44 minSeason 1 • Episode 22
LatestIn Feb. 1973, the North Vietnamese release all their American POWs, including Sarnac, who has been captive for three years. He is accused by the Air Force of having murdered two CIA agents while in captivity. He also finds America and his family have changed much in his absence: Jackie is now in college student and is a single mother; Wesley has gone to Canada to avoid the draft; and Jackie’s ex-boyfriend Patrick is now an Air Force officer, but lost a leg in Vietnam.
Call to Glory is an American drama series created by Ronald M. Cohen, and starring Craig T. Nelson as USAF Colonel Raynor Sarnac and his family as they navigated the political tensions and military duties of the early 1960s. Heavily promoted during ABC's broadcast of the 1984 Summer Olympics, the two-part pilot aired August 13, 1984. The first episode is related to the U-2 flights over Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. During production, the plot came to focus more on the loneliness experienced by wife Vanessa while stationed on base and what she and the family would do to spend time in productive pursuits while enduring the Antelope Valley's isolation from civilization. The series, set near Edwards Air Force Base, blended historical events with the challenges of military family life, featuring themes of duty, family relationships, and the looming Vietnam War.
Acting
Craig T. Nelson and Cindy Pickett's quietly devastating marriage.
Production
Edwards AFB location shooting captures desolate beauty.
Creator
Ronald M. Cohen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
ABC spent Olympic-level promo money on this, then yanked it after 13 episodes when ratings cratered against The Cosby Show.
One of the few '80s series to center military wives' psychological reality rather than hero worship—no wonder it confused advertisers.
US
