Central Pennsylvania Vietnam Round Table will meet on Thursday, Sept. 12, at Vietnam Veterans of America, Michael Novosel MOH Chapter 542, 8000 Derry St., Harrisburg, at 730 p.m.

Following a brief business meeting, author Judy Gray from Lewisburg will discuss her book, "Unwavering: The Wives Who Fought to Ensure No Man Is Left Behind." At the urging of a Vietnam prisoner of war (POW), she and her friend and fellow veteran Taylor Kiland wrote the book to tell the true story of a group of military wives who sought to learn what happened to America's POWs and those missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War.

In the 1960s, most women were denied credit cards, car loans, and mortgages without a spouse or father to co-sign. Military wives had greater restrictions. If a woman was informed that her husband was MIA, she was warned to keep quiet. Initially women followed this instruction, but as days turned into years of waiting, they wondered if they were wives or widows.

Admist the tumult of anti-war protests and civil rights marches, a group of military wives galvanized the nation around the plight of their husbands, some 1,500 men held captive or missing in southeast Asia. They influenced a president and a nation to change policy so that no man is left behind, and the POW/MIA issue became the centerpiece of the Paris peace negotiations.

Gray graduated from Midwood High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and holds a master's degree in public health from the George Washington University, where she teaches public health campaigns and messaging to graduate students. Her lengthy service in the Coast Guard Reserves gave her a front-row seat to history, which she captured visually and in narrative writing. She also worked as a reporter for the Tampa Tribune and has published six books for young readers.

The meeting is open to the public, donations will be accepted. For additional information, contact Richard Burton at 717-545-2336 or centralpavietnamrt@verizon.net. Information about the Central Pennsylvania Vietnam Round Table is available at http://www.centralpavietnamroundtable.com.