My dad has always worn this bracelet.  It is made from a Huey helicopter tail rotor chain.  I knew that he had got it off of a helicopter while serving in Vietnam, wore it religiously, and then had it properly made into a bracelet once he came back to the United States.  But I never really knew how he came upon it, so today at lunch I asked dad to tell me the story.  

Dad tells me that he and his platoon were walking and came upon a Huey helicopter, nose down in the jungle.  He said there were no signs of soldiers and he said they were most likely taken prisoner.  He said that his lieutenant climbed onto the tail and cut off  the rotor chain.  He said he then cut it into several smaller pieces and handed them to each of his soldiers.  From that moment, that small piece of chain never left my dads side.  

Of course, I had to dig deeper into this because why a rotor chain?  Well, come to find out, there is history behind it.  During Vietnam, soldiers who survived or came upon a helicopter crash or a "shoot down" would salvage a piece of the chain and form it into a bracelet.  The bracelet was a symbol of survival and brotherhood.  

For the rest of our lunch hour, dad told me stories of his time in Vietnam.  Some I had heard, others I had not.  He told me that every night he would pray the "Our Father" prayer.  He never missed a night.  I think to the last sentence of this prayer, "But deliver us from evil," and know that my dad was asking for protection.  Just as I ask God to protect my dad now.  

As we are walking out of Arby's, my dad tells me thank you for listening to his stories.  I look at him and tell him it was my pleasure to listen.  He will never know what these lunch dates do for my soul.  (Silver lining).