Task 2

Following up with Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson...

1. Point of view:
This poem was from the point of view of Hubert Wilson, who was a Vietnamese War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service.
"Now thinking twice? Toll on the innocent and unborn."
This was a message that Hubert Wilson was conveying to the Americans, showing that it was from his point of view.

2. Situation and Setting:
This poem talks about the spraying of a herbicide and defoliant contaminated with TCDD, Agent Orange and the innocent deaths that follows from the poisoning.
"Generations untold WILL pay -Execrable effects of agent orange spray!"
This shows that the poem is talking about the innocent generation of children that will pay for what the Americans have done, which is the agent orange spray.

3. Language/Diction:
The poet was angry at the Americans.
"America did not foresee green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!"
The poet was angry that the Americans did not see that the "Rainbow Herbicides" could cause death .

4. Personal Response:
This poem talks about the lethality of chemical warfare and how it affects the victims of it. It shows that in a modern war, death does not occur during it, but also after it, which is very saddening as generations of innocent people are poisoned due to the selfishness of their past generations.

Task 1

Rainbow Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Hubert Wilson



Hubert Wilson was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service along with a dozen or so intelligence school graduates who prepared for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in Southeast Asia in 1970. He was assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, while the other half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. Shemya Island eventually was a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.

Hubert Wilson's health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. Hubert Wilson guessed that it was because of the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since Hubert Wilson's brain can still function moderately well, he turned to writing just like his late Father.

This small poem speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering to the Vietnamese people and also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with “Agent Orange”. Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

Hubert Wilson wrote this poem to remind people that the horrors of war does not just happen during it, but also after it.

Recources: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange