evelyn grubb was living in the petersburg, virginia area as an air force wife when her husband, major wilmer newlin grubb, was shot down over north vietnam and became a prisoner of war (pow) in 1966, and after frustrations with the u.s. government withholding information on the status of her husband and other pow and mia soldiers and pilots, as well as the pentagon's practice of pressuring affected families not to speak publicly about the status of their captured or missing loved ones, evelyn grubb co-founded the national league of families with air force pow wife mary crowe, also living in hampton at the time, and with sybil stockdale, a navy pilot's wife living in coronado, california, whose husband was also a pow.