Once Upon a War: The Diary of a Waiting Wife, is a heartfelt memoir that relates how the author's family and many others survived separation from loved ones during the Vietnam War. Together, they awaited their husbands' return in Schilling Manor, a residence designated especially for the families, located in Salina, Kansas. There has never been another community like it. Diary entries and letters describe life at home and in the war zone, as well as political turmoil during an era when denigration of the military was in style.