Accidents of Time and Place

A brutal war and political posturing…from a hillside in a war-torn country to Capitol Hill, accidents of time and place conspire to make Hector Collin a hero. Leaving behind the coal mines of his youth, he follows the life of a soldier, in peace and then in war. He rises above the rest, only to plunge into the depths of despair. He is an accidental hero, taking life as it comes, letting events drive him. That nearly costs him everything, including the woman he loves. Once acclaimed by his own generation, he is rejected by the people his honor makes him defend. Redemption, if it comes, lies in his decision to take charge of his life and go on. It is a different kind of heroism, one that must be deliberate, not accidental.

The time is the 1950s, the place is Washington, D.C. The story embraces a time of war, a time of peace, a time of challenge. In this atmosphere of sleepy Southern town/international city, the protagonist faces a challenge to the rights and promises of freedom for which he fought, nearly died, and fought again.

A quiet, modest man, Hector Collin has survived World War II and Korea, and is now building his life as a civilian. Going from high school in a small mining town in Pennsylvania to Japan and Korea hasn’t changed his essential character: he still lets the world lead him, following whatever opening he finds before him.

His path leads him to write a book about those who accelerated the normal maturing process by going to war.  Hector emerges as a spokesman for his contemporaries. His fame also brings him to the attention of organizations with questionable motives, including a congressional committee inquiring into "Un-American Activities."

In a small hearing room on Capitol Hill, Hector challenges the members of the investigating committee, and finds himself again a hero, but at the same time, an outcast.  Hector returns to the town of his birth. Even there he cannot hide, and there he finally sees himself and the world he has made.

Redemption comes when Hector realizes he can no longer live his life relying on accidents of time and place.

Both the man and the story find resonance in today’s world.