The League of Wives of American Vietnam Prisoners of War was an organization founded in 1967 initially intended for sharing information and support among the wives of POW and MIA soldiers during the Vietnam War. The league was founded by Sybil Stockdale, the wife of detained American soldier James (Jim) Stockdale. Although its initial aim of the league was to provide support for its members, the league's wives were inspired to take action to ensure the safe return of POW and MIA Americans in Vietnam after being left discontented by the US military when it could not effectively provide families with the statuses or conditions of their relatives. The letters sent and meetings held by the league with military officials throughout the latter half of the Vietnam War attracted some animosity and significant media attention.
Origins
The League of Wives was established in April 1966. Initially inspired by a letter she received from her husband while detained in Vietnam, Sybil Stockdale pursued answers from military officers by meeting with various key officials across the United States.
The league’s initial goals were not political; Stockdale’s initial intention in connecting with other wives whose husbands were also POWs was to address her own concerns about the influence of communist propaganda on American perceptions of the war. She hoped that this larger network, which demonstrated that others shared her concerns, would lend legitimacy to her cause. In its initial form, the group was both a social and support space for women in the surrounding area to connect with one another, with some describing it as a “sorority.” There was also a further element of support through mentorship offered by the older wives to the younger ones, as Stockdale felt obligated to guide the younger wives who were now possibly widow.
This environment was helpful to women who found themselves isolated from their former military identity after the loss of their husbands; military spaces were unfriendly to women as they had lost their shared connection to the group. As well, male officials worried that the presence of these women would cause unnecessary fear and stress for other military wives in social spaces, as they were seen as a physical reminder of the costs of the Vietnam War; they therefore actively tried to keep the wives out of these spaces.
In the late 1960s, the newly-formed League of Wives provided a space for women to build identities that were not centered on their wifehood. As Stockdale continued to connect with other women who had experienced loss without official answers, the league’s membership and presence continued to grow domestically. With the help of the league’s social support, the Wives began leaning on their “feminine qualities” to push their agenda in predominantly male military spaces. They were able to complement these efforts and apply additional pressure on military officials by publicizing the conditions and treatment their husbands described in letters. These tactics, along with continuous development of social networks and increased media coverage allowed the league to develop into a more formally structured organization. By the 1970s, Stockdale and other league wives had created a vast network of women across the country searching for answers about their husbands, leading to the development of a “truly national organization” for the first time.
Many wives who joined in the league faced demilitarization and the tarnishing of their husbands’ ranks. However, the majority of members believed the league's cause to be worth the loss of reputation.
Notable members
Sybil Stockdale's husband, Jim Stockdale, was shot down in North Vietnam in 1965. She then received a letter from her husband, who had become a POW, in April 1966 and asked for his status to be changed from MIA to POW. After receiving the letter from her husband, Stockdale began organizing meetings between the wives. Her original efforts were based in San Diego.
Barbara Keenan sought help from the American military when her husband disappeared and they suggested that she receive medical care, then treated her with tranquilizers. In 1968, Keenan had become impatient from waiting and keeping silent, and she turned to political activism. She engaged in volunteer work for the league and attended their social events. She later became the head of a more radical group of activists, “Families for Intermediate Release” (FIR). In 1971, the FIR publicly criticized the League of Wives for failing to reach its humanitarian goals and adopted an antiwar position, violating several conditions of involvement in the league.