All POW bracelets were silver, I used to wear one growing up. And then sent it back to him when he finally came home.
Posts from DakotaSurfer in thread „John Wayne Arm Bracelet“
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So we have conflicting reports... brass or silver. Too bad there aren't color pictures of his wrist to see what it was for sure. I'll have to look through some of my books for colored photos. All I know is my statement came from a press release/story that took it's info from the National Archives and a POW/MIA organization.
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Different bracelet... I read about the POW bracelet too. Here's the story I read:
Quote[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]John Wayne had 2 significant bracelets, both of which came out of the war in Vietnam.. They were symbols of remembrance, loyalty and patriotism. This is the story of Duke's bracelets.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] We first learned of Capt. Stephen P Hanson while watching a TV special on John Wayne. The story was a very moving one-about a young soldier in the Vietnam war who sent his wife and young son a picture of himself with the caption "Me as John Wayne." That man along with others in his crew would never return home.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]John Wayne wore Capt. Hanson's POW/MIA bracelet. John Wayne kept in touch through out his life with Capt.Hanson's wife and son. One letter Duke wrote to Hanson's boy when he was older said, "I wish you wonderful life. Just don't expect too much out of it and you'll have some wonderful years.[/FONT]
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The story goes when he was visiting the troops on a USO tour he[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] was given a "Yard" bracelet by the Montagnard People of Vietnam. The silver bracelet was presented to him by a Montagnard Strike Force led by a U.S. Special Forces A-Team. The Montagnard bracelet is a symbol of friendship and respect.
Brass tarnishes so easily and can leave a ring on your wrist.
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There is an organization that works to raise money for the Montagnard people. If you remember the move The Green Beret, they were a group within Vietnamese culture that took probably a large portion of the killings like any country nowadays, one group is marked for ethnic cleansing. And these are the people we see mentioned in The Dukes movie. The bracelet he wore was probably given to him during the filming or after for helping the Montagnard people. I'd have to do more research,
But the bracelets are available in brass or sterling silver for $35 or $60 respectively. Here is an image of the bracelets. I'm guessing they are treated much like the POW bracelets of the Vietnam War.
Here is some info I found about the bracelet.
Quote[FONT=veranda,arial,helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Montagnard bracelet also came to be known in some circles as a "John Wayne bracelet" after The Duke visited Vietnam and was "brothered" by Montagnards while researching to make the movie "The Green Berets." He was so deeply impressed by his 'Yard brothers that he never took it off. You can spot it in all his movies made subsequent to The Green Berets (released in 1968). Word is, he wore it to his own funeral. RIP, brother Duke.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Here is another site about some bracelets The Duke wore.
