This holiday is always a somber one for me. This history of Memorial Day is interesting
as well.
My suggestion for this Memorial Day is to learn how to make
a cord bracelet in the memory of someone you know/knew … and then give it
away. This is much in the same mood as
the Vietnam era metal POW-MIA remembrance bracelets, which I remember from when
I was younger. Let’s remember all the
people who served as well those who are serving now including their spouses and
children. We can make Memorial Day one
of remembrance and healing.
Bracelets go a way back in the military, with wrist dog tag
bracelets being issued as early as the Spanish American War and then later into
WWI. The tradition of knotted cord
bracelets in the Navy goes back a good deal farther. Sailors made knotted items in their spare time and one of the
things they made to show their skill were bracelets. Those earlier type bracelets didn’t necessarily have a military
association and they were generally nautical work.
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| My father, Iwo Jima |
WWII saw jewelry makers produce men’s ID bracelets in
sterling and they were very popular.
Many had the owner’s name engraved on the front and the back and
possibly branch of service or a specialty insignia, such as pilot’s wings or
the Marine Corps logo. They were
popular gifts to from women and from men as well. Sterling ID bracelets continued to be popular after WWII and were
very commonly worn up until the late 1960s.
The military forms powerful bonds of brotherhood and military members
gave tokens to each other such as a dog tag exchange, or personalized gifts
such as sterling ID bracelets in WWII
The Vietnam War saw implementation of the original POW/MIAmetal bracelets I referred to previously, with the missing or prisoner’s name
on the bracelet. The idea was to
remember the person until they were released or their remains identified. See also http://thewall-usa.com/bracelet.asp
More recently, parachute cord bracelets may have been around early as WWII
because the cord was available to many military members, not just those in
paratrooper units and aviators. The
cord had many uses and GIs scrounged the cord for a multitude of uses. The Vietnam War perhaps also saw the modest
use of parachute cord bracelets, but I have not been successful in finding any
examples.
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| I've always liked this image of Winston enjoying a Tommy Gun moment |
Certainly parachute cord bracelets, in the form we have
become familiar with begins to appear about 1980, although I personally can’t
date exactly when I saw the first one.
Originally they were buddy bracelets and were woven permanently on a
person’s arm by their buddy and were not removable. Later ones, used a BDU button to make it removable, probably
because some commands didn’t allow the bracelet for a number of reasons, some
of which might have been safety.
By the late 1980s I began to see parachute cord bracelets
that had a plastic latch buckle, a miniature version of the type used on
military combat belts. Now paracord
bracelets are in a variety of colors, for a variety of causes and are not
always associated with the military.
The utility of having 8 to 10 feet of 550 pound test nylon multistrand
cord handily around your wrist appealed to survivalists, hikers and folks who
just liked being prepared.
A fairly good-sized cottage industry has grown up making and
selling paracord bracelets at flea markets, gun shows, and through the internet
for a variety of causes in a variety of colors. Rather than be a fashion accessory, let it be a symbol of
caring. It doesn’t matter if you have
never been in the military yourself, make one and give it to somebody who was
or is in the military or their spouse or children. The gesture of giving something you have personally made means
far more than you think. Let’s put the
memory back into Memorial Day. This
isn’t about supporting war or being against war, it’s about supporting people.
Here are some guides on making a paracord bracelet for
yourself or for others:
PDF download http://www.operationgratitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/HowtoMakeaParacordSurvivalBracelet.pdf
Some more links of interest
Nautical knot bracelets
http://blog.brooksbrothers.com/the-man/tying-the-knot/
naval knotwork bracelet http://www.mysticknotwork.com/White-Sailor-Bracelet-Outlined-in-Navy-Blue-Satin-Rope-Bracelet-Turks-Head-Weave_p_151.htm
Washington Navy Yard Museum (National Museum of the US Navy)
in Washington DC has perhaps the earliest bracelet as from the sinking of the
Maine. http://www.history.navy.mil/about/navy_yard.html
How to make turkshead knot work bracelet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2TL93t-85o
