Coronado Public Library, the Coronado Historical Association and Bay Books present the launch of A World Apart: Growing Up Stockdale During Vietnam, a memoir by Sidney Bailey Stockdale. 

Sid Stockdale, son of Sybil and Vice Admiral James Stockdale, was 11 when his James's US Navy fighter jet was shot down over North Vietnam and James was captured and held as a prisoner of war in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” for the next seven years. When Sid’s mother, Sybil Stockdale, found the government’s handling of the POW issue incompetent, she began organizing other POW wives and demanding change. She also began working with Naval Intelligence, sending and receiving secretly coded letters with James in prison. Sid was thrown headlong into this emotional and political cauldron; a young boy forced to deal with adult traumas and relentless struggle. As his father’s treatment and fate as a prisoner became more desperate and his mother’s arduous struggle began to take its toll on her health, Sid did his best to cope, provide support, care for his two younger brothers, and survive adolescence. This is the story of how Sid emerged from this nightmare a healthy young man and how his family was reunited and rebuilt their life together.

About the author:

Sid Stockdale is the second of four sons of Sybil and James Stockdale. An educator for 40 years, Sid taught history and served as a department chair, hiring, evaluating, and mentoring teachers in independent schools across the country. He and his wife, Nan, met while undergraduates at Colorado College and Sid later received a master’s degree from St John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nan and Sid both retired in spring 2017 and now live in Oakley, Utah, where they enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. Sid currently serves on the board of trustees at his alma mater, South Kent School, in Connecticut. The couple have two daughters, Minda and Sarah.