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Woman behind POW families' activism dies

MELBOURNE - Evelyn Fowler Grubb, who worked to gain recognition for prisoners of war after her Air Force pilot husband was shot down and captured in North Vietnam in 1966, died Wednesday of breast cancer at her home, her family said. She was 74.

Mrs. Grubb initially got little information from federal officials after Air Force Capt. Wilmer Newlin "Newk" Grubb disappeared. So she contacted other wives in similar situations. They formed groups that eventually became the National League of POW/MIA Families.

As its national coordinator in Washington in 1971 and 1972, she played a part in creating the league's "You Are Not Forgotten" black-and-white flag.

Mrs. Grubb's oldest son, Jeffrey, 49, said his mother's transformation was incredible.

"She went from being a stay-at-home mom who was growing increasingly frustrated over the lack of publicity about POWs to becoming a dynamo who headed a national organization and had regular meetings with presidents and heads of state," he said.

Her husband's photograph was released by his captors as an example of "humane" treatment of American prisoners of war. Mrs. Grubb had to wait eight years to learn that he actually died shortly after his capture. She believed he was probably tortured to death, despite a North Vietnamese claim that he died from injuries suffered when he was shot down.

Her husband's remains were finally returned to the United States in 1974 and buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

A native of Pittsburgh, Mrs. Grubb moved to Melbourne in 1977. She recently completed work on a book with writer Carol Jose about her experiences.

She is survived by four sons and several grandchildren.

[Last modified January 3, 2006, 01:57:16]