Friendly Fire

Mauro Hantman gives a serious reading of this moving account of a family's trauma during the Vietnam War. Michael Mullen was a farm kid and college student from Iowa who was killed in 1970 by "friendly fire": American artillery fire landed on his position and killed him while he was sleeping. This occurs more often in war than most realize, and the Mullens' experience of dealing with Michael's death—from the casualty notification call and gleaning from the army how Michael actually died to their feelings as they endured the grieving process and Michael's mother's antiwar activism—is well described. The author's descriptions of the family's emotions in the aftermath are very well expressed. Hantman speaks clearly, enunciates well, and moves at a pace that is easy to follow. He is rather understated but avoids overdramatizing in a work full of drama.