loved ones or friends. We hope eventually (how strange it might sound) for a safe journey home after all those years carrying that missing status. We realize that death is a part of that journey home. Stichting Missing In Action (MIA) focuses on missing World War II military personnel, which in most cases it’s almost certain that they died during or just after the war. This explains the owl in the logo.
The Yellow Ribbon;
Yellow is the official color of the armor branch of the U.S. Army, used in insignia, etc., and depicted in Hollywood movies by the yellow neckerchief adorning latter-half 19th century, horse-mounted U.S. Cavalry soldiers. However, a review of the U.S. War Department's Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Army of the United States (1872, 1898) reveals that a neckerchief, of any color, was not an item required by dress code. Despite this, neckerchiefs were a popular accessory employed by cavalrymen to cope with the frequently dusty environs. The specific association of the yellow neckerchief with the U.S. Cavalry may have arisen from a work of popular American West artist Frederic Remington - Lieutenant Powhatan H. Clarke, Tenth Cavalry (1888).
In the United States military, the symbol of the yellow ribbon is used in a popular marching song. The first version copyrighted was the 1917 version by George A. Norton, which he titled 'Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon (For Her Lover Who Is Far, Far Away). While he tells in the song about the love between Susie Simpkins and her soldier lover Silas Hubbard, his chorus goes:
'Round her neck she wears a yeller ribbon,
She wears it in winter and the summer so they say,
If you ask her "Why the decoration?"
She'll say "It's fur my lover who is fur, fur away.
The lyrics were altered and the song was titled She Wore a Yellow Ribbon by Russ Morgan for the 1949 movie of the same name. This was performed by several popular musicians of the 1940s, including Mitch Miller and The Andrews Sisters. The Tanner Sisters recorded their version in London on December 30, 1949. It was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 9873.
The text of the Army version approximates the following, with local variations:
Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you ask her why the heck she wore it
She wore it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She wore it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
Around the block she pushed a baby carriage
She pushed it in the springtime
In the Merry month of May
And if you ask her why the heck she pushed it
She pushed it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She pushed it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
Behind the door her daddy kept a shotgun
He kept it in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you ask him why the heck he kept it
He kept it for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
He kept it for her soldier
Who was far, far away
On the grave she laid the pretty flowers
She laid them in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she laid them
She laid them for her soldier who was far far away
Far away, far away
She laid them for her soldier
Who was far, far awa
Denmark and Sweden;
In Denmark the yellow ribbon has become the more or less official (though not directly officially endorsed by the countries' armed forces) symbol for support of troops in missions. In Sweden, Fredsbaskrarna and Stiftelsen Jesper Lindbloms Minne is promoting it as a troop-supporting symbol.
Germany;
In Germany, the yellow ribbon is worn to show support for troops of the Bundeswehr on duty abroad.
America;
In America the yellow ribbon stand for supporting the troops of the U.S. Army during their mission abroad. It also symbolizes hope and safe return to home for Army troop or hostages.
The owl;
The owl is the symbol for night and death. The owl has the ability to see in the dark and fly quietly. Due to this ability and his frightening scream, people used to think that if the owl was screaming though the night, death will soon follow. Owls guard at night and are seen as symbol of cautious soldiers and them who are studying.
In the old Egypt and Indies the owl was seen as the ‘death bird’. For the Greeks the owl was the attribute of the goddess Pallas Athene and therefore the symbol of (Athens’s) wisdom.
On a headstone the owl symbolizes the ‘waking until the day of resurrection’.
