David Quinn was an aimless college freshman in 1964. At 18 years of age, he was the product of a more apathetic time. He paid scant attention to the profound worldly exchanges that would soon take over his life. Faced inevitably with the draft, he acquiesced naively, assuming it would be the easy way out. It was only the beginning of his troubles.They began in Vietnam, where as one of many young American males yanked from a complacent life of TV war and college social life, Quinn did not belong. The problems compounded in North Vietnam, where he was stranded after hitching a ride on an ill-fated spotter plane. Almost miraculously, he made it back to friendly territory, unscathed without even firing his weapon. Although he did not know it at the time, he brought something back with him: secrets which would follow him for the next two years into civilian life.
There were others who were not so lucky. Those who did not make it back. But this was not Quinn's concern. He had served his country. He had fulfilled his commitment. Or at least he thought...until they asked him to go back.
Agent Orange is the story of one of the earliest POW rescue attempts of a downed US Navy pilot, the son of a Pentagon Admiral. Moreover, in the symbolic shadow of the misused herbicide Orange, the book reflects the many frustrations of the Vietnam War and a moral dilemma relating not only to Southeast Asia but all armed conflicts throughout the ages. How does one learn to kill?
