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POW Bracelets


Bluehawk
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Today (8.31.08) I saw a news article about a lady who had chosen long ago, at random, a POW bracelet to wear - and had picked out one remembering then POW LCMDR John McCain III, now a Senator and Presidential candidate.

 

It made me wonder if there are any collectors or museum collections of period POW bracelets, and if so who or where, and, what might be the protocols or things to remember about such collecting, the artifacts themselves and anything else related to the topic.

 

Anybody know?

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I have one, but its one of the red ones that I got back in the 80's. It's from a USSF trooper Burt Small. I have seen some crazy money being spent on the ones from John McCain, but I have to admit that I don't really know too much about them. Mine came from a group that I think was like Omga or something like that, it was a long time ago.

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I believe there is a collector intrest in them.I have a few of them.One was actually worn by my mom during the war.My sister had one also.They were recieved through a program at our local church if I remember correctly in support of the POWs and their families.I think you gave $1 and you got a bracelet.The man on my sisters bracelet was a Navy pilot and actually visted our church after his release.

 

The originals will be stamped VIVA on the inside.VIVA was the original manufacturer.Several Years ago I found a small jewelry store who still had a box full of the originals.I added a few more to my collection and got one for a friend who wanted one from a Army helicopter pilot.

 

I also have one from a Chales Brown.It was an early date of capture..1963.If I remember correctly the aircraft listed was a C46.I should try to find them as they are packed away.

 

RON

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I still have the one I got when I was 7 years old, I wore it 'til the POW's came home, my guy was still MIA. His remains were returned in 1977, he was probably killed in captivity but there were no answers given by the government. I still have it in a place of honor in my collection. Rest in Peace Lt Estes.

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I just find this adjunct area of militaria so interesting... and it's good to begin to get some idea of what the history of these bracelets is.

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Bluehawk,

 

I have a solid copper one. Here is a link with more info. I got mine during the height of the Viet Nam war. I still have my original envelope with stickers and decal. I have also added a link telling about Major Duggan who was shot down 12/31/1971. I had to coat the inside of the bracelet with clear fingernail polish or my wrist would turn green.

 

http://www.miafacts.org/bracelets.htm

 

http://www.virtualwall.org/dd/DugganWY01a.htm

 

Greg

post-118-1220459337.jpg

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That's the kind of thing exactly... nice collection there!

 

Did you ever find out how Maj Duggan came out of the war?

 

The last I knew his remains have never been found.

 

His is a name I'll never forget...

 

Greg

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The last I knew his remains have never been found.

 

His is a name I'll never forget...

 

Greg

I guess that is exactly the point of the bracelets...

 

Am hoping someone in the militaria community is collecting and recording the history of this.

 

If not, someone qualified should get on it... do you believe so too?

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As long as this website stays online and the attached links I added stay active, the information will be there for those searching.

 

Greg

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  • 2 months later...
I have one, but its one of the red ones that I got back in the 80's. It's from a USSF trooper Burt Small. I have seen some crazy money being spent on the ones from John McCain, but I have to admit that I don't really know too much about them. Mine came from a group that I think was like Omga or something like that, it was a long time ago.

 

 

did the color of these represent different things?, I heard once red ones signifyed MIA?

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did the color of these represent different things?, I heard once red ones signifyed MIA?

 

I got mine in 1971 at the Long Beach Naval Base. Originally they were plated or copper. No distinction between POW or MIA. The copper ones were supposed to have therapeutic properties.

 

Click on the link to read history of the originals:

 

http://www.miafacts.org/bracelets.htm

 

This site has been posted earlier and is a safe link.

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I surely appreciate the thoughtful posts to this thread... it's an area of collecting that is very personal it would appear.

 

These bracelets apparently seldom appear for sale or trade.

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I've got several.. I'll have to dig for them.. My first one was plated brass.. Don't remember the name.. It got caught on something at school and broke in 2.. The next came from Lcdr. Joseph Dunn.. Shot down Feb. 14, 1968 as I remember.. It was stainless steel. I have 2 others I got over the years. 1 is brass, the other is nickle silver.. I'll look for them to get photos..

 

Fins.

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I've got several.. I'll have to dig for them.. My first one was plated brass.. Don't remember the name.. It got caught on something at school and broke in 2.. The next came from Lcdr. Joseph Dunn.. Shot down Feb. 14, 1968 as I remember.. It was stainless steel. I have 2 others I got over the years. 1 is brass, the other is nickle silver.. I'll look for them to get photos..

 

Fins.

Thanks...

 

I just wonder how many different kinds and makers there ever were too.

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Laury Allison

My great-uncle (MSG William Millard Stephens) is MIA from Korea...27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He went MIA....later presumed KIA on the 27th of November 1950 at the Chosin Resevoir.

 

They were over-ran as the Chinese came across the Yalu River. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions that night. I've seen his Silver Star and Purple Heart certificates....they were signed by Harry Truman....it was in blue ink, so I believe they were original signatures. I never saw the citations, so I don't know what he actually did.

 

A few years ago, I wrote to the NPRC in St Louis, and got the standard "burned up in the fire" response. I have since thought that his records wouldn't have been there anyway, since he is still officially "MIA" since his body hasn't been recovered. He was declared KIA so the family could collect his G.I. insurance.

 

I would love to get a MIA/POW bracelet with his name on it. If anybody knows of a source to get such a thing, I would appreciate hearing from you.

 

I've always been told that I am very much like Millard, so I guess that is why I've always felt a close connection to him.

 

Laury

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Here is some narrative quoted from the above ^ listed site by POW/MIA families:

--------------------------------------------------------

History of the POW/MIA Bracelets

by Carol Bates Brown

 

 

"Over the years, people have contacted the League looking for information on the history and background of the POW/MIA bracelets, originated and worn extensively in the 1970s, and continuously since by POW/MIA family members, veterans and other interested Americans. The following historical information was written by Carol Bates Brown, one of the originators.

 

I was the National Chairman of the POW/MIA Bracelet Campaign for VIVA (Voices In Vital America), the Los Angeles based student organization that produced and distributed the bracelets during the Vietnam War. Entertainers Bob Hope and Martha Raye served with me as honorary co-chairmen.

 

The idea for the bracelets was started by a fellow college student, Kay Hunter, and me, as a way to remember American prisoners of war suffering in captivity in Southeast Asia. In late 1969 television personality Bob Dornan (who several years later was elected to the US Congress) introduced us and several other members of VIVA to three wives of missing pilots. They thought our student group could assist them in drawing public attention to the prisoners and missing in Vietnam. The idea of circulating petitions and letters to Hanoi demanding humane treatment for the POWs was appealing, as we were looking for ways college students could become involved in positive programs to support US soldiers without becoming embroiled in the controversy of the war itself. The relatives of the men were beginning to organize locally, but the National League of POW/MIA Families had yet to be formed.

 

During that time Bob Dornan wore a bracelet he had obtained in Vietnam from hill tribesmen, which he said always reminded him of the suffering the war had brought to so many. We wanted to get similar bracelets to wear to remember US POWs, so rather naively, we tried to figure out a way to go to Vietnam. Since no one wanted to fund two sorority-girl types on a tour to Vietnam during the height of the war, and our parents were livid at the idea, we gave up and Kay Hunter began to check out ways to make bracelets. Soon other activities drew her attention and she dropped out of VIVA, leaving me, another student Steve Frank, and our adult advisor, Gloria Coppin, to pursue the POW/MIA awareness program.

 

The major problem was that VIVA had no money to make bracelets, although our advisor was able to find a small shop in Santa Monica that did engraving on silver used to decorate horses. The owner agreed to make 10 sample bracelets. I can remember us sitting around in Gloria Coppin's kitchen with the engraver on the telephone, as we tried to figure out what we would put on the bracelets. This is why they carried only name, rank and date of loss, since we didn't have time to think of anything else.

 

Armed with the sample bracelets, we set out to find someone who would donate money to make bracelets for distribution to college students. It had not yet occurred to us that adults would want to wear the things, as they weren't very attractive. Several approaches to Ross Perot were rebuffed, to include a proposal that he loan us $10,000 at 10% interest. We even visited Howard Hughes' senior aides in Las Vegas. They were sympathetic but not willing to help fund our project. Finally in the late summer of 1970, Gloria Coppin's husband donated enough brass and copper to make 1,200 bracelets. The Santa Monica engraver agreed to make them and we could pay him from any proceeds we might realize.

 

Although the initial bracelets were going to cost about 75 cents to make, we were unsure about how much we should ask people to donate to receive a bracelet. In 1970, a student admission to the local movie theater was $2.50. We decided this seemed like a fair price to ask from a student for one of the nickel-plated bracelets. We also made copper ones for adults who believed they helped their "tennis elbow." Again, according to our logic adults could pay more, so we would request $3.00 for the copper bracelets.

 

At the suggestion of local POW/MIA relatives, we attended the National League of Families annual meeting in Washington, DC in late September. We were amazed at the interest of the wives and parents in having their man's name put on bracelets and in obtaining them for distribution. Bob Dornan, who was always a champion of the POW/MIAs and their families, continued to publicize the issue on his Los Angeles television talk show and promoted the bracelets.

 

On Veterans Day, November 11, 1970, we officially kicked off the bracelet program with a news conference at the Universal Sheraton Hotel. Public response quickly grew and we eventually got to the point we were receiving over 12,000 requests a day. This also brought money in to pay for brochures, bumper stickers, buttons, advertising and whatever else we could do to publicize the POW/MIA issue. We formed a close alliance with the relatives of missing men - they got bracelets from us on consignment and could keep some of the money they raised to fund their local organizations. We also tried to furnish these groups with all the stickers and other literature they could give away.

 

While Steve Frank and I ended up dropping out of college to work for VIVA full time to administer the bracelet and other POW/MIA programs, none of us got rich off the bracelets. VIVA's adult advisory group, headed by Gloria Coppin, was adamant that we would not have a highly paid professional staff. As I recall the highest salary was $15,000, a year and we were able to keep administrative costs to less that 20 percent of income.

 

In all, VIVA distributed nearly five million bracelets and raised enough money to produce untold millions of bumper stickers, buttons, brochures, matchbooks, newspaper ads, etc., to draw attention to the missing men. In 1976, VIVA closed its doors. By then the American public was tired of hearing about Vietnam and showed no interest in the POW/MIA issue."

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  • 1 year later...

Hello,

I found this topic and thought I should add photos of items I have. My brother, in 1972, got involved with VIVA

by asking for a bracelet and received a box of materials to be given out at high school. I took one of each item from the box before it left the house. Here is a link to photobucket showing what I have.

Bill G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POW/MIA ITEMS

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  • 2 weeks later...

Last year our local Amvets were cleaning out rooms..they found 38 unsold bracelets in the original packages...they sold them to me along with a bunch of round blue star stickers that you were to put on your bracelet if your guy in any way came home.All of the ones i got were the nickeled ones...Dave

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Last year our local Amvets were cleaning out rooms..they found 38 unsold bracelets in the original packages...they sold them to me along with a bunch of round blue star stickers that you were to put on your bracelet if your guy in any way came home.All of the ones i got were the nickeled ones...Dave

Good going!

 

There will come a day when these bracelets are extremely hard to come by. I can see certain ones, for notables, being very pricey and treasured.

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Sgt. Boghots

I got my first one in 1971 when I was a senior in high school. Except for during boot camp and couple of brief hospitalizations, I've been wearing one ever since.

 

My first bracelet was for Lt. Col. Lewis Shattuck, an F-105 pilot. It and the first ones that I wore were all of the plated variety, and I'd wear one until the plating wore through and I would start having skin irritations. Sometime later, I obtained a couple of stainless steel bracelets. Those have never caused me any problems.

 

I hadn't known what became of Col. Shattuck for many years. In 1988 I lived in Medford, Oregon. An airshow was coming to town and amongst the performing acts was the Holiday Inn sponsored aerobatic team. While reading an article about them in the local paper, it was mentioned that all of the pilots were former military fighter pilots, and amongst them the name Lew Shattuck jumped out at me from the page.

 

I was working on the airshow committee that year, and when the Holiday Inn team flew in the day before the show, I made sure I was there when they taxied up and shutdown their aircraft. I saw the plane with his name on the cockpit, and after he'd finished shutting down and exited the aircraft carrying his gear I approached him and introduced myself.

 

Then I reached in my pocket and pulled out the bracelet, and told him when I'd gotten it. It was a very emotional moment for me, and for him too. Lew told me how much it meant to him when he returned in 1973 to see how many people had worn the bracelets of not just himself, but the other POW & MIA's.

 

So now 39 years have passed since first wearing one, and I probably alway will. It's a reminder to me of just how high the price paid by so many families and their service members has been since our nation first fought for its independence. Payments on that freedom have been made every year since.

 

My best to all,

 

Paul Walker

Klamath Falls, Oregon

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  • 1 month later...

these are back in popularity for the modern war, at least within the ranks. I understand there is a color system now...black being KIA, etc. Several Marines I know wear black ones on libo for those who've fallen besides us

 

vehicle stickers, custom made, have also become popular as tools of remembrance. and tattoos.

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