McLean tells “A Marine Story”

Nov. 16, 2010 – Bestselling author Jack McLean described to Rotarians how he started Harvard in 1968 as the college’s first Vietnam veteran following a tour of duty that had interludes of ferocious combat.

At Harvard just two weeks after being discharged, McLean found registration “simply manageable, almost quaint.”

Registration was in Memorial Hall, a building erected to remember Union soldiers who died in the Civil War.

“There didn’t seem to be any sentiment to remember those who died in Vietnam,” he recalled. “Few sons of Harvard would serve, let alone die, in Vietnam.”

McLean said he quickly learned how his combat service in a war increasingly unpopular was perceived.

“Few, if any people, at Harvard cared about military service. I barely mentioned it.”

After a successful business career, McLean got in touch with his company commander some 25 years after being discharged. The experience and emotion generated from the contact led to an effort put the war in perspective. He and his captain also decided to find surviving members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division.

Ten years later, McLean wrote “Loon: A Marine Story” to memorialize the company and his fallen comrades. Medal of Honor winner and Rotarian Jim Livingston, who introduced McLean and served around the same time in another Marine unit, described McLean’s memoir and his “baptism under fire.”

“‘Loon’ refers to the mountain landing zone where the climactic three-day battle of the book occurs, where, as Jack tells it, ‘for those three days in June 1968, Charlie and Delta companies were the war in Vietnam.'”

McLean, who answered several questions about the process that spurred him to write the book, signed copies after the meeting.

Prior to his talk, Peg Eastman of Military Assistance Providers asked Rotarians to support its “Be a Buddy” program to help active-duty service members, veterans and their families have successful reintegration into the community following their overseas duty. More: www.MilitaryAssistanceProviders.org.

Rotarian Tom Sweeny also told members that a Veteran of the Month would be honored on Nov. 30.

Submitted by Andy Brack, Keyway Committee