Task 1 (Rainbow death by Hubert Wilson)

Biography of Hubert Wilson

Hubert Wilson is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF security service. Together with a dozen or so school graduates, they were sent to Vietnam or other places in Southeast Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in the 6924th Security Squadron, Da Nang, which is an Agent Orange(a type of herbicide) hotspot. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska along with the 6984th Security Squadron, which was a far more contaminated environment than Da Nang. After staying there for about 18 years, Hubert started to have unexplained headaches and limb pains. His central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progessive limb pains etc. No doctors have been able to diagnose the illness. Since his brain is still functioning moderately well although he has mobility issues, he has decided to turn to writing.


Rainbow Death

The poem, Rainbow Death, speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare (agent orange) that has caused appalling death and suffering, not only to the Vietnamese, but even the USA themselves, which means both sides are affected. Agent Orange is contaminated with TCDD, which is very dangerous. During the war, about 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, with 500,000 children born with birth defects.

The purpose of writing the poem, Rainbow Death, is to remind everyone in the world that "wars aren't over when the wars are over". Although this sentence may seem contradictory, but it basically means that even though wars have ended, but the effects of the war still remains, which shows the danger of modern warfare. It will not only affect the generation at that time, but also affects the younger generation --> Newborn babies are either dead or born with defects. This also shows the danger of starting a war and tells people to think twice before starting a war.