BAY CITY, Mich. – For 36 years, Vietnam veteran Bob Wagner has worn a POW-MIA bracelet on his wrist, praying for the person whose name is on it.
Late last month, almost by accident, Wagner met that person – Guy Gruters, a U.S. Air Force captain from Minster, Ohio, taken prisoner of war in Vietnam in 1967. Gruters spent more than five years in POW camps.
“I've always wondered how his life has been,” said Wagner, 59, of Saginaw, Mich. “I think God was saying something to me that he wanted me to meet (Gruters).”
Gruters, a devout Catholic, said devotion of Americans such as Wagner made a difference for POWs.
“This is what got us home – the prayers and the people,” Gruters said.
The meeting between the men occurred after Wagner – wearing his bracelet – spoke earlier this year with Dan Fitzpatrick, director of the 2008 Catholic Men's Conference at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Bay City. Fitzpatrick mentioned that Gruters would be among the speakers.
“When (Fitzpatrick) first told me he was coming, I looked down at my wrist and I asked him again, 'Who's coming?' and then I showed him the bracelet,” Wagner said.
Wagner served in the Army from 1970 to 1972. He learned the Vietnamese language and worked as an interpreter while stationed in Da Nang.
After his discharge, Wagner, then 24, said he felt bad that the rest of his military brothers – particularly the POWs – were not returning with him. So when he saw a student support group selling bracelets for POW-MIA soldiers at what is now Saginaw Valley State University, he paid about $2 to buy a bracelet to support the cause.
“I've been wearing it ever since,” he said.
Wagner said he learned in the 1990s that Gruters had survived the war and always had hoped to meet him.
Even though many people bought POW-MIA bracelets during the Vietnam War era, they're not seen much anymore.
“I've known people who have worn them but they don't wear them anymore,” Wagner said. “I chose to wear mine. I've worn it for 36 years.”
The bracelet, he said, has served as a good reminder to him through the years.
“As tough as I've had it, he's had it worse,” he said.
