artifacts

I have 100.4 F body temperature and feel bad. Nevertheless, the author of the article mentions letters, teddy bears, the braceletes. I didn`t know what are these bracelets` letters mean. in case someone is curious, here is the quote from the site, "In the 1970's, we wore Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) and Missing in Action (M.I.A.) bracelets bearing the name of a captured or lost soldier. We did this to keep this person in our hearts and minds, even if we did not know them personally. We proudly wore these bracelets, and some still do, as a symbol of hope that the POW's and MIA's would return home to their families" (memorialbracelets.com).  Sturken says that all the things that are left in memorial without selection become a part of the archive. these artifacts while beign a part of culture turn into historical artifacts after beign registered as the item of the war memorial.
O'Brien lists a lot of things the soldiers carried. Any of the described and listed things can become a part of the memorial`s archive. these war artifacts make us view the war as a  personal story. they are not the soldiers who are unified by the same ideology, goal (ay least we do not see it at the beginning), but they are individuals who have different favorite things, hopes and reflections.