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]