Poem Analysis: Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson

Poem Analysis: Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson

This poem was written by an American soldier during the Vietnam War. The war was fought between communists North Vietnam together with China's People's Liberation Army, against the non-communists South Vietnam together with USA. During this war, the communists were outnumbered by their enemies, therefore it used guerrilla tactics against the Americans. Guerrilla tactics were a nightmare for the Americans, as the communists mostly hid in the jungles to attack their enemies. They lived in small groups and had no base camps, they would attack their enemies and run back into the forests. The Americans were very worried about this, and they developed a chemical weapon known as "Agent Orange" to destroy the communists in the jungle. Thus, the Americans started the Herbicidal Warfare program in Vietnam.

Those people who were exposed to "Agent Orange", even the Americans, had live-long health problems. Approximately 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. From 1962 to 1971, "Agent Orange" was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. Thus, the writer wrote this poem to show his hatred towards "Agent Orange".