Friendly Fire

This poignant television film tells the true story of Peg and Gene Mullen, the parents of an Iowa farm boy killed in the Vietnam War in 1970, charting their painful battle to uncover the truth about how their son died and their increasing engagement in the anti-War movement. In a departure from the more familiar roles of singer and comedienne, Carol Burnett stars as the mother whose despair gives way to activism, supported by the Oscar-nominated Ned Beatty, as husband Gene, and Oscar winner Timothy Hutton as surviving son, John. The winner of four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Special, Friendly Fire is based on the 1976 book of the same title by journalist Courtlandt Bryan, who conducted interviews with Peg Mullen and highlighted the family's ordeal in a series of articles for The New Yorker; Bryan shared the 1980 Peabody Award with the ABC network in recognition of the film's outstanding achievement.