Original subtitles

No, man, I don't know...

I've seen a lot of green beanies,

but I don't know...

Come on! Move it!

Go!

Break it up!

These boys got "cherry" written all over them.

Yeah, sarge, what's going on?

I don't know, Ruiz.

I just got here my own self.

Looks like the senior class trip.

They're kids!

Not for long.

All right.

That's it.

Back it on up.

Hey, what the hell is this?

Hey, what are you guys doing in our hooch?

Hey!

Oh, lord.

You boys are back earlier than I expected.

You've ruined my little surprise.

What are you doing, Hannegan?

This is personal property, Hannegan.

We got new people coming in, and they got no place to sleep.

Hannegan, you can't shack us up

with a bunch of FNGs.

You all had this hooch to yourselves

too long anyway.

Welcome back to the Army, boys!

Look, sergeant,

we've been out for five days.

Now, we're tired, and we're hungry,

and we're dirty.

Ooh, I can tell.

You smell like a dog

that's rolled in something real fresh.

So I'll tell you what.

Uh, we'll just go stand

under some hot water for awhile,

and we'll... We'll come back

when you're done.

Make it an hour.

I'll have these men

heave your goods back in the hooch,

and you can set up housekeeping to suit yourselves!

Sir, we swept this entire area in here.

And there's absolutely no indication

of a force of either North Vietnamese

or Viet Cong.

That doesn't make sense.

The information was damn specific.

CIA was convinced.

The CIA?

Was this Duke Fontaine's information?

Colonel, Fontaine will terrorize these people

into saying whatever the hell they think he wants to hear.

I wouldn't trust the information

if they gave it willingly.

Hell, I know it's a crapshoot,

but it's the only game we got.

We have to check it out.

Command is almost certain

the enemy will launch a countrywide offensive

during Tet,

just like last year.

MACV has attached Camp Barnett

and its Special Forces teams

to the capital of Military Security Command.

Now, our specific objective

is to secure the five provinces

around Saigon.

You'll be working with regular infantry units

while attached to this command.

"Working with" or "part of"?

It's gonna vary.

Each assignment could be different.

What about the SOG missions?

Those go on.

The downside is replacements.

They're not going to have the kind of experience

your team needs,

so you're going to have to make allowances for it.

Well, begging your pardon, sir,

this sounds a little rough around the edges to me.

Sergeant Edwards!

Looks like you used up all the Boy Scouts,

now you're headed for the Cubs, right?

According to my information, two of these puppies are mine:

Bell and Griner.

Bell, Griner, step forward!

I'm William Griner.

William?

Aye-aye, William.

Oh, William.

Where are you from, William?

From North Carolina.

Is that right?

My daughter's in Fayetteville.

Don't know it.

I'm from up above Old Fort in the mountains.

Oh, I see.

Bell?

Yes, sir, I'm Eddie Bell,

from... From Texas.

Eddie Bell from Texas,

I got to be honest with you.

You don't look near old enough

to be in this man's Army.

Yes, sir, I know.

My whole family's like that.

They just look younger than they are.

Uh-huh.

Well, I don't know why in God's name

they assigned you all to a SOG team,

but, uh, welcome to Camp Barnett.

SOG team?

Yeah, what's that?

SOG. S-O-G.

"Same Old Grind."

Y'all grab your gear.

We'll find out "what's that."

Lieutenant.

Goldman, come on in.

I really must be beat.

I thought this was my hooch.

No, Goldman, wait...

McKay, not now.

I gotta get some sleep.

Come on in, roomie, and close the door, would you?

We can't keep the whole camp cool.

What are you doing here, McKay?

McKay, what the hell are you doing here?

Damn, mellow out, man.

Enjoy the cool air for a change.

Have yourself a beer.

Didn't Colonel Stringer tell you?

Tell me what?

They waged a full platoon of grunts into my digs.

You're going to have to share your hooch with somebody,

so I figured, what the hell, why not me?

Oh, McKay...

McKay!

All right, I just want to get some sleep.

Relax, Goldman. Enjoy the tunes.

You'll sleep a lot better, I promise you.

Have yourself a smoke.

I don't want a smoke!

I just want to get some sleep, okay?

Suit yourself.

Your side, my side.

Nothing from your side comes onto my side,

including music.

Good night.

Sweet dreams.

It's like going up and down a ladder.

Putting it back's

just the other side of taking it apart.

Okay, I think I can get that.

I think.

I don't care if it is mystery meat.

I'd rather have regular chow

than c-rats any day.

I still can't believe

what they did to this place.

Yeah, it stinks, doesn't it?

Hannegan.

We ought to get him for this, guys.

Quit dreaming.

Yeah, it'd just give him one more reason

to make life miserable for us.

How many cots you need, cherry?

What?

You're sitting in my bunk.

Oh, I'm sorry about that.

He was just helping me with stripping down a weapon.

Ain't nothing to it.

Even a baby can do it.

What are you laughing at?

It's that rhythmic Negro jive you speak, Taylor.

What you said, it was funny.

It's funny. You hear that, Ru?

Sound to me like the call

of a redneck, clod-hopping hillbilly.

Come on, Taylor, give him a break.

He just got here.

I don't think so.

You from the land of Klan, boy?

Huh?

The land of cotton.

The land of strange fruit.

I got no bone to pick with you.

Oh, I bet you don't in my face,

but behind my back

is a whole different story, huh?

I got nothing against colored people.

I ain't colored. I'm black!

Be whatever you want to.

You ain't nothing to me.

All right, all right, come on.

Just drop it.

Ain't no point to this.

No, that's the point right there, Ru.

You heard what he said, didn't you?

I ain't nothing to him.

See, the black man

don't exist as a human being to people like him.

Southerners, man.

Taylor.

Ru's right, man.

Why don't you let it go?

Ain't no point in it.

LT!

How'd you sleep?

Like a baby, sergeant.

That's good.

Felt good to wake up in my own rack

for a change myself.

Listen, LT,

have you seen these new replacements?

Some of them are barely in-country.

Yeah, OJT, just like always.

On-the-job training

is one thing in a rifle platoon, LT.

In a SOG operation, they're not up to it.

It's our job to bring them up to it.

Whatever you say.

I've got a report here of NVA activity.

A C-8, probably accurate.

The C indicates some question

as to the source of information.

Wouldn't happen to be Fontaine, would it?

Yes, it would,

but there are other signs.

They all point to a big NVA build-up

in the Odin Province,

so we are going to monitor the situation.

You'll be in charge

of one platoon, lieutenant,

including your team.

Be a good chance to check out

what some of these new men have got.

What they've got, colonel, is green.

Well, I'll rely on you

to ripen them up, sergeant.

Yankee's here at 366827,

the location of one of our own jump CPs,

not used in over six months.

Sergeant, you take half the force

and set up a patrol base,

probe the area for 24 hours.

Twelve kilometers away

is a major NVA supply-route junction.

I want that area

laced with electronic surveillance sensors,

lieutenant.

Then we can eavesdrop

and see if the enemy is building up.

Uh, sir...

we just came off a recon

based on Fontaine's information,

and it was all wrong.

There was no Victor Charles.

So if he's wrong again, you've got nothing to fear.

The point is, sir,

that if he says there's NVA,

we may just as well run into Genghis Khan.

Well, regardless of who you run into, lieutenant,

you're to avoid contact.

We wouldn't want the NVA to know

you're in the neighborhood.

Isn't that the Army way?

Give the new guys new stuff,

and they don't know beans about how to use it.

Even a blind hawk finds an acorn now and then, doc.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

He just means that, um, everybody has

an occasional turn of luck, Taylor.

What, are you speaking for this newbie cracker, doc?

Cut it out, Taylor. He did nothing to you.

You, you need somebody to talk for you?

No, I can make my own way.

Oh, really? Well, you do that.

Stay out of mine.

What's riding you, Taylor?

Why are you on the newbie's case?

Don't jerk me, Ru. You heard him.

No, I ain't heard him.

I ain't heard him say one damn thing against you.

I'm talking about the way he talks.

He's got the sound of a racist.

Them southerners are the original reason

the black man's having such a hard time right now.

Come on, Taylor.

You can hardly call Griner part of the ruling class.

You know, I think you spent too much time

listening to Shaky Williams and his burn-it-down friends.

That's what I think.

Look at me, man. I'm from the South, from Memphis,

and you don't see me...

You ain't exactly unanimous

for the black man's friend of the month

either, Doc.

What is that supposed to mean?

I'm gonna need me another ruck.

Hey...

you ain't finished packing your gear yet?

What do you got in there?

My goods.

Bell, what are you thinking?

Just thinking if I left it here, somebody would take it.

Nobody here's gonna take this stuff.

Everybody here's already got this stuff.

You mind telling me

why you got three canteens of water?

That's for brushing my teeth.

I like to brush my teeth a lot.

You like the taste of it, do you?

Yeah, well, now, that's okay.

That's okay.

I like the taste of it myself, but don't carry water for that.

Use ground water, okay?

I thought that was dangerous.

That's why they gave you halazone tabs.

So, Bell, why don't you put this stuff

back in your foot locker,

and I'll go ahead and pack this up, okay?

Okay.

Hurry up. We're dawdling already.

All right. Come on.

This is a sensor.

Ru, you take the small spike,

and insert it in the ground alongside the trail.

The wire attached to the spike

is an antenna.

You extend this to its full length,

and conceal it lightly alongside the trail.

The box unit is a transmitter.

You conceal it well,

because it's the easiest part to see.

Now, these sensors that we're setting today

are going to be set to a designated frequency...

...is an old jump CP of ours,

so there might already be some protection there.

However, when we pulled out,

we took with us everything but the sand bags,

so don't be surprised

if we have to do some digging

to make the place livable again.

Each of you has been issued two dozen empty sand bags.

When we get there, we'll dig out the bunkers

until they're about chest high.

The dirt you take out of the bunkers

you'll fill into your sandbags,

pile them around the bunker like a wall of dirt.

All right, listen up.

Everybody stay alert,

and keep your eyes open and your mouths shut.

When in doubt,

do what the guys in the tiger stripes do.

Let's saddle up.

First squad on the bird.

Watch your step.

Always watch where you put your foot.

Check your weapon.

It's full of dirt.

Clear the action.

Get a stick and dig it out.

Shoot it like that,

it will blow up in your face.

Come on. Do it on the move.

Fireside 3, this...

Fireside 3, this is Black Horse 6.

Over.

This is Fireside 3. Go ahead, 6.

Three, confirm Checkpoint Blue Marlin.

Over.

Roger, 6. Fireside 3, out.

Let's do it.

Taylor, you got point.

Percell.

Let's go. Come on.

All right, one last time, watch your interval.

Watch your step.

Out in the open, open up.

In close, close it up.

Good luck, LT.

Be careful.

Snakes!

Make sure you keep it hidden.

There it is.

All right, now, people, stay alert in here.

Watch your step.

Spread out along the perimeter there,

and what's left of the bunkers, clean them out.

Square away your sandbags. Set your fields of fire.

We'll do a clover-leaf recon

of the area,

find out what's around here,

then we'll take a break and hurt some chow.

Hey, sarge.

This isn't such a bad defense.

Little bit of work.

A lot of work.

How long since this place has been used, sarge?

They said six months.

Six months?

Doesn't take Momma Nature long

to claim what's hers.

Know what I'm saying?

Artiel.

Ain't so bad.

At least we're not filling these up.

Major.

Colonel.

Yes, sir. Sorry to disturb you, sir.

What is it?

Snafu at Tonsinu, colonel.

Several of our choppers are stuck.

Supposed to extract Goldman

and resupply Sergeant Anderson's patrol

before class flight.

Can we shuffle deployment?

Not without scrubbing something somewhere.

Get them on the horn.

Yes, sir.

Black Horse 6, this is Fireside 3.

Over.

Go ahead, 3. This is 6. Go.

Six, get on your TAC frequency

and tell 5 to get in on this.

This is Black Horse 5.

Already with you.

Sit-rep, 5.

No sign of bad guys.

Recon out in 2-0 mikes. Over.

Six?

Beers are out.

We are 5-0-0 mikes, November-Lima-Zulu.

Go.

Can stick?

Affirmative. Go.

How's the cupboard, 5?

Got everything I came with. Over.

Nothing needed?

Nothing needed.

No 1800 drop, 5. You're both out at 0600.

Copy.

Black Horse 6. Affirmative. Over.

Black Horse 5. Solid. Copy.

You're never alone with a bedside phone, gentlemen,

so stay in touch.

Fireside 6, out.

Taylor, throw me some C-4,

will you?

What's that stuff?

C-4.

It's a plastic explosive, Bell,

and I'll tell you what,

it's as hot as a blow torch.

Thought that stuff was dangerous.

Yeah, it is, but not without a detonator.

About as harmless as spackle.

I got something on me!

Get him down, get him down, come on!

Okay, now, calm down. Calm down.

Okay, here, hand me...

Give me your bug juice.

Relax, Bell.

Relax. It's nothing.

There.

Just a little tree leech.

You're all right.

It's not gonna kill you, Bell.

It may not kill you.

I'm just not partial to bloodsuckers myself.

Shoot, me neither.

You get used to 'em, boys.

The mosquitoes down here, man,

they're worse than the ones

down at the swamp.

Ones here, they crawl up a man's nose

while they sleep.

Suck all the blood out of his brain.

Percell.

Jackson.

Taylor.

Hey.

Your firing line is there, there.

Bell, you all right?

Hell, yes.

Are you scared?

Hell, no.

Percell.

Keep these boys on their toes, and watch your flank.

That's just what I come to be watching, sarge.

I can't tell how many.

They're everywhere!

Get the colonel.

Can we call in arty, 5? Over.

- That's a negative. - They're too close.

They're a few meters away. We're all right for now.

Damn it.

Isn't there something we can do, LT?

Ru, I got you, and I got me.

I got 15 newbies,

and I got a conchie medic.

This place is riddled with booby traps,

and it's about to get dark.

There's not a hell of a lot

I can do.

Look alive!

All right, Percell, you got it here.

Coming at us in waves, 10 or 15 meters apart.

Must be 200 of them out here.

Anderson, you got to call for arty. Over.

That's a negative, 6. They're too close.

We got a green line at 20 meters,

but it's moving in fast.

They're smart.

They know we can't call in a fire mess.

We have got to get some air support in there.

I've already tried, sir.

I... I can't get anything until first light.

Are you trying to tell me

we've got nothing we can send?

I'm afraid so, sir.

Hey, Taylor!

Miller, get down!

Get down!

Fireside, request permission to move in. Over.

Negative, 6.

Repeat, Fireside. Request permission.

Over.

Negative, 6. Negative. It's almost dark.

You'd never make it. Even if you did,

Anderson's men would cut you down in the dark.

Colonel, I've got the only available chopper.

Request permission to fly support, sir.

That ship's got nothing but two M60s.

Yes, I know, sir,

but it'll help them out to know that we're up there.

I can pop flares in and help them see.

It's better than what we've got, and we've got nothing right now.

Do what you can.

Yes, sir.

They'll be back, won't they, sarge?

Yeah, you can pretty much count on that, Percell.

You okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, sarge, I'm okay.

How you doing there, Bell?

All right.

I think they killed the Clark boy over there.

All right. Stay with it.

You all right, Mason?

Yeah, sarge.

How long's he been like that?

Uh, I don't know.

Soldier, are you hurt?

Now, look, if you're not hit,

you get up there and do your part.

Are you scared? Huh?

Better be.

I swear to God,

if I find you like this again,

I'm gonna throw you up there myself.

I'm not going to have brave men here

risking their lives for a coward.

Do you hear me?

Listen to me.

Get your butt up there

and do what you were trained to do.

Now.

Do it.

That's right.

What's the matter, Taylor?

I've never hurt like this, sarge.

Oh, man, I'm sorry.

Where is it?

It's my leg.

Your leg, Taylor?

How the hell did you get hit in the leg?

You been in a hole.

I been in here too long, sarge.

Got the worst charley horse

I ever had.

You know, Taylor,

every time I think I've heard it all,

all I got to do is talk to you,

and I realize I haven't heard nothing.

Six.

I got two dead, one wounded,

and 15 scared as hell.

I'm one of the scared ones. Over.

Did they pull out? Over.

Negative. No chance.

They left too many behind.

Can you pull back? Over.

No, sir. They're all around us.

A lot of them.

Here they come again.

Hold your fire, hold your fire!

Percell.

We're real low on ammo, sarge,

and I'm out of grenades.

Taylor, report.

Three and a half clips, sarge.

I've been way too generous

with ammunition out here, now.

Put her on semi-automatic and pick your targets.

Pick 'em good.

Radio's dead.

Radio's dead, and it's getting dark.

Fireside, we haven't heard from Black Horse

in 30 minutes.

We've got to do something. Over.

We'll have air support there

as soon as it's light, 6. Over.

We've got to do something now. Over.

Hold the phone, 6.

Goldilocks 1 is on his way

to 5's position.

We should have a sit-rep in 30 minutes.

Fireside, they could be dead

in 30 minutes.

Over.

They're probably already dead.

You die, GI!

You die, GI!

Taylor.

Yo.

You hear that?

Yeah, I heard him.

"GI, you die. You die, GI"

You stink, dink!

Taylor, if I do got to die here, I want you to bury me face down.

Why's that, Danny?

So Vietnam can kiss the old wazoo.

Shh.

Flare, sarge.

Hold your fire, hold your fire!

Ammo!

I'm down to the quick, sarge.

You better check on Bell.

Keep your eyes open!

Bell, you hit?

Uh-uh.

You all right?

Uh-huh.

Look at me, look at me.

All right, hey,

take a deep breath, take a breath.

Breathe.

All right, take a breath.

Breathe. Just relax, now.

That's right. Just relax.

You're gonna be all right.

It's all right to be afraid.

I'm not... Not afraid.

This... This happens

every time I get real excited about something.

So you're not afraid?

No, sir. We're all going to die out here.

My being afraid

ain't gonna change a damn thing about that.

You know what, Eddie Bell from Texas?

You talk like a lifer,

but I look at you,

I see a kid.

Don't I?

Tell me the truth. How old are you?

Fifteen.

Oh, lord.

Chopper.

Fireside, I have a signal flare.

I'm going to light it up.

Give us some light, Smitty.

Pop a couple more flares, Smitty.

We're going to help them out.

Sarge!

Fireside, Fireside,

I'm taking 50-caliber rounds from the ground.

I've got to back off.

Repeat, I've got to back off.

If they can just hang on till dawn...

we could put so much firepower in there...

GI, you die!

Fireside, in sight of jump CP.

There is no movement.

No sign of life.

Repeat, no movement, no sign of life.

Wait a minute.

Check that last transmission, Fireside.

I've got movement.

There are men alive on the ground.

You hear me, Goldman? Men alive on the ground.