POW bracelet
Commemorative bracelet
A POW bracelet, also known as a POW/MIA bracelet, is a nickel-plated or copper commemorative bracelet engraved with the rank, name, and loss date of an American servicemen captured or missing in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
01History
The POW bracelet was conceived in 1970 by Carol Cates Brown and Kay Hunter, members of the California-based student group Voices in Vital America (VIVA), with the intention that American prisoners of war in Southeast Asia not be forgotten. Those who wore the bracelets vowed to leave them on until the serviceman named on the bracelet, or their remains, were returned to the United States, with the idea of returning the bracelet to the returning prisoner.
The bracelets, which cost 30 cents to produce, sold for $2.50 or $3.00 and increased VIVA's income to more than $7 million by 1973. Between 1970 and 1973, approximately 4 million bracelets were distributed. Politicians, astronauts, entertainers, and models wore the bracelets.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “POW bracelet”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- POWBracelet.jpg by "Courtesy photo." No photographer attributed., Public domain
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