Town thrilled Bowe is coming home

HAILEY, Idaho — The news of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release from Taliban captivity spread quickly yesterday in his hometown in southern Idaho, and residents immediately began making plans for a welcome-home celebration.

An annual event called “Bring Bowe Back” scheduled for June 28 was quickly renamed “Bowe is Back.”

“It is going to be Bowe’s official welcome-home party even if he’s not quite home yet,” organizer Stefanie O’Neill said yesterday.

In Hailey, a town of 7,000 residents just down the road from upscale Sun Valley, residents have hung yellow ribbons from trees and utility poles and planted a tree in a local park each year since he was held.

“We were in the process of buying our fifth tree, and we don’t need it now,” O’Neill said.

The yellow ribbons had just been replaced last week.

“When Bowe is home, then our ribbons come down,” O’Neill said. “We are thrilled that he is safe. But we’ll keep everything up until he’s back with his mom and dad in his house.”

Bob and Jani Bergdahl live in a modest home off a dirt road about 5 miles outside of Hailey.

Bob Bergdahl learned some Pashto, the language spoken by the Taliban, and made a video, distributed via the Internet in May 2011, in a bid to appeal directly to the Taliban for his son’s freedom. He also grew a beard as a personal gesture toward his son’s plight.

“I just want to say that Jani and Bob Bergdahl are the two most-dedicated people I have ever known in my life,” O’Neill said. “They never once gave up on their son. When the community wasn’t sure what was going to happen, when the world wasn’t sure what was going to happen, there was never a doubt in their minds that their son would come home safe, ever. That’s truly the highest form of love.”

Rebecca DeShields, also a Hailey resident, said that when she heard about the news she grabbed her bike and attached a bright yellow balloon to the front. “This is a story of redemption. This is a story of one of our own coming home,” she said.