Captain Ben Ringsdorf was locked away for six and a half years in the Hanoi Hilton, the most notorious prison camp in the Vietnam War. After he and the rest of his captive soldiers were freed at war’s end, he was greeted with not only a hero’s welcome, but a “ready- made” family. However, even with all of the accolades and love he received, Ben faced physical, mental and emotional challenges just as daunting as his imprisonment, ones that threatened to tear his family apart. While things appear to look bright for the Ringsdorf family, their patriarch soon finds himself haunted by past memories and debilitated by alcoholism and a sense of paranoia, signs of the (at the time) not-yet-diagnosed PTSD. After the Music Stops is Gloria Gayden Corona’s memoir of her promising – yet whirlwind – relationship with the former POW, chronicling their blossoming romance, Ben’s repatriation and desire for a medical career, and his struggle with mental illness.
The Long Road Home: U.S. Prisoner of War Policy and Planning in Southeast Asia
Contains a history of the United States’ role in shaping prisoner of war policy during the Vietnam War. Reveals the difficult, often emotional, and vexing nature of a problem that engaged the attention of the highest officials of the United States government. Examines frictions and disagreements between the State and
