Unfriendly Fire: A Mother's Memoir (Singular Lives) [Hardcover]

Peg Mullen (Author), Albert E. Stone (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995 | Series: Singular Lives

In 1968 Michael Mullen was drafted and sent to Vietnam. In 1970 he was killed by the same "friendly fire" that destroyed the lives of thousands of others during the Vietnam War. Michael's parents made his death a crusade to awaken all mothers and fathers to the insanity of war. In Unfriendly Fire, Mullen shifts from symbol to reality as she tells her story in print for the first time. Photos.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The author's son died in an artillery attack fired by his own side in Vietnam in 1971. That tragedy and its aftermath at home were recounted in C.F. Bryan's Friendly Fire (1976), the basis for a made-for-TV movie starring Carol Burnett. Mullen's telling of those events answers questions about her responses to the callous attitude of the military (and the effect it could have had on the American prosecution of the war) with intelligence and more courage than many might have under the same circumstances. She was lauded by members of Congress, made a heroine by fellow survivors, and during an antiwar demonstration was attacked by police. Here is a frank insight into the years of the conflict and how they affected the nation that watched from afar. A revealing document; recommended for those with interest in the Vietnam War.?Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

C. D. B. Bryan's book Friendly Fire was written about the death of Mullen's son in Vietnam as the result of inadvertent firing from other American troops. This book is Mullen's response to Bryan's work as well as an elaboration on all that has happened since that book (and the spin-off TV movie) appeared in the 1970s. The death of her son launched the transformation of Mullen from an Idaho farm woman to one of the most vociferous war protesters. She traveled across the nation to Washington, D.C., and to visit other bereaved parents, spreading her antiwar message. She fought unceasingly to stop the war and to ease the anguish of her generation. Her valor rings through in this guileless presentation. Denise Perry Donavin

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877455066
• ISBN-13: 978-0877455066
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,917,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss if you've got a conscience and long for peace., April 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Unfriendly Fire: A Mother's Memoir (Singular Lives) (Hardcover)

Peg Mullen is an Iowa farm wife whose son Michael was killed in Viet Nam. Her story was told by others in "Friendly Fire." This is HER side of the story and it's a powerful story at that. She documents in plain speak the terrible agony of a mother who not only has lost her firstborn, but who has to endure the obfuscation of the United States government in keeping her from the truth. It was Peg Mullen vs. The US Army and Mrs. Mullen won.

Peg is a long-time activist and her crusade against war and other nonsense makes "can't stop" reading. There are incredible moments of pathos -- Peg's detached recitation of the day she learned of Michael's death -- and moments that cause your chest to swell with pride as when she toppled a candidate for a top defense post. Mrs. Mullen went up against the President of the United States and Mrs. Mullen won.

You'll be better for reading this wonderfully moving, inspiring account of the tragedy of "Unfriendly Fire."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mother & Son's Story, April 26, 2011

By 

J. Moon (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unfriendly Fire: A Mother's Memoir (Singular Lives) (Paperback)

This book came with the extra bonus of being signed by the author. What a touching and wonderful book that truly puts in prospective what many mothers & sons went through during the Vietnam war, and after wards. When I read it, I had to put it down from time to time, from the tears in my eyes and anguish in my heart. For the first time, I now realized the anguish and suffering my mother must have went through, and my Dad as well, while I did my tour of duty in "the 'Nam". Both are dead now, but I see now what they experienced, and by the Grace of God never had to, by reading this book. It is a great book...give it to your kids to read. It will give them a rare look at the heart & soul of Americana during the Vietnam War.