POW bracelet reunites strangers after 55 years

ST. LOUIS - A bracelet inscribed with the name of a prisoner in the Vietnam War brought two strangers together Monday.

"This is the bracelet, and the date on there is the date that his plane was shot down," Joan Nazzoli said.

She met the man behind the name on her bracelet for the first time.

"These are not, as you know, flashy bracelets. It was the idea; it was the thought; it was the blessing that went with it," Retired Col. John Clark.

The journey for the two all started when Nazzoli bought a POW bracelet in college.

"The names on them—it's what made them very personal. We would look at each other's bracelets (and say), 'Oh, whose name is on yours?'" Nazzoli said. She wore the bracelet a couple of years then tucked it away for decades.

"I had just recently found this POW/MIA bracelet that I had from 1970. So I thought, 'I'm going to stop in and look at the POW Museum and talk to someone about the bracelet,'" Nazzoli added.

Clark spent six years in a POW camp after his plane was shot down in 1967. He received several POW bracelets from strangers over the years, with each bracelet with his name letting him know people back home were waiting for his return.

"This was a sign of solidarity of the American people with the prisoners of war," Clark said. "This person had blessed me with their prayers and offerings and their willingness and commitment to put it on and wear it, regardless of who their friends were or what they thought or anything else."