Oakley resident Sid Stockdale was eleven years old when his father, Vice Admiral James Stockdale, was shot down in North Vietnam in 1965.
The Vice Admiral was held in the “Hanoi Hilton” for seven years.
Sid’s mother, Sybil, was left to raise four boys and await his return. As the war progressed she founded the National League of POW/MIA Families, and also began working secretly with Naval Intelligence.
After his mother’s death, Sid was sent a copy of her missing diary from those years, which began “Written as if addressing our four boys.” This led him to start work on his own book: A World Apart: Growing Up Stockdale During Vietnam”. The book celebrates his parents and tells his journey “inside of [their] story.”
Says Sid: “In understanding what happened to me, I wanted to explain something to my daughters and future generations: Children whose parents leave home to serve our country are part of our national sacrifice to ensure the world remains safe.”
Sid will be the guest of the Kamas Valley History Group at their quarterly Library Talk, where he will be signing copies of the book.
Friday September 8th at 7pm at Kamas Branch Library, 110 N Main Street, Kamas
Kamas Valley History Group 