Naval Aviator Jim Stockdale was being held prisoner in North Vietnam’s infamous “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. That’s when his wife, Sybil Stockdale, began meeting at her Coronado home with a small group of wives whose husbands were also POWs. This was the beginning of The League of Wives.
They would ultimately build a national League of Families that included the POW/MIA movement. Their efforts helped expose and reduce prisoner torture and contributed to the safe return of 591 Service Members.
The League of Wives Memorial, set to be dedicated at Star Park on June 21 as the very first memorial to military spouses in US history, has been more than three years in the making.
Brad Willis spoke with sculptors Elisabeth Frederickson-Pollnow and Christopher Slatoff, and shares interviews with league ladies from 2019:
(If video doesn’t play, watch it here)
More of the League of Wives Memorial Project.
NOTE: The memorial dedication scheduled for June 21, 2024 is sold out.
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The League of Wives Memorial Statue Arrives in Coronado (video)
