Staff
Coronado’s military ties run deep, and the city is moving forward to install a plaque to further commemorate local women who fought for humane treatment and the return of Vietnam prisoners of war.
The proposed plaque will honor Coronado women who were instrumental in the national League of Wives of American Vietnam Prisoners of War organization, which advocated for the return of their husbands. It will be installed in Star Park, near the League of Wives memorial that was installed last summer.
The organization was founded in 1967 by Coronadan Sybil Stockdale, the wife of imprisoned American soldier Vice Admiral Jim Stockdale. When Jim Stockdale returned after seven years of detainment, he came and spoke to his son’s sixth grade class.
City Councilmember Amy Steward was a member of that class.
“As a young girl, I remember those women,” Steward said during the April 1 meeting of the Coronado City Council. “My father served during the Vietnam War, and his ship was hit off the coast of North Vietnam, and there were people who were burned and wounded.”
Her voice broke with emotion as she spoke, recalling visiting the wounded in the hospital with her mother.
“I’ll never forget these young, young men – who looked a little bit older to me as a young girl – and the smell of rotting flesh,” she said. “Military spouses are brave, very brave.”
The matter was brought before the council via a Policy No. 2 request from Councilmember Kelly Purvis, responding to a request from Susan Keith that the locally involved women be commemorated near the League of Wives memorial.
The city council unanimously approved the request, meaning that the matter will be placed on a future council agenda for a vote. The decision isn’t final yet, and specifics on cost and location have not yet been decided, but all five members of the council supported the idea. It will return to the council for deliberation and a vote at a future date.
“We thought it would be right to bring it to the council’s attention to see if we could do some kind of recognition for the women who are local Coronadans, and who will be recognized in perpetuity as the women from this city who lived here, and whose husbands were POWs, who were part of the national movement for the League of Wives,” Purvis said.
The city will work with the Coronado Historical Association to form a list of women who should be commemorated, and the council discussed leaving room to add additional names if needed in the future.
“What a great tribute and opportunity for us to make sure we get this right,” Purvis said.
