Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 16, 1991 TAG: 9102160341
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There are a number of places to order from, but you should proceed with caution, say officials of consumer protection agencies in several states.
The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, a non-profit organization in Washington, recommends Stemarco Inc. of Odessa, Texas, for bracelets of POWs, MIAs or troops serving in Operation Desert Storm. Stemarco has been making similar bracelets since 1981. The company is owned by a Vietnam veteran and donates some of the proceeds to the League of Families, according to Kelly Murphy, the league's assistant director of public relations.
The bracelets come in four sizes. Aluminum bracelets with the words "Operation Desert Storm" or "Operation Desert Storm/Till They Come Home" are $4, plus $2 for handling. Bracelets bearing the name of a specific person and branch are $5.
Bracelets for MIA or POW troops are red. Those for troops killed in action are black. Bracelets for troops serving in Desert Storm are blue. The engraved letters appear in silver. Stainless steel bracelets are available for $7 and brass bracelets are priced at $12.50 each, plus handling.
The company is printing bracelets with the names of 14 U.S. pilots and four British pilots who are POWs or MIAs in the gulf.
For order forms, write to Stemarco Inc., 1908 E. 7th Street, Odessa, Texas 79761-4822.
To order by credit card or request an order form, call (915) 334-6900. Minimum credit card charge is $30, excluding shipping. The FAX number is (800) 235-6368.
The $2 shipping fee applies to any number of bracelets in a single order. Delivery will take three to five weeks.
Bracelets also are available from U.S. Veteran News and Report in Kinston, N.C.
"We're familiar with them," said Murphy of the family league. "Over the years they have worked on the POW/MIA issue."
The North Carolina Department of Human Resources has received several queries about the organization, including one recently from CBS News, said Jennie Davis, the head of the agency's solicitation and licensing branch.
"They are a for-profit organization," Davis said of U.S. Veteran News and Report. The company publishes a newspaper that distributed free to visitors at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
Davis said the group's mission statement describes the newspaper as "dedicated to furnishing information to our readers about the human element created as a result of service in the military and the tragic ordeal of war."
It pledges to interview officials at all levels to "clarify and demystify" the sacrifices service personnel make daily - with special emphasis on veterans issues, including the POWs and MIAs.
Davis said the state agency's concern was to verify that the organization does not bill itself as non-profit. She said she is satisified that it does not do so.
Through a project called Homecoming II the group collects information about all prisoners of war as far back as World War II, said Robin Bell, a volunteer at the Kinston office.
The group offers brass bracelets for $15, stainless steel for $11 and aluminum for $11. Customers may designate the full name and rank of the person to be commemorated on the bracelet, or they may choose to have the name of any POW or MIA placed on it, including those from Operation Desert Storm.
For information, write to U.S. Veteran News and Report, P.O. Box 1713, Kinston, N.C. 28503 or call (919) 527-8079.
A third organization, Voices for Freedom of Alexandria, has been sent a letter by the Virginia Division of Consumer Affairs requesting that its professional solicitor register with the state. Otherwise, the agency said it would issue a warning to consumers about it.
"They have said they will be complying," said Michael Wright, the division's manager of registrations in Richmond. "We believe they are non-profit, but we don't have any specific documentation. It appears they've been a little sloppy doing their paperwork."
Wright said his office has received calls from all over the country about this and similar outfits. Consumer officials caution potential buyers to check out the various suppliers with state consumer agencies or to ask for a financial report before sending any money.
(Some of this information provided by Landmark News Service.)
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by CNB