Wearable Prayers on Behalf of a Vietnam POW
Tomorrow, May 2nd, is the National Day of Prayer. Here is the story of an artifact in our collection that, to its honoree, represented a prayer in physical form. This plain yet striking item is a metal Vietnam-era POW/MIA bracelet engraved simply with the name, “William W. Butler” and the date, “11/20/1967.”
This bracelet belonged to Janis Alexander Gauthier of Bossier City. She and her soon-to-be husband, Bobby Gauthier, who had served as a survival skills trainer to pilots headed to Vietnam, each had bracelets. (Bobby Gauthier, upon completing his Air Force Service in 1971, joined the Bossier City Police Department, becoming chief in 1982.)
POW/MIA Bracelets were introduced to the public in a news conference on Veterans Day, November 11, 1970, by a Los Angeles student organization, Voices in Vital America (VIVA) to increase public awareness about the plight of Americans still prisoner, missing, and unaccounted for in the Vietnam War. The public responded immediately, and soon VIVA was receiving over 12,000 bracelet requests a day. Each bracelet had the name of a prisoner of war (POW) or someone who was missing in action (MIA), and the date they were taken or went missing. The idea was for the purchasers, who paid $2.50 for the bracelet, to wear until their named person was home.
In the days before the Internet, not all wearers learned the fate of their bracelet’s namesake, but Janis, a 1967 graduate of Airline High School, made it a point to find out, using the US Postal Service. With the bracelet, Mrs. Gauthier donated the letters she received in reply. Through them we can learn some of William Butler’s story.
His parents’ address was made publicly available, and Janis was able to inquire of William “Bill” Butler’s situation to his parents in Los Angeles, California in 1972. They had received several requests for information, so they sent Janis and Bobby a form letter:
“Thank you so very much for you letter and for your concern for our son and the other POWS/MIAs. We regret that we must answer you via this form letter, but many who wear Bill’s name on their bracelet have written and we don’t want to delay giving you some information on his status.
Bill is in the Air Force and was flying an F105 when his plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He was listed as “missing in action” (MIA) for nearly two years. We found out that he was alive and a prisoner in Hanoi when one of the 3 POWs released by the North Vietnamese in 1969 was able to tell us that he had caught a glimpse of our son in one of the camps…
They [Bill and his wife] have a son, 5-1/2 and a daughter whom our son has never seen, who is 4-1/2. We consider ourselves fortunate in at least knowing that Bill is alive. Most of the families still don’t know the status of their loved ones…We thank you for wearing Bill’s bracelet and for helping stir awareness among the American people of the facts concerning the plight of these men…”
The letter was signed Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Butler, with a hand-written note below their signature, “Bill, when he gets home, will be so pleased and proud to hear that his name was worn on the wrists of two such fine young people. We thank you both from the bottom of our hearts.”
Capt. Bill Butler did make it home. Following the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, Bill Butler was released in Hanoi on March 14, 1973 after 5-1/2 years of captivity at six different camps. In late April 1973, about a month after they were married, Bill and Janis Gauthier received a form letter from him. At the top was a picture of Capt. Butler in his Air Force uniform, his wife, and little boy and girl. All are smiling, with the little girl, in a frilly plaid dress, with the biggest grin of all. The letter stated,
“I thought since you had worn my bracelet during my captivity, and otherwise offered your support and prayers for me and those in my situation, that perhaps you would enjoy seeing this photograph of four of America’s happiest people. This will, at the same time, give me a chance to offer you my heartfelt thanks for your efforts and concern, for you can be assured that without your support this photograph would not have been possible.”
Capt. Butler went on to say that the treatment the POWs received at the beginning of their imprisonment was deplorable, violating all norms of International Law and civilized law. He said by late 1969, there was improvement in their treatment, though still contrary to the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention of the treatment of Prisoners of War. Those continuing minimal but significant improvements, Capt. Butler wrote, were not because the North Vietnamese had a “humanitarian awakening,” but because they were constantly keeping tabs on American and foreign public opinion, and took note of the burgeoning attitude of concern over the POW/MIA issue. “Your wearing of my bracelet brought me and the rest of the POWs a new chance to survive America’s longest war.”
He also gave an update on his life since his return. He and his young children were “having a ball getting to know one another.” He said he was basically in good health and condition, especially compared to other POWs. An article in the Gainesville Sun from May 28, 2004, continued Capt. Butler’s story. He left active duty on June 30, 1974. A lover of animals, he went on to veterinary school and opened his own veterinary practice. He and his wife Julie had a third child. He dealt with tragedy again, when Julie, a travel agent, died in 1987 in a commercial plane crash. He remarried in 1989, and his family grew even more. He used his experience as a POW to volunteer with the Kairos prison ministry, inspiring others and sharing ways to cope.
The article mentioned that over the years, Butler received thousands of bracelets and contacts from well-wishers who prayed for him during his ordeal. “It meant an awful lot to me,” he said. “It made us [he and fellow POWs] feel like someone was standing behind us and caring about us.” Dr. William Butler DVM, resided in California until his death in early March 11, 2013. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, with several of his cellmates from Hanoi in attendance.
If you would like to see the bracelet and the letters from the Gauthier collection, they are currently on display here at the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center. The History Center is located at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is [email protected]
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