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Vietnam War bracelets come full circle

Air Force Capt. James Hivner was 60 miles north of Hanoi on Oct. 5, 1965, when his F-4 fighter was hit. He dropped his bombs onto the ammunition dump he was targeting and ejected from the burning plane.

Hivner was quickly captured and endured nearly eight years of brutality. He was beaten and whipped, starved, and held in near-total isolation. In 1973, he was one of 590 American POWs in Vietnam released as part of the cease-fire agreement that ended the war.

“I was in the hospital recovering when I started getting these little packages,” Hivner said.

Inside each was a bracelet with his name etched on it and a note of thanks.

Through the years, the 79-year-old retired colonel has received scores of bracelets. The most recent came last Memorial Day. He keeps them in a shoebox.