Francis J. Sullivan Jr.

Francis J. Sullivan Jr. Was born on June 10, 1948 in Cambridge Massachusetts. He moved with his family to Rockport Massachusetts after several years of spending vacations in the seaside community located north of Boston on Cape Ann. Graduating from Rockport High School in 1966, he then attended college for his freshman year and was drafted into the US Army in March of 1968. Mr. Sullivan served in Vietnam from September of 1968 to October of 1969. Upon returning from Vietnam Mr. Sullivan attempted to complete his college education at Salem State College in Salem Massachusetts. As a result of the tumultuous atmosphere across America during the protesting of the 1960’s and 1970’s he became disenchanted with his native country and immigrated to Australia. His experience in Australia led him to conclude that America was no worse than other nations across the globe, and he returned home to complete his undergraduate work, teach school for twenty years, marry, raise a family and graduate from law school. 

Like many of his fellow Vietnam veterans, he has struggled with the invisible wounds of war including, Agent Orange related heart disease, PTSD, and tinnitus. On January 14, 2014 he experienced a Spontaneous Subdural Hematoma and underwent a craniotomy to evacuate the pooling blood. He believes this injury is also a consequence of his war time experiences. He has written A Long Triage in an effort to heal himself and believes that readers will find universal themes throughout his story, which apply to society in general. He also believes that making his story public will contribute to his healing process. Mr. Sullivan hopes his story will also contribute to a better understanding of what the long-term effects of war have on not only the soldiers who have visible physical injuries but also those who suffer with injuries that cannot be seen by the naked eye.