Pasadena Returns ‘Yellow Ribbon’ as Marine Reservists Complete Deployment

A year after the City of Pasadena accepted a symbolic wooden Yellow Ribbon marking the overseas deployment of local Marine reservists, city leaders returned the symbol Saturday—signaling the safe homecoming of every Marine and Sailor from the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment.

The brief but meaningful ceremony took place at the battalion’s headquarters on Paloma Street, where Pasadena officials joined service members to formally close a chapter that began on Veterans Day last year. At that time, the battalion entrusted the Yellow Ribbon to the city before deploying, asking that it be displayed in City Council Chambers until their safe return.

For the past year, the ribbon stood inside City Hall not as a ceremonial flourish, but as a reminder that hundreds of men and women from Pasadena were serving far from home. City officials said it symbolized both the sacrifice of service members and the community’s commitment to remembering them while they were deployed.

With the unit’s mission complete and all personnel safely returned, Mayor Victor Gordo returned the ribbon on behalf of the city. Joined by Councilmember Justin Jones and former Pasadena mayor Bill Paparian, Gordo thanked the battalion for its service, noting the personal sacrifices made by Marines and their families while the rest

Lt. Colonel Davis Gooding accepted the ribbon for the 2/23, expressing appreciation for the city’s continued support. He acknowledged the close ties between Pasadena and the battalion, noting that many Marines serve the city in civilian roles during the workweek before donning uniforms on drill weekends.

Paparian, himself a former U.S. Marine and currently a Captain in the California State Guard, reflected on the battalion’s long history in Pasadena, describing how the city formally “adopted” the unit more than a decade ago. He recounted the effort to keep the battalion in Pasadena when it faced relocation decades earlier—a campaign that ultimately led to the construction of the current headquarters, following years of advocacy in Washington.

“Today we salute your honor, your courage, and your commitment,” Paparian told the Marines. “The defining moment of your lives was the day that you stood tall on the grinder at the Recruit Depot in San Diego or Parris Island and earned the title of United States Marine. But you people have something very special added to that title, you are Pasadena Marines.”

“Being a Pasadena Marine means that you come from a city where there is no military/civilian divide, where its citizens hold you in the highest regard and are eternally grateful to you for your service to our nation and to this city. Pasadena will always have your six.  Semper Familia.”

As the Yellow Ribbon was handed back, the moment marked more than the end of a deployment. It reaffirmed a bond between a city and its Marines—one rooted in shared history, mutual respect, and the promise that Pasadena service members will continue to stand watch.