[citation needed] Bryan sold his first short story to The New Yorker in 1961.
It describes an Iowa farm family, Gene and Peg Mullen, and their reaction and change of heart after their son's accidental death by friendly fire in the Vietnam War.
[10][11] One of the real-life characters featured in the book was future Operation Desert Storm commander H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
It was made into an Emmy-winning 1979 television movie of the same name, for which Bryan shared a Peabody Award.
[12] Bryan died from cancer on December 15, 2009, at his home in Guilford, Connecticut.