Two of the Missing: Remembering Sean Flynn and Dana Stone

by Perry Deane Young

On April 6, 1970, Vietnam War photojournalists Sean Flynn (son of Errol Flynn) and Dana Stone set off on two rented motorcycles to cover one last story and were captured by Communist forces, never to be seen or heard from again. Their friend and fellow journalist, Perry Deane Young, tells their story here in a remarkable memoir first published in 1975. This new Press 53 Classics edition features photos by Flynn, Stone, their friends Tim Page, Nik Wheeler, and others, including a new chapter with updates on the lives of those involved and the ongoing search for two of the missing.

Genres: War, History, Memoir, Military Fiction

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Suzanne Feliciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn't answer the question but it gives some possibles that make sense. A look at the lives of those young people that might give context for young people today. The experiences of several photojournalists are covered and their lives summed up with a final chapter written almost 30 years later. I met Tim Page and Horst Faas on their book tour for Requiem and spent over two hours talking to Page on the steps of a local museum where the exhibit was hanging. He is most engaging with that Brit accent and tales that he was willing to share with a stranger. I've read most of his books and find his writing very much like his voice. Perry Deane Young has the same effect although style is different but very effective. It draws you in. The story is fascinating to me as Vietnam always has been to me, a child who graduated high school in 1965.

[Fionnuala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expectedly heartbreaking, and full of that sharp and bittersweet nostalgia that often accompanies those talking about a defining time of their life, usually in their youth, that will remain the incomparable standard. Part memoir, part tribute, part history, part portrait, I think the book could have been accused of being confused if it hadn't been written with such clarity and passion. It really is a true representation of the time it's remembering -- chaotic and often fragmented, but full of an excitement and grief that is contagious.

This book is not just a tribute to two of Young's friends, though it does that very well. It's also a tribute to the time period as a whole, and the highly specific world these young men and women found themselves in, and also to their younger selves. I think that this grief for one's younger self is probably something that most people can relate to, but with Young and his friends it was taken to an extreme, their youth and their friendships characterised and forged by a particularly brutal and violent war, a controversial "best years of our lives" if you've ever seen one, and then of course the return home to a country too angry or ashamed to acknowledge any of it happened at all. Through this is the knowledge that two of their number are missing, and remain so even now. It is a difficult thing to have such an open wound; a permanent what-if, a constant array of forever unanswered questions. Young navigates the subject remarkably well, and it's about the saddest thing I've ever read.

This version of the book comes with an updated chapter written in 2009, detailing where everyone is now and some of Young's reflections now he's older. Of course, there is still no news of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone.

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of the Missing: Remembering Sean Flynn & Dana Stone is much, much, more than simply an accounting of the tragic disappearance of two photojournalists in Cambodia on 6 April 1970. It’s a coming-of-age story for a group of young photojournalists during the American misadventure in southeast Asia. Author Perry Deane Young describes the Vietnam war years as “this central experience of my life,” which it was for him and for so many young correspondents. Of the many Vietnam War memoirs that I have read, this is the best for dealing with the emotions and the atmosphere of the total experience. There is very little in this book about military events, strategy, or clashes with MACV stuffed shirts that feature prominently in other memoirs. Instead, it’s about daily life, work, and observations such as, “For most of us the Vietnamese might as well not have been there.” (p. 175)

In my opinion, the title does this 2009 book something of a disservice. Certainly, Sean Flynn and Dana Stone form the core of the story; but it’s really about their circle. I nearly didn’t buy this book because I knew they had disappeared without a trace, likely captured by the NVA/VC and handed over to the Khmer Rouge; and I wasn’t interested in a tome of endless speculation. It isn’t that at all; and it’s well worth reading.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging tale set in the Vietnam War years, which probably generated hundreds of books and memoirs ... this one being a memoir/biography of two young American journalists who went missing during the war. The book was written by a fellow journalist who was there with the "missing," who were Dana Stone and Sean Flynn (son of the Hollywood swashbuckler Errol).

This narrative is very good at breathing life into those times and these characters, and all the emotions they felt about the war and how it effected so many young Americans. The events took place in the late 1960s. and the book was published in 1975 ... so it was up-to-date reporting.

If you lived through the late-60s early-70s, this tale will bring back many memories of that time. While it does not spend much time on any military movements, it does evoke the worries and wants of a generation ... and Vietnam was essentially THE event of their time.

This was a nice change from the order-of-battle type books about Vietnam. Give this book a read, if you can find a copy. And learn a little about the journalists and photographers who brought the war home to those back in the States.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, this is the most depressing thing that I've read in a while. Young pays a great tribute to Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, telling their stories and humanising them as interesting people whose disappearance, and the subsequent ambiguity of their fate, is an awful loss. By telling their stories, Young also humanises the period of time as a whole - transforming it from a simple, untouchable place specific to its time and place, to a period of time that one can believe people have actually lived, although no one can return to.

Really good book, and very easy to read. There's a lot of detail here, including some possible speculation as to their ultimate fate, and in the reprinted version, information about the fate of others that he knew at the time. It's sad in the way that all nostalgia and love like this is sad, and Young's awareness of how Dana and Sean are a representative of this lost time (both in life and in their disappearance), only adds to the sense of there being something immortal about such an experience.

[Barbara Ottaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to read if you had a husband in Vietnam and lived thru it but I'm a of old Flynn movie fan and was not aware his son disappeared with a colleague very sad

[Cory Maffucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, informational, and very emotional. Not just the story of two photographers but a time and place caught within the pages of this memoir. Basically, a moveable feast set smackdab in the middle of Saigon. War is hell, coming of age, loss of a friend all in one book. Had to keep myself from getting too emotional while reading at work.

[AJ Henning · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are parts of this I wasn't a big fan of but once I started to dig into it, it worked more and more. I went into this book hoping for a deeply researched documentary on WHAT REALLY HAPPENED to Flynn and Stone when they disappeared but what I got instead was a series of flashbacks and memories and plain ol' life stories of both these people and the author. And that wasn't a bad thing, these people are fascinating and while this isn't some IN SEARCH OF meets CSI: CAMBODIA documentary, it's a beautifully written memoir about the authors friends and his history growing up and finding ways to move on.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided on a quick re-read because of the film coming out this fall/winter. This should be 3.5 for me and likely higher if I hadn't read so very many VN memoirs/stories. It's worth reading, and gives a different perspective than the numerous military accounts. Pair with Dispatches, perhaps, but expect more from Herr.

[Nora Gaskin Esthimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure that there have always been people attracted to war as adventure, and that is the case here. Journalists, doing their job and also living life on the absolute edge. Then over the edge.

Perry Dean Young is a compelling writer. It's a personal book, giving us a view of Viet Nam I for one had not seen before.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

On 6 April 1970, the photojournalists Sean Flynn and Dana Stone rode up to a roadblock in Cambodia on a pair of red Honda motorcycles, and were never seen or heard from again. This is a compelling and moving story, that is as much about friendship as it is about war. Well worth reading.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Dispatches by Michael Herr, without the hubris.

[David Kennerly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by good friend PDY!