Loon - by Jack McLean (Paperback)

About the Book

Nothing could have prepared privileged-boy Jack McLean for the horror of Landing Zone Loon--a three-day battle that took place on a remote hill tucked into the border of North Vietnam and Laos in June 1968, killing twenty-seven men, wound nearly one hundred others, and leave several dozen survivors to defend an ever-shrinking perimeter with little water or ammo. A powerful coming-of-age portrait that defines some of the most tumultuous events in our history, both in Vietnam and back home.

Book Synopsis

"Kids like me didn't go to Vietnam," writes Jack McLean in his compulsively readable memoir. Raised in suburban New Jersey, he attended the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, but decided to put college on hold. After graduation in the spring of 1966, faced with the mandatory military draft, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for a two-year stint. "Vietnam at the time was a country, and not yet a war," he writes. It didn't remain that way for long.

A year later, after boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and stateside duty in Barstow, California, the Vietnam War was reaching its peak. McLean, like most available Marines, was retrained at Camp Pendleton, California, and sent to Vietnam as a grunt to serve in an infantry company in the northernmost reaches of South Vietnam. McLean's story climaxes with the horrific three-day Battle for Landing Zone Loon in June, 1968. Fought on a remote hill in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, McLean bore witness to the horror of war and was forever changed. He returned home six weeks later to a country largely ambivalent to his service.

Written with honesty and insight, Loon is a powerful coming-of-age portrait of a boy who bears witness to some of the most tumultuous events in our history, both in Vietnam and back home.

Review Quotes

"The battle at Loon erupts suddenly and sucks you in. Like Jack McLean, you ask: what am I doing here? The answer is: you joined the Marines and now it's time to fight for your life. A gripping story of violence and dedication to survival."--Bing West, author of The Strongest Tribe

"Loon is a saga of an infantry Marine--the decision to enlist, the intensity of the recruit, mortal combat, and finally transition back to civilian life. This beautifully written story is a must read for all combat warriors, their families, and those interested in the turbulent times surrounding the Vietnam War."--Col H.C. "Barney" Barnum, USMC (Ret), Medal of Honor Recipient

"[This] unique tale . . . is skillfully written and will be among the classic books written about the Vietnam War."--Jan Scruggs, Esq., Founder and President, Vietnam Veterans Memorial

"McLean's debut is a perceptive memoir of the Vietnam war...McLean reconstructs his time in the Marines with a sharp eye for detail and very readable-- at times almost poetic--prose."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

The third of four children, Jack McLean was born in Huntington, New York, on May 26, 1947. He was brought up in Summit, New Jersey, where he lived until admittance to Phillips Academy, Andover, at age fourteen. Upon graduation, McLean enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After boot camp and a year on stateside duty, he served in Vietnam with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. McLean returned to enter Harvard University in the fall of 1968 as the college's first Vietnam veteran. After graduation, he held marketing positions in New York; Boston; Portland, Maine; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C. McLean is the father of three daughters and is currently the Tsien Writer in Residence in Fort Lee, New Jersey.