I met John McCain. I'll be writing about it in a future Trenches column. I wanted to thank him for his service to this country. Also wanted to beg him not to run for President (I'm a Democrat). But I'm not hear to preach politics.

A story appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune about a girl named Marilyn Miceli, who lives in Encinitas (just outside of San Diego). She's 48 now, but when she was a girl in 1971, she purchased a bracelet engraved with McCain's name. She wore it, not knowing anything about the missing serviceman except his name and rank.

The POW/MIA Bracelet Campaign, was to raise public awareness of service members missing in action or taken prisoner. An estimated 5 million bracelets were sold, for $2.50 each.

Her bracelet is engraved with "LCDR John McCain III 10-26-67. And she said that when the paper had a list of servicemen that came home, her and her friends would check to see if any were the boys on their bracelets.

Miceli says the bracelet now doesn't just have meaning because McCain is running for President. But, she has a 31-year-old cousin stationed in South Korea.

In the story, she mentioned during a 2000visit to San Diego, she attended a rally in Balboa Park. She got to shake his hand, along with another woman who had the same bracelet. She said, "He was very gracious. He seemed geniunely touched that we had them, kept them, wore them and that they meant something to us."

As for who she'll vote for in the upcoming election: She's a Democrat. But is undecided.