WATERLOO - The first installment of Ken Burns' long awaited seven-part World War II documentary, "The War," which aired on PBS Sunday night, captivated many but contained one error that caught the attention of some Cedar Valley residents.

WATERLOO - The first installment of Ken Burns' long awaited seven-part World War II documentary, "The War," which aired on PBS Sunday night, captivated many but contained one error that caught the attention of some Cedar Valley residents.

Local viewers noted that the show' first installment, "A Necessary War," mistakenly stated that the five Sullivan Brothers, who enlisted in 1941 and were killed Nov. 13, 1942, were from Fredericksburg, Iowa, and not Waterloo.

The confusion probably arose because Bill Ball of Fredericksburg, a good friend of the Sullivans, was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. His death, according to Courier articles, is the reason that the Sullivan brothers chose to enlist.

The Sullivans had met and made friends with Ball and his siblings when they all attended dances at the Electric Park Ballroom in the 1930s.

The Sullivan Brothers were the children of Thomas Sullivan, of Harpers Ferry, who moved to Waterloo in 1910. He married Alleta Abel, a native of Waterloo, on Feb. 14, 1914. The boys - George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert - were all born in Waterloo.

Kelly Sullivan Loughren of Cedar Falls, granddaughter and grandniece of the Sullivans, said her ancestors did not live in Fredericksburg. She deferred to unofficial local Sullivan family historian Michael Magee of Waterloo, who agreed.

"That's disappointing," Loughren said.

Magee said he hoped the producers can correct the error on any subsequent airings or DVD releases of the film.

Lynn Novick of Florentine Films, who co-produced and co-directed the film with Burns, visited Waterloo when research for the film began more than five years ago. Waterloo had been considered as one of the communities to be featured in the film, but eventually was ruled out in favor of others.

Attempts to contact Novick this morning were unsuccessful.