By By James Crawford
News Editor
The impending Iraq crisis took on a new dimension for one Atmore family recently when the Garrard's learned the United States Marines had recalled their grandson, Corporal Blaine E. McFarland, 24, back to active duty after having served four years on a previous occasion.
McFarland was ordered to report to Atlanta on Monday to be flown to San Diego for a most likely deployment to Afghanistan. A graduate of Tate High School in 1997, McFarland joined the Marines and received his boot camp training at the traditional Parris Island, in North Carolina.
After boot camp and the school of infantry he was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan, from Dec. 1997 to Dec. 1998.
Upon his return to the states, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion 2nd Marines with A Company, at Camp Lejume, N.C. in January 1999. He has also served in Tokyo, Japan, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. He was honorably discharged on July 21, 2001, and returned home to Pensacola, where he recently enrolled at Pensacola Junior College .
The yellow ribbon has been used by Americans during wars and when Americans were held captive as a way to remember and honor soldiers for services rendered.