Collection Summary
AFC 1991/017
Penne Laingen Yellow
Ribbon Collection
1979-1991
1979-1991
Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife
Center, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
3
linear feet
4 boxes (containing 15 folders of
manuscript material; 7 sound recordings; 63 unique graphic images; 1
videocassette; 1 computer disk; 6 artifacts)
Laingen, Penne
Laingen, L.
Bruce
Parsons, Gerald
E.
English
English
Collection comprises
Penne Laingen's yellow ribbon marking the year her husband Bruce Laingen was
held hostage in Tehran, Iran, during the Iran hostage crisis from 1979 to 1981;
plus a 1991 interview with the Laingens and related documentation.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Laingen, L. Bruce
Laingen, L. Bruce.
Laingen, Penne
Laingen, Penne.
Parsons, Gerald E., 1940-1995
Organizations
American Folklife Center
Archive of Folk Culture (Library of Congress)
Subjects
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives.
Persian Gulf War, 1991--United States--Anecdotes.
Ribbons--Symbolic aspects.
Ribbons--United States--Folklore.
Titles
Yellow ribbon collection, 1979-1991.
Form/Genre
Artifacts.
Interviews.
Photographs.
Posters.
Sound recordings.
Videocassettes.
Access
The collection is open for research. Duplication of the collection
materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
Acquisition
Penne and Bruce Laingen donated their yellow ribbon to the Library of
Congress on July 2, 1991. Additional materials were collected by employees of
the American Folklife Center.
Preferred Citation
Penne Laingen Yellow Ribbon Collection (AFC 1991/017), Archive of Folk
Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Bibliography
Laingen, L. Bruce.
Yellow Ribbon: The Secret Journal of Bruce
Laingen.
Washington: Brassey's (US), 1992.
Letters of L. Bruce Laingen, 1980 (MSS6085). Forms part of the
Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection in the Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
"New Yellow Ribbon Tradition," An online presentation on the American
Folklife Center web site, http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/index.html
Santino, Jack. "Apply a Ribbon Magnet to the Ole Humvee: The Yellow
Ribbon Tradition Reborn."
Folklife Center News
, 27, no. 3, Summer
2005.
"Yellow Ribbon" subject files in the American Folklife Reading Room,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content
In 1979, Penne (Penelope) Laingen tied a yellow ribbon around a tree
in front of her Bethesda, Maryland home when her husband, Bruce, was among
those taken hostage in the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran. The Laingens
donated this yellow ribbon to the Library of Congress in 1991. The collection
contains sound recordings and a photograph from that donation ceremony. Other
recordings include an interview with Bruce and Penne Laingen conducted by
American Folklife Center reference specialist, Gerald E. Parsons, on April 15,
1991. During the interview, the Laingens discussed their experiences during the
hostage crisis and their use of the yellow ribbon and the symbolic significance
it acquired. The collection also contains photographs of the Laingens taken
during this interview and photographs of yellow ribbon displays during the
Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Biographical History
Penne (Penelope) Laingen is the wife of Bruce Laingen who was serving
as the charge d'affaires of the United States Embassy in Tehran when Iranian
student revolutionaries seized the Embassy on November 4, 1979, and held the
staff hostage until January 20, 1981. A few days after Bruce was taken hostage,
Penne Laingen hung a yellow ribbon around a tree in the yard of her Bethesda,
Maryland home as a symbol of support for her husband and the other American
hostages. She did this as a way to bolster her own strength and that of their
three sons throughout the crisis.
Collection Concordance by
Format
Quantity
Physical Extent (original)
Location
Item Numbers
Manuscript
Materials
15
folders
Box 1
Folders 1-15
Sound Recordings
3
7-inch reel to reel audiotapes
Box 2
SR01-SR03
3
audiocassettes
Box 2
SR04-SR06
1
10-inch reel audiotape
Box 2
SR07
Graphic Images
1
black-and-white contact sheet
Box 1
PH001
28
black-and-white negatives
Box 1
PH001, PH002
2
black-and-white prints
Box 1
PH002, PH003
21
color prints
Box 1
PH004-PH024
21
color negatives
Box 1
PH004-PH024
11
color slides
Box 1
PH002, PH025-PH034
2
color posters
Map case
GR01
Moving Images
1
videocassette (VHS), sound, color
Box 2
MV01
Electronic Media
1
3.5-inch computer disk
Box 1
CF01
Artifacts
5
novelty and display items
Box 3
AR01-AR05
1
oilcloth ribbon
Box 4
AR06
Catalog Record: [http://lccn.loc.gov/2004659952]
Container List
Series I: Manuscripts
1
1
Finding Aid. 8 leaves.
1
2
Correspondence - American Folklife Center and
Laingens. February to July 1991. 8 leaves.
1
3
Santino, Jack. "Yellow Ribbons and Seasonal Flags: The
Folk Assemblage of War." The Journal of American Folklore, 105, no. 415,
(Winter 1992): 19-33. Drafts with comments and published version. 120
leaves.
1
4
Yellow Ribbon articles by Gerald Parsons, American
Folklife Center reference specialist. 1981, 1991. 12 leaves.
1
5
"Laingens Present Yellow Ribbon to LC."
Library of Congress Gazette
, 2,
no. 28 (July 12, 1991): 3. (2 copies). 16 leaves.
1
6
"Original Yellow Ribbon Given to LC."
Library of Congress Information
Bulletin
, 50, no. 14, (July 15, 1991): 263. (5 copies). 50
leaves.
1
7
Parker, Barbara. "Penne Laingen's Wait."
Washington Post
, (Monday,
December 10, 1979). 2 leaves.
1
8
Collected Articles: Significance of the Color Yellow.
1979-1981. 15 leaves.
1
9
Yellow Ribbon Acquisition Ceremony. Administrative
Material. July 2, 1991. 42 leaves.
1
10
Yellow Ribbon Acquisition Ceremony. Press Coverage.
July 2, 1991. 17 leaves.
1
11
Yellow Ribbons and "No Greater Love" (Humanitarian
Organization). 1980-1990. 17 leaves.
1
12
Information regarding GR01 - Poster of Foshay Tower.
1981. 2 leaves.
[Original poster located in Reading Room map case.]
1
13
Sound Recording Logs: SR01, SR02, SR03. Penne and
Bruce Laingen interviewed on April 15, 1991, by Gerald Parsons. 13
leaves.
1
14
Sound Recording Transcript: SR01, SR02, SR03. Penne
and Bruce Laingen interviewed on April 15, 1991, by Gerald Parsons. Transcript
by Peggy Yocom. 10 leaves.
1
15
Moving Image Log: MV01. WRC Yellow Ribbon. Recording
of the WRC, NBC News 4 nightly broadcast of the six o'clock news in Washington,
DC featuring the Laingen yellow ribbon donation to the Library of Congress.
July 2, 1991. 1 leaf.
Series II: Sound Recordings
Note: All contents have been removed from Box 2 and are
shelved separately.
2
SR01
Penne and Bruce Laingen interviewed on April 15, 1991,
by Gerald Parsons. Tape 1 of 3. One 7-inch reel recorded in stereo at 7.5
ips.
2
SR02
Penne and Bruce Laingen interviewed on April 15, 1991,
by Gerald Parsons. Tape 2 of 3. One 7-inch reel recorded in stereo at 7.5
ips.
2
SR03
Penne and Bruce Laingen interviewed on April 15, 1991,
by Gerald Parsons. Tape 3 of 3. One 7-inch reel recorded in stereo at 7.5
ips.
2
SR04
Recording of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak
Tree" sung by Tony Orlando and Dawn. Commercial recording dubbed on 1
audiocassette.
2
SR05
Recording of "She wore a yellow ribbon" sung by Mrs.
Byron Coffin, Sr. of Alameda, CA. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in April
1939. Dubbed on 1 audiocassette. Accessible online at
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/collafc.af000002].
2
SR06
Recordings of versions of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round
the Ole Oak Tree" by Roger Williams and Andre Kostelanetz. Commercial recording
dubbed on 1 audiocassette.
2
SR07
Recording of the donation of the original yellow
ribbon to the Library of Congress in the Librarian's office, 6th Floor Madison
Building, Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1991. One 10-inch sound tape reel
recorded at 7.5 ips, 2 tracks.
Series III: Graphic Images
1
16
Photograph: PH001 (contact sheet and
negatives).
Twenty-eight images of Penne and Bruce Laingen at their
Bethesda, Maryland home during their interview with Gerald Parsons. April 15,
1991. One black-and-white contact sheet, 8 x 10 in. Five black-and-white
negative strips with twenty-eight frames.
1
17
Photograph: PH002 (print, slide, and
negative).
An image of Bruce and Penne Laingen holding up the yellow
ribbon around a tree in their Bethesda, Maryland yard. April 15, 1991. One
black-and-white print, 8 x 10 in. One black-and-white negative strip with one
frame. One color 35 mm slide of the same image.
1
18
Photograph: PH003 (print).
An image of Penne Laingen presenting the original yellow
ribbon to Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington. July 2, 1991. One
black-andwhite print, 8 x 10 in.
1
19
Photographs: PH004 - PH024 (prints and negatives).
Twenty-one images of yellow ribbons displayed in Maryland and
Virginia during the Persian Gulf War, 1991. Photographer not known. Twenty-one
color prints, 3 x 5 in. Six color negative strips with twenty-one frames.
1
20
Slides: PH025 - PH034
Ten images of Penne and Bruce Laingen at their Bethesda,
Maryland home during their interview with Gerald Parsons. April 15, 1991. Ten
color slides, 35 mm.
Map Case
GR01
Two copies of a color poster
Foshay Tower at 821 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis, Hennepin
County, Minnesota tied with an enormous yellow ribbon. 1981. Two color posters,
21 x 30 in. [See Reading Room Map Case]
Series IV: Moving Images
Note: All contents have been removed from Box 2 and are
shelved separately.
2
MV01
WRC Yellow Ribbon. Moving image of the WRC, NBC News 4
nightly broadcast of the six o'clock news in Washington, DC, featuring the
Laingen yellow ribbon donation to the Library of Congress. July 2, 1991. One
videocassette (VHS) in color with sound. See Folder 15 for the Moving Image
Log.
Series V: Artifacts
3
AR01
"God Bless America" pin featuring an American flag and
a yellow ribbon. February 25, 1991. One novelty pin, 2 in.
3
AR02
"Yellow Ribbon Cocktail" sticks made in the shape of a
ribbon. Undated. Eight novelty plastic sticks, 7 in.
3
AR03
"Free the Hostages" yellow ribbon pin framed by No
Greater Love, a humanitarian organization that claims to have spearheaded the
yellow ribbon campaign during the Iran hostage crisis. November 4, 1979
January 20, 1981. One framed item, 6 x 6 x 1.25 in.
3
AR04
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" yellow
ribbon display sign. Undated. One poster mounted on a plastic display stand, 8
x 10 in.
3
AR05
Mounted photograph of Bruce and Penne Laingen holding
up their original yellow ribbon in the yard of their Bethesda, Maryland home.
April 15, 1991. One color photograph mounted on a plastic display stand, 5.5 x
8 in.
4
AR06
The original yellow ribbon hung by Penne Laingen in
honor of her husband, Bruce Laingen, while he was held hostage in Iran.
1979-1981. One oilcloth ribbon, 21 x 44 in.
Series VI: Electronic Media
1
21
Computer Disk: CF01
Administrative files related to the collection. One computer
disk.