A POW bracelet (or POW/MIA bracelet) is a nickel-plated or copper commemorative bracelet engraved with the rank, name, and loss date of an American serviceman captured or missing during the Vietnam War.^[1]

The bracelets were first created in May 1970 by a California student group called Voices in Vital America (VIVA),^[2] with the intention that American prisoners of war in Vietnam not be forgotten.^[1] Those who wore the bracelets vowed to leave them on until the soldier named on the bracelet, or their remains, were returned to America.^[3] with the idea of returning the bracelet to the returning prisoner.^[4][5][6]

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.^[1] Politicians, entertainers, and models wore the bracelets.^[3]

See also

• POW/MIA flag
• Yellow ribbon

References

Further reading

• Hawley, Thomas M. The Remains of War: Bodies, Politics, and the Search for American Soldiers Unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Durham: Duke University Press, 2005. Page 51.
• Hesse, Rayner W. Jewelrymaking Through History: An Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2007. Page 30.
• Holsinger, M. P. (1999). War and American popular culture: A historical encyclopedia. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Page 409–410.
• Wiest, A. A., Barbier, M., & Robins, G. (2010). America and the Vietnam War: Re-examining the culture and history of a generation. New York: Routledge. Page 181
• Appy, Christian G. Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides. Viking. 2003. Pages 489–492.

External links

• Media related to POW bracelet at Wikimedia Commons