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League of Wives
Star Park To Host Nation’s First Public Memorial Honoring Military Spouses
Dignitaries from across the country will converge on Star Park Circle on Friday, June 21, for the dedication of our nation’s first memorial honoring military spouses. The installation of The League of Wives honors the courageous women who toiled gallantly for the safe return of 591 Prisoners of War during the Vietnam era. Coronado will be the first community in the country to formally recognize and honor spouses and families of those who have or still serve in the U.S. military. This memorial’s grassroots effort originated in Coronado more than five years ago and represents the collective labors of dozens of volunteers and donors who united to ensure the story of The League of Wives would be historically acknowledged in perpetuity.
Featuring Sybil Stockdale at the helm, who was the wife of the highest-ranking officer imprisoned during that war, former POW Admiral James Stockdale, this monument pays tribute to a group of valiant women who banded together in the mid-1960’s creating The League of Wives, which eventually evolved into the National League of Families of Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. Sybil Stockdale founded this League around the dining room table of her family’s home right here in Coronado. She’d learned that her husband had been shot down on September 9, 1965, during a mission over Vietnam,
but for months was uncertain if he was dead or alive. When she finally received a letter from him in April 1966, and realized he was alive, Sybil was motivated to act, connecting with other military wives whose husbands were also POWs to advocate for the proper treatment and safe return of their beloved husbands.
“My mom was unbelievably strong during and after my dad’s captivity,” explains her youngest son, Taylor Stockdale, a longtime resident of Coronado who lives in the family’s home today. “What impressed me most was how calm she was, and her amazing clear-mindedness and common sense when giving advice to other wives.”
When asked if he recalls meetings of the League of Wives in his home, Taylor exclaims, “Of course! This was my childhood. The ladies were there regularly, sometimes in formal meetings, and sometimes just socializing. Even as a kid I could sense how much they needed each other and how important their friendships were.”
To fully understand the significance of their efforts, one must first comprehend the uphill battle these spousal-warriors faced, challenging not only the U.S. Military during what was known as the “Keep Quiet” era, but also our own government, the President of the United States, both houses of Congress, and other powers-that-be in positions of authority from coast to coast and around the globe. In fact, Taylor Stockdale recalls meeting several national dignitaries. “Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Ross Perot, Bob Dole, and Ronald Regan were just a few of the people we met,” Taylor explains. He also mentions that, around 1969, the iconic astronaut John Glenn brought him and his brothers “space candy,” noting that, “He and my dad were test pilots together.”
These women rallied together for more than seven years, launching letter writing campaigns, standing at podiums bravely making speeches across the country, addressing Congress during legislative sessions, deluging President Nixon with more than 2,000 telegrams on his inauguration day in January 1969, and flying to the Paris Peace Accords to meet with world leaders, all the while making certain their voices were heard in an effort to protect and hopefully save their POW husbands. According to Heath Hardage Lee, author of The League of Wives, “League members, 174 of them, would fly to Paris together and then fan out into thirteen different European countries to raise awareness and try to gain audiences with the North Vietnamese representatives at their embassies and consulates.”
Local resident Brad Willis, a former NBC news correspondent, felt inspired to pursue this project honoring The League of Wives, having accompanied Senators John McCain and John Kerry in 1990 as they returned to Vietnam for the first time after the war ended to begin resolving the POW/MIA issue. Fast forward thirty years later when in 2019 Brad attended The League of Wives exhibit at the Coronado Historical Association and astoundingly realized that this heroic effort, that eventually led to an international movement, originated just a few doors down from his own home on “A” Avenue in Coronado. “I was absolutely astonished by the story of what these women did,” Brad explains. At the time, he also served on the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission, as the Commissioner of Public Art. “It occurred to me that the greatest public art contribution I could make to Coronado was a memorial to the League of Wives,” he explains. “This story started in Coronado but became an international movement.”
Willis quickly realized that to tackle such an immense project as this, he would need to enlist the help of community leaders more familiar with and connected to the heart of this story. Willis turned to Alexia Palacios-Peters, a Navy spouse who is also an attorney and has experience working with military veterans, he felt she would be an ideal person with whom to collaborate in pursuing this project. He also contacted Christina Bagaglio Slentz, both a Navy Veteran and military spouse who was the first female in history to serve in Carrier Air Wing ONE, deploying aboard the USS George Washington (CVN 73) as a Naval Intelligence Officer, and asked if she would Co-Chair this effort with Alexia. Together, they established the non-profit League of Wives Memorial Project with the goal of honoring these women and telling their story through the establishment of a memorial in Coronado. Brad, Alexia, and Christina recruited dozens of others to help accomplish their goal, including fellow Board members Mari Fries, Grace Kording, Heath Hardage Lee, and Cathy McJannet, along with Honorary Board Chairs Sid and Kit Stockdale and Taylor and Anne Stockdale, in addition to an impressive Steering Committee of well-connected local women leaders.
Working collaboratively, they came up with the concept of a memorial statue featuring the League of Wives founder Sybil Stockdale taking charge, surrounded by three of her colleagues stepping out from a podium intricately laced with roses. “This was a difficult process,” Alexia explains, noting that the various stakeholders all had different visions. Co-Chair Christina also notes, “Everyone cared so deeply and had very strong feelings about their vision.”
In fact, at least 15 iterations of their design concept were created because, according to Christina, “It was important to get as many different voices who were close to this story as possible.” She explains that, through this design process, “We came to the conclusion that making Sybil real, while letting the other ladies be symbolic was the most inclusive that we could be.” She further notes, “The memorial speaks to a time in the past, but it still speaks to today.” Because of the efforts of these women during the last century, military family advocacy has achieved heightened attention throughout our land, with organizations like Blue Star Families and the National Military Family Association playing increasingly important and influential roles for service members and the spouses, children and families of those who protect our freedom in service of our country.
Brad recommended Southern California sculptor Christopher (Chris) Slatoff as the primary artist for this project. Chris’s art career commenced in Coronado almost 30 years ago when he was commissioned by the Port District of San Diego to create the public art piece “Sheltering Wings” that sits majestically in Grand Caribe Shoreline Park. Brad knew that Chris’s keen eye and unique abilities made him the ideal candidate to tackle this project. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Sculpture from Long Beach State, and more formal education in France at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Faculte d’Letres of the Universite d’Aix-Marseilles, Chris possessed the regional knowledge and international prowess to fully understand and conceptualize the vision expressed by stakeholders in this effort. As Chris explains, “Public art should enhance the public’s experience of a location. It should be confident in its position, while also being protective of its area.”
Chris immersed himself in research, from reading The League of Wives and interviewing the author, to conversing with Sybil’s son Sid Stockdale, and spending hours with surviving members of the League of Wives, to fully grasp the significance and magnitude of this project. But what he quickly realized, as he candidly explains, “I did not want to be the sole male artists on this project about these women’s success, and women’s issues.” So, Chris enlisted the help of his colleague and co-sculptor, Elisabeth Pullnow, who had worked as an assistant and studio manager with Chris for a number of years. “I believe we are greater than the sum of our parts,” Chris notes explaining that Elisabeth brought an important feminine eye, aptitude, and understanding to this project. He also enlisted the help of his wife, Wendy Weaver, a graduate of the Parsons School of Design, who is an expert in vintage fashion and style.
In the studio, Chris and Elisabeth surrounded themselves with a late 1960’s vibe, listening to “Be My Baby” by Ronnie Spector among other period pieces, and immersing themselves in fashion and fabric from that era. He notes that Sybil’s outfit in the sculpture is very Jacqueline Kennedyesque, insisting that “Sybil had to wear an outfit that screams at you.” He also notes another suit worn by one of the women, “Looks like the outfit Pat Nixon wore to the White House event welcoming the POWs home.”
The women stand in a circle in front of the podium, almost as if to “circle the wagons” in gathering this group of heroic and steadfast women together. “They had their power in their unity, in their coming together,” he explains. “They were a solid block.” The entire sculpture stands six feet tall, weighing more than 1,000 pounds, because depicting these women as lifelike was so integral to their vision.
“These women had iron in their spine,” notes Elisabeth. “Imagine their struggle against a system set up to undermine their voices and marginalize what they had to say.” She and Chris struggled with how to say that visually, which is why the incredibly fine nuances of this sculpture were decided upon during their creative processes. One of the women holds a stack of papers in her hand, inferring that she had done her research and was fully prepared. “They were ready for what came their way so their voices would be heard,” Elisabeth explains.
Another figure holds a purse on her forearm, with a cotton glove draped over the front. “It was time for the gloves to come off,” Elisabeth notes. All four of the women are gently stepping off the foundation, moving forward in their collective vision, while one looks up toward the sky and they all place their hands on Sybil’s shoulders.
These women banded together, united in determination and spirit, and accomplished what no other females had ever accomplished before. Yet all the while, they themselves were mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends to countless others in their personal circles. Reflecting on that time, and what his mother and these women endured, Taylor notes, “These could be lonely and scary times, but we all clung together … I will never know why I got so lucky as to have her as my mom.”
The City of Coronado is grateful to the League of Wives Memorial Foundation for their gift of this beautiful statue commemorating the League of Wives, a movement that was born in Coronado and changed history. The City Council accepted the gift and committed $100,000 towards the installation of the memorial in Coronado’s historic Star Park. The memorial will be dedicated on Friday morning, June 21, 2024. Seating is limited however the city will live-stream the dedication on social media and post a video of the ceremony for all to enjoy. The sculpture is the newest permanent artwork in the City of Coronado’s Public Art Collection and the public
is encouraged to visit the park to see this newest addition after the dedication ceremony.
Jeanmarie Bond is a professional writer and longtime resident of Coronado, having raised her family here. She is on the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission as the Commissioner for Communications and writes frequently for various local publications.
