In recent months, several people have contacted me seeking information about the origins of POW / MIA bracelets worn during the early 1970s. The following is offered for those interested in learning the history of phenomena bracelet.
I was President of the POW / MIA Bracelet Campaign National VIVA (sounds Vital America), Los Angeles is based on the student took the bracelet during the Vietnam War. Entertainers Bob Hope and Martha Raye has served me an honorary member of the co-presidents.
The idea for the bracelets was started by a fellow student, Kay Hunter, and I, as a way to remember American prisoners of war suffering in captivity in Southeast Asia. At the end of 1969 television personality Bob Dornan (who several years later was elected to Congress) introduced us and several other members of VIVA to three wives of pilots missing. They believed that our group of students could help draw public attention to the prisoners and missing in Vietnam. The idea of circulating petitions and letters to Hanoi demanding humane treatment of prisoners of war was attractive when we were looking for ways students can participate in positive programs to support U.S. soldiers without being drawn into the controversy the war itself. The relatives of these men had begun to organize locally, but the National League of POW / MIA families had not yet formed.
Meanwhile, Bob Dornan wore a bracelet he had obtained in Vietnam hill tribe, who said he always remembered the suffering of the war had driven so many others. We wanted to get similar bracelets to remember to take prisoners of war, therefore, rather naively, we tried to find a way to go to Vietnam. Since no one wanted to fund two sorority girls on a tour of Vietnam at the height of the war, and our parents were furious at the idea, we gave up and Kay Hunter began to see how to make bracelets. Soon other activities drew his attention and let the VIVA, and left me, another student of Steve Frank, and our adult advisor, Gloria Coppin, to continue the outreach program of POW / MIA. The main problem is that VIVA had no money to make bracelets, but our consultant is able to find a small shop in Santa Monica that was recorded in silver used to decorate the horses. The owner agreed to make 10 sample bracelets.
I remember us around Gloria Coppin kitchen with a burner on the phone when we tried to know what we would put on bracelets.
That's why we take only the name, rank and date of loss, as we have not had time to think about anything else.
Armed with bracelets of the sample, we decided to find someone who would donate money to make bracelets for distribution to students of the college. He had not yet dawned on us that adults want to wear these things, because they were not very attractive. Several approaches to Ross Perot was rejected, a proposal to include $ 10,000 that we pay a 10% interest. We even visited principal collaborators Howard Hughes in Las Vegas. They were sympathetic but not willing to help fund our project. Finally, in late summer 1970, donated Gloria Coppin man enough, brass and copper bracelets to 1200. The drive from Santa Monica has agreed to make and we could pay from any product that we could achieve.
Although the initial bracelets were going to cost about 75 cents to make, we were not sure how much we should ask people to donate to get the bracelet. In 1970, admissions for local films was $ 2.50. We decided that the price seemed fair to ask the student a nickel-plated bracelet. We also made of copper are adults who believed they helped their "tennis elbow". Again, according to our logic adults could cost more, so you can ask for copper bracelets $ 3.00.
At the suggestion of local POW / MIA parents who attended the meeting of the annual National League of Families in Washington, DC in late September. We were surprised by the interest of the wives and parents with the name of her man and get wristbands for distribution. Bob Dornan, who has always been a champion of the POW / MIA and their families continued to publicize the issue in his television talk show in Los Angeles and the promotion of the bracelets.
The Veterans Day 11th November 1970, we officially launched the bracelet with a news conference at the Sheraton Universal. Responses to the consultation has grown rapidly and we finally got to a point, we received over 12,000 requests per day. It also brought money to pay for brochures, stickers, buttons, advertising and all we could do to publicize the problem POW / MIA. We have formed a close alliance with the families of the disappeared - they got bracelets on consignment and we can keep some of the money raised to fund their organizations. We also tried to provide these groups with all the stickers and other materials, they could give.
While Steve Frank and I ended up leaving college to work full time to manage the bracelet VIVA and other POW / MIA programs, none of us got rich off the bracelets. Group of adults VIVA Consulting, led by Gloria Coppin, was sure we would not be well-paid professional staff. If I remember correctly, the highest salary was $ 15,000, a year and we managed to keep administrative costs below 20 percent of income.
Total VIVA distributed nearly five million bracelets and raised enough money to produce millions of stickers, buttons, brochures, books match, newspaper ads, etc., to attract the attention of the missing men. In 1976, VIVA closed its doors. At that time the American public was tired of hearing about Vietnam and showed no interest in the issue of POW / MIA.
