Original subtitles

By direction of the President of the United States,

Bronze Star Medal for valor, First Oak Leaf Cluster,

is awarded to Specialist Fourth-Class Alberto Ruiz.

Specialist Ruiz's display

of personal bravery and devotion to duty

is in keeping with the highest traditions

of military service

and reflect great credit upon himself,

his unit, and the United States Army.

Stop.

Congratulations, Specialist Ruiz.

You've earned this medal, and I'm proud of you.

Thank you, sir.

Atten-hut!

Where'd you learn to salute, colonel?

At the Point, sir.

Marching to the beat of a different drummer, are we?

Raise the elbow.

General Higgins, if you have a problem, sir,

perhaps we can discuss it in my office.

Release the troops, Major Duncan.

Yes, sir.

Project. Atten-hut!

Dismissed!

Company, watch your back.

Yeah, I'll do it.

Give me two hours.

What's his beef with Brewster?

Well, don't quote me, sergeant,

but I'd say the colonel pushed Command

a little bit too hard

about the Phu An massacre.

You mean he pushed, period.

If you're going to play the role

of Benedict Arnold

and leak classified information to the press, colonel,

at least have the guts to do it on the record.

Sir, I filed a formal complaint with the inspector general,

so how much more on the record do you want me to get?

I don't understand you, Brewster.

I fought a lot of years as an infantryman.

I've seen my share

of what could be called "atrocities,"

but I have never seen, nor can I imagine,

American soldiers, men raised by American mothers,

massacring innocent women and children!

The point is, general,

Team Viking saw 42 Vietnamese civilian bodies

buried in a ditch at Phu An,

so what kind of message are we sending the men

if we refuse to investigate?

And what kind of message

are we sending the American people

by making a massacre out of a sweep of an enemy vill?

Sir, if it were 42 American civilian bodies

in that ditch,

the Army'd call it a massacre,

so how many Vietnamese does it take?

Lieutenant Beller's unit came under fire

as they entered Phu An.

They killed 42 enemy agents.

That unit was under your command.

Why don't you believe Lieutenant Beller's report?

Because Lieutenant Goldman's unit

was also under my command,

and according to Lieutenant Goldman...

Now, is this the same Goldman who's been in lockstep with you

on this whole Phu An business?

Lieutenant Goldman saw no enemy weapons

in the vill, sir.

Lieutenant Goldman's interpretation of the facts

is one man's interpretation.

I don't buy it.

Neither does MACV headquarters.

Neither does the Public Information Office.

For God's sakes, colonel,

if any part of that story you fed Sid Boyle

could be substantiated,

do you think they would have run it on the back page?

Doesn't that tell you something?

Yes, sir.

It tells me that my complaint is buried in a bureaucratic maze

and that that's the end of it, general.

Your complaint will make its way

through the proper channels, colonel,

but I got to tell you,

this sort of rabble-rousing makes for bad press

and reflects badly

on what we're trying very hard to do over here.

You're wrong about Phu An, colonel.

Now...

you drop this crazy investigation of yours,

or not only will I relieve you of command,

but I will make you an orphan

in this man's army.

Lieutenant McKay came to see me.

He said something about Colonel Brewster

being in trouble with the higher highers.

Well, when you make your career

out of sticking your neck out,

sooner or later,

someone's going to chop it off.

Well, sarge, I sure hope

it doesn't have anything to do with me.

I owe that guy a lot.

He went above and beyond for me

when I was... AWOL.

Well, Brewster goes above and beyond

for all his men.

He's a very good officer.

Army needs more like him.

Well, Percell...

this is as far as I go.

I got some things I got to do,

and I suppose you ought to get on back to the ward.

Sarge...

Hmm?

I've been in psych more than a week now.

Cleaned up myself. I cleaned up my act.

I-I'm feeling good.

Why do I need someone messing with my head?

Come on, Percell, don't do this.

You got a problem.

Now, you cleaned up your act, that's the first step.

And I'm not an expert,

but it seems to me the second step would be

find out why you had the problem

in the first place.

Huh?

Do you trust me?

Yeah.

Yeah, sergeant, I trust you.

All right, then.

Get on back in there.

Do some good.

That's what I told Michael.

They're all booked up.

Everything?

No. No, no, no.

Goldman, Anderson? No.

They're not baby-killers.

They're great guys.

They are. They're great.

So are the rest of the guys in the unit.

You'd like them.

What?

Oh, come on. I'm not defending the war.

God! It... No.

No, I'm defending the guys in my unit.

I did not vote for Nixon.

I wrote in for Gene McCarthy.

Thank you.

Yeah, I did. I got it.

I got it right here.

Hold on.

Oh, you look beautiful, Nance.

Uh-huh.

No.

Um, you know, the guy with his arm around you?

Is that, um...

Is that another grad student?

So does this, uh...

this radical dude with the high draft number

have a name?

No, I just...

Are you and Ed friends?

You moved in with him?

What?

No, no. I have no doubt that two can live cheaper than one.

Two can definitely live cheaper than one,

especially if they're sharing the same bedroom.

I know all about free love!

I know we have an open relationship.

That's not...

I thought since I've decided to be monogamous,

maybe you had too.

I guess that was my mistake.

Uh-huh.

Well, happy Thanksgiving to you too.

Excuse me, but are you finished?

What?

You finished?

Yes.

It certainly looks to be.

Mm-hmm.

Hi, Percell.

I hear you're not into arts and crafts today.

No, sir.

May I ask why?

It's for kids.

Sergeant Anderson tells me

you're anxious to get back to your unit.

Yes, sir, I am.

The guys need me.

And you need them.

That's how it works.

Have you ever let the guys down?

It's not a trick question.

I did everything

that I was brought up to believe was... sin:

pills,

marijuana,

heroin.

I even went AWOL.

Yes, sir.

I let the guys down.

It's okay, Percell.

It's not okay.

If it were okay, I wouldn't be here.

Well, everyone handles fear and disillusionment differently.

Some guys can't sleep,

other guys wake up paralyzed,

still others turn to drugs.

You're clean now,

but we'll talk about it a few more times.

That's what we do here.

We get together and talk,

so you'll be able to understand

why you got hooked.

You can join in the group activities

or stay on your bunk.

The choice is yours.

You got a problem?

Yeah.

Pass the red paint.

I stuck my neck out

to give you the facts, Boyle.

What do I get?

Mishmash of inaccuracies,

buried between the classifieds

and the stock reports!

Wait a minute.

If anybody has got a right to be sore, colonel,

it's me. Bull!

Bull to you!

I could not substantiate any of your facts.

My editor crucified the article.

Thanks to you,

I'm covering some holier-than-thou congressman

for the next week.

I got a two-term migraine and no story,

so give me a break.

I got to hand it to you, Brewster.

You keep surprising me.

There aren't many officers over here

with a command of the language.

Like I told you, I don't like inaccuracies.

Okay.

Maybe we both got stuck,

so what do you say we give it another shot?

You gotta be kidding.

No, I'm not kidding.

Only this time,

the interview goes on the record.

And I substantiate my own story.

Son of a...

An interview with Carl Brewster?

It's his obituary.

In lieu of flowers,

send donations to Brewster's whores

on Pasteur Street.

Hey, GI, GI, GI.

Come on, come on, come on.

Doc have good back.

Strong.

Good lover. I can tell.

Ladies, you're looking at the best lover

ever to come out of Memphis.

Doc must have had lots of girls.

Lots of boom-booms?

Doc lost count someplace around 1967.

Doc make boom-boom with me?

On the house.

I give you good time you never forget.

What's wrong? You no like?

Oh, no, no. I... Very much.

I just, um...

See, we, um...

have a...

We have a medic-patient relationship, you know, and...

You know, like when I come with Colonel Brewster,

and we inoculate?

It's, uh...

uh...

Um, sacred.

Doc have number-one girl back home?

Doc used to have number-one girl back home.

I make Doc forget all about her.

I guess I'm an old-fashioned kind of guy.

We like old-fashioned kind of guys.

Come.

Sir.

Come on over, sergeant.

Excuse me. Am I interrupting?

No, I'm just working on a theory of mine.

Yesterday...

a Chinese-made six-by...

was spotted by Team Thor...

here.

It had distinctive yellow markings.

It was out of gas,

and that same truck was spotted here,

200 miles north,

by Marine recon patrol on Sunday.

Given the average tank capacity

of 30 gallons at seven miles per,

logic dictates there's a major fuel depot

located right there within that three-mile radius.

Yes, sir. Charlie wouldn't send a truck down the trail

just to let it run out of gas. No, he wouldn't.

It's another thing to prove it, though.

Is there something else on your mind, sergeant?

Yes, sir.

What happened on the parade field yesterday...

it wasn't right.

It left a bad taste in everybody's mouth, sir.

Duly noted.

The men are behind you, colonel.

We were wasted.

Twenty days, living like animals.

Our tails were dragging.

A couple of days before,

we had walked into this vill,

tripped a booby trap.

I can still hear the screaming.

One killed, four seriously wounded.

Man, we were spooked.

We needed a break,

but this colonel sent us out again

as OPCON to one of his SOG teams.

Then we walked into Phu An.

I heard a grenade blow.

It was enough.

Then it was...

sort of like being in a weird shooting gallery,

you know?

There was this one kid...

crawling on the ground...

and me and my buddy...

we used him for target practice.

Oh, yeah.

We made a contest out of it.

I intentionally missed from 10 feet away,

and then I walked straight up to that little sucker,

and I plugged him.

Why, Budd?

I felt the need to succeed.

You see that kid, Percell?

I got him right through here.

Ten-pointer.

What do you mean, you felt the need to succeed?

You tell him, Percell.

Well, maybe your team operates

under different orders, huh?

Revenge.

Payback.

Frustration.

Hell, we were so ticked off, we would have killed anybody.

And it was okay too,

when we were all together.

But then we walked into the light of day,

and we saw your unit, Percell.

You ever...

You ever killed a kid, Percell?

Hmm?

I shot the kid,

but...

we both died.

Do you understand that?

The Army is pretending like it never happened,

but I am dead.

I am looking to...

Man, I'm looking to crawl

into one of those body bags

just to go on home to my folks.

But I...

I ain't got no bag,

so...

what am I supposed to do?

I'm...

I'm scared of myself, Percell.

What I am...

capable of.

I was not this way before.

Can you understand that?

I am not the kind of guy...

who kills babies.

I'm not.

I'm not.

You know, colonel,

when I was pressuring you

to take some action on the Phu An incident,

it never occurred to me

that you might be jeopardizing your career.

I did what was necessary

under the circumstances, lieutenant.

Yes, sir, but...

going to the press.

Did it ever occur to you

to use a rifle instead of a shotgun?

Wait a minute.

The Army is family for me.

I love this system,

but experience

has taught me one thing, lieutenant.

Sometimes the system needs a little jump-start.

That's why I gave that interview.

Colonel Brewster!

Colonel Brewster!

Uh, Sid Boyle,

Lieutenant Myron Goldman,

one of my team leaders.

Pleased to meet you. Lieutenant.

Can I buy you a drink?

Yeah, sure. Come on.

So how does it, uh, feel, Colonel?

What do you mean?

Being relieved of command.

Thought you knew.

A rumor's been circulating

all over town.

Then it's just a rumor, sir.

A colleague at The London Times

saw a clerk at MACV Headquarters processing the orders.

Colonel...

if it's true, I can help.

You're another Billy Mitchell.

I can take the case to the people.

Can you find a way back, lieutenant?

Yes, sir.

The Army's going to crucify that poor bastard.

You bought the hammer and nails.

What does that make you?

General?

Carl!

Listen, before you say...

Save it, sir.

I already heard.

I'm being relieved of my command.

I'm sorry.

I was tied up in briefings all day.

I wanted to be the one to tell you.

Jack, how do you tell a friend that he's being reprimanded

for speaking the unspeakable,

the truth?

Going to the press

was just the final nail in the coffin, Carl.

There was your refusal

to close down those bars in Pasteur Street,

your unorthodox methods of command,

and that complaint you filed

alleging a civilian massacre

at Phu An.

Oh, hell, Carl,

every time you take a deep breath,

you tick somebody off.

If it's a choice between ticking somebody off

and...

paralysis...

I'll take the ticking somebody off

any time.

My prayers are with you, Carl.

No, Jack, you save your prayers.

Save them for the men, women and children

who could die

because the Army chooses to look the other way.

Happy Thanksgiving, lieutenant.

Colonel.

How...? What time is it?

Five a.m.

How'd you like to volunteer

for special assignment?

Uh, sure.

Look, I've contacted Lieutenant McKay.

See if you can round up

Sergeant Anderson and the men.

Meet me on the helipad in, say, 10 minutes.

Does this mean

you're not being relieved of your command, sir?

No, but if we get out of here before my orders are delivered,

that gives us all day to find a major enemy fuel depot.

Yes, sir.

The blue line is the Ho Chi Minh Trail

between Vinh Long and Saigon.

The Xs mark truck sightings

by U.S. Intelligence.

Now, my theory is...

the enemy has a half-dozen large fuel dumps in the south,

located equidistant from each other,

175 klicks.

Based on the average range of the average truck,

my gut tells me

that one of these dumps

is within a three-mile radius

of point 8,

so let's find it.

Ho Chi Minh Trail to victory, huh?

You're being too hard on yourself, man!

Now, you put some of that guilt where it belongs: on the Army!

They're the ones telling us the more gooks we kill,

the sooner we can win the sucker and go home.

Army didn't pull the trigger, man.

Did you ever walk down the street in your hometown

and blow away a few locals?

No.

Well, then, there it is.

Budd can't blame the Army for his problems

any more than I can.

The other guys in my unit,

Ruiz, Taylor, Johnson,

they've been through the same stuff I have...

and I didn't see them in some scuzzy little alley,

smoking dope with some burnt-out dirt bag.

How come?

I don't know.

What makes you different than your buddies?

I said, I don't know.

You and me, Percell, we're the same.

No, we're not.

You still care too much.

Now, you listen to the man, Percell.

I saw it the first time I laid eyes on you.

You're one of those poor, naive suckers

who bought into the lie,

"My country, always right, never wrong."

You're like a kid, man, who finally realizes

that maybe his parents aren't perfect.

Maybe they're even liars, and they're cheats,

and they don't give a damn about him!

I reckon, when you learn that late in the game,

it can really mess with your mind.

You know, doc...

everything that I was brought up to believe in

has been...

taken away.

What have I got left?

What we've all got:

ourselves...

and a few friends.

You want to come along with me now?

Yeah.

What do you think, sarge?

Looks like a graveyard.

Yeah.

Either that,

or Detroit after the riots.

We still haven't raised Team Viking, sir.

Is there anybody on this post

who knows where the colonel is?

No, sir.

Lieutenant McKay reporting as ordered, sir.

McKay, I'm looking for Colonel Brewster.

Have you seen him today?

Yes, I have, sir.

Did you fly him

and several members of Team Viking

out to an LZ?

Yes, sir. For what purpose?

I am not presently disposed to discuss the mission...

sir.

Colonel Brewster's "mission"

was unauthorized by MACV headquarters.

He is no longer in charge of Project Alpha.

Now, I know you have to pick him and his men up

later today,

but unless you want to spend the holidays

in Long Binh jail, lieutenant,

that better be the last thing you do

for Colonel Brewster.

Yes, sir.

Sarge.

LT.

Camouflage.

Sarge?

Be still, now.

Don't move.

You're gonna live.

Lookie here, Ruiz.

Just lookie here.

Talk about being lucky, huh?

Luck ain't got nothing to do with it.

Brewster had a theory.

Three-minute time delay, sergeant.

This place is gonna blow sky-high, sir.

Can we get out that fast?

It depends on how fast you can run.

Charlie, three o'clock!

Thanks, man.

Don't worry about it! Just run!

You men hold tight!

If colonel has any more theories

he'd like to check out,

I'd be happy to volunteer.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, sergeant,

but after that show

we put on at the fuel depot

hits the fan,

I'll be lucky to stay in the Army as a hooch maid!

Excuse me, sir, but that's a pretty big score.

Isn't that something for General Higgins?

It is. It'll just kill him that I did it too.

I'll bet you all the turkey's gone.

Did you ever see my turkey?

Watch this.

That's as close to old Tom Turkey

as we're going to get this Thanksgiving.

Man, my mom,

she cooks the best turkey in the world.

She turns it nice and slow

until it's golden brown,

and it's never dry,

always moist and juicy.

No, no.

You fellas

have not tasted cornbread stuffing

till you've tasted my mother's.

I'm talking plump and tender,

with just the right amount of spices

to give it that extra...

Mm!

...kick.

Yeah, and sweet potatoes, you know?

With some marshmallows everyplace

and it's all, like...

It's all gooey and sticky.

Oh, man, you can get lost in there.

Cranberry sauce.

I love cranberries.

No, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Homemade...

honey... biscuits, huh?

I'm talking soft...

sweet...

hot...

honey biscuits.

Come on, gentlemen! Move out.

Let's go!

Where's he going?

It looks like he's headed

for the mess hall.

Wait, mess closes at 7. It's after 10.

Okay, guys,

let's see if we can scrounge up some food.

Leftovers for Thanksgiving, sir?

Have you ever seen those green beanies

pack it away?

After you, Taylor.

Smell that?

Ahh!

Table for eight, sergeant major?

Right this way, sir.

Come on, guys.

Let's not stand on formality.

Dig in.

I don't believe this.

I do not believe this.

Where'd you find

the extra turkey, sergeant major?

That information is released

on a need-to-know basis, sir,

but I'm sure you'll find it to be

a "four-star" bird.

I was able to, uh,

take care of some immigration red tape.

Li An and your son

are cleared through to the States.

Man, I thought they'd completely forgotten us.

Thank you, sir. I know how much these guys

were looking forward to a Thanksgiving dinner.

You've got an outstanding unit there,

lieutenant.

From top to bottom,

whatever it takes,

just make sure your men

never go hungry for food or compliments,

and that goes for you too.

That's an order.

Yes, sir.

Colonel!

You going to join us?

No, I've got a previous engagement, Johnson,

but I'm sure one of you gentlemen

can handle my portion.

I'll take it!

See you in the morning.

My Aunt Rose

used to cook food just like this. Mm-hmm.

Stop lying, Taylor.

You're always lying, man.

Let me have a beer, will you?

Make that two, man.

What's that? I didn't get that.

Hey, where's the cranberries?

I'll get it.

Pass me the biscuits.

Taylor, turkey.

Pass me the gravy.

Turkey! Pass me the gravy.

There's no marshmallows in the sweet potatoes.

Hey, Percell.

Hey, sarge.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Same to you.

Uh, what are you doing?

Just getting the cranberry sauce.

Ah.

Don't worry, sarge. I'm not AWOL.

Dr. Louie sprung me from the hospital

so I could be with the team for the holidays.

That's good. That's the way it ought to be.

Everybody's going to be real happy to see you.

Sarge, I don't want to go in there.

Why not?

Just can't face the guys,

not after I sweat and shook and threw up on 'em.

Sarge, I let 'em down.

Look...

Percell, everybody lets somebody down

sooner or later.

Nobody's perfect.

Bottom line is, you're a good soldier,

and everybody's waiting for the cranberry sauce.

Come on.

Sarge, where's the cranberry sauce?

Hi.

Percell. Looking good.

Yeah. It's good to see you, man.

Happy Thanksgiving, Percell.

Glad you made it back, man.

Have a seat, brother.

Sit down and pass the cranberries.

Turkey's getting cold, man.

Yeah, cold.

Here.

Welcome back, Percell.

Pass that man some turkey.

Don't worry about it, man.

It's just Thanksgiving.

Compliments, Colonel Brewster.

Mm-hmm.

Good stuff.

Johnson, pass me that gravy.

Thank you very much.

All right.

I spent last Thanksgiving

at Camp David,

and the food wasn't any better

than this.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Please excuse the clothes. Uh...

Mr. Ambassador,

pleasure to see you again, sir.

What are you doing here, colonel?

I was invited, sir.

I extended an invitation to Colonel Brewster, sir.

Uh, general, I don't normally mix

business with pleasure,

but I have some news

that I'm sure you'll be happy to receive, sir.

As you know, general, since '66,

trucks have been carrying supplies

down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Now, MACV headquarters supports a theory

that gasoline is carried aboard those trucks

as part of the cargo.

I believe, sir,

that the enemy has major fuel depots

well-hidden in a half-dozen places

in the south.

If Charlie had fuel dumps, colonel,

don't you think we'd know about them?

Well, sir,

the red circle

marks a major fuel depot just south of Go Ta Ha,

which Team Viking

located and destroyed today.

My recommendation, general, is to send in a recon patrol

every 175 klicks north

of the location marked on that map.

You should find a network of stop-and-gos.

Destroy them,

you put a major dent in the enemy's operations.

I wasn't wrong about the fuel supply, sir,

and I'm not wrong about Phu An.

Locating major fuel depots along the Trail

is quite a coup, general.

I can't wait to tell the President about this, Ed.

Congratulations.

That's wonderful.

Congratulations.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Indeed.

General, to you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Grandma!

You remember how Aunt Rose

used to throw down for Thanksgiving?

Grandma, we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes,

gravy, biscuits,

cranberries!

No kidding!

Grandma, it was one of the best Thanksgivings

I ever had...

Mommy, come on. Don't... Don't cry.

We only got five minutes.

Uh-huh.

I'm okay. Everything's okay.

Mom, I'm in Vietnam.

How am I going to meet any nice Puerto Rican girls?

So how's Bucky doing?

What about Tiger?

He did? Whoa.

Oh, you got my letter?

Yeah, yeah.

I-I could be home for Christmas.

Mom, come on.

It's not like I'm coming home

any time soon.

Well, I-I don't know.

I haven't made up my mind yet.

Oh, well, she's real pretty.

It's going to be tough leaving these guys.

Yeah.

Yeah. Ma, Ma, Ma!

Mom, I love you.

We're going to be requesting transfer, sir.

Like hell you are.

You're going to stay right here

and do the best you can,

or else I've failed

and Higgins was right.

You haven't failed, sir. We'll stay.

Thanks, Mike.

Sir.