During Rosemary Thunder Schwoebel’s recent presentation about her book, A Vietnam Memoir: Adventures of an American Red Cross Donut Dolly, 1968-69, she raised her right arm and displayed a artifact I’d never seen or heard of before: a bracelet made from a Bell UH-1 “Huey” helicopter tail rotor chain. It was a custom, she says, for some who survived a crash or shoot-down of a Huey in Vietnam to salvage a piece of tail rotor chain, which looks like a tighter and stiffer bicycle chain, and fashion a bracelet out of it.

This Vietnam practice is like a less formal version of the World War II “Caterpillar Club” and its distinctive lapel pin. But, unlike the lapel pin, which was promoted by the Irvin Air Chute Company, the bracelet is a true piece of folk culture–practices and products of small-scale social groups living in distinctive conditions. This describes most military service members everywhere, but especially those deployed in relatively few numbers far from home.

Salvaging a tail rotor chain speaks to the particulars of Vietnam War, where American technology and the skill and courage of those who flew and maintained these aircraft defined much of the war. Hueys were a breakthrough in modern warfare, allowing the US take deliver its fighters and firepower to remote locations in jungles and highlands. Flying low and slow, they also became a target for the enemy, who shot them down in large numbers.

Photograph of a closeup of a UH-1B Iroquois helicopter’s tail rotor (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1132380/: accessed September 8, 2024, University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.)

Survivors of helicopter crashes would usually salvage a chain from a helicopter maintenance depot–not necessarily their own downed chopper. They would remove the 41″ chain, divided it into four parts, and craft bracelets from the pieces. The bracelets were more than just mementos. They were symbols of survival and brotherhood.

The tail rotor chain, often referred to as a “silent chain” or “shoot down chain,” was a crucial component of the Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter. The chain controlled the pitch of the tail rotor blades, which in turn managed the helicopter’s directional stability. The tail rotor’s primary function was to counteract the torque generated by the main rotor, preventing the helicopter from spinning uncontrollably. Without it, the aircraft would be rendered useless.

Due to the extreme conditions faced by helicopters during combat, these chains were eventually deemed inadequate and were replaced by updated versions in the late 1960s. This makes the original Vietnam-era chains rare today, with most being either destroyed in combat or lost over time.

A quick check of eBay and other internet auction sites shows just how rare and expensive these original chains are. One shiny example is going to $4,152. Another example this unique piece of history, a broken chain, sells for over $2,000.

For those who served in Vietnam, the Huey helicopter was more than just a machine, and the bracelets are more than pieces of jewelry. They are symbols of a shared experience, now part of history.