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103.6 WPTZ.

All news, radio, traffic, sports

and weather together on the 8s.

In the district, there's a pileup

on Constitution...

Yes, hi. Dr. Landon's office, please.

This thing's cheap.

- This is terrible. - Uh, hello?

Hi, it's Tara Huffman and I have an 8:15 amnio scheduled

and we are totally stuck on Constitution.

I'm so sorry.

Can you hang on a second?

Hello? Hi, Celia. I'm on the other line.

- Wait. Celia? - Okay, all right.

- Quickly, quickly. - Thank you.

Hey, what's up?

What?

Why?

I'm gonna call you back. Just meet me downstairs, okay?

Peter just fucking quit.

You owe me a quarter.

- What happened? Why? - I... I don't know.

I don't know what happened.

Okay, there's a metro station two blocks away.

Why don't you take it?

You sure?

- Yeah, yeah. - I'm sorry.

- It's okay. - Thank you.

All right, buddy.

Take care of your mom, okay?

All right, good luck. I'll call you later.

Okay. It's gonna be okay.

- All right. - Bye.

I called as soon as I heard.

It's your job to keep my pale ass

out of the stink, O'Neal. You're my Kevlar.

How was I supposed to know

the secretary was gonna call a press conference,

let alone resign today?

- Did he have a reason? - The secretary?

Oh, yes. He wants to spend

- more time... - More time with the family?

- Jesus. Was Stanton there? - He brought the donuts.

Of course he did. What's my day like?

Well, your eleven o'clock is early

and your lunch scrubbed.

- What eleven o'clock? - Master Sergeant Thomas Tulley.

Never heard of him. Reschedule.

Missed you at the brief.

Glad I had my ear to the rail, Carl,

or that train might have run me over.

Well, if you'd been on time,

you would have heard it like the rest of us.

You must've known something.

Hey, I was here. You weren't.

It's on you. I... I... I got you a donut.

It's got sprinkles.

- My wife had an amnio. - Oh. Oh, right, priorities.

I don't know how you do it. Wife, kids, hamster...

It was a gerbil. Mercifully, it finally went tits-up.

Life refines itself if you're patient.

It was a shock, but I'm finally over it.

You okay? What's... What's... What's bothering you?

I'm a government lawyer

about to be unemployed.

Oh, come on. You're a superstar on the verge of free agency.

You'll find something.

In the middle of an election year?

Not even Tiger could sink that putt.

What makes you think I can?

'Cause your political Darwinism is absolutely instinctual.

Thanks.

Oh, you're welcome.

You remember that decorations review

I gave you in July?

It's a vague potential memory.

Uh, Medal of Honor upgrade? You have a status briefing.

- When? - Now.

- With who? - Master Sergeant Thomas Tulley.

Air Force Pararescue, retired.

- Flew in from Dayton. - Your eleven o'clock.

He's the guy's buddy.

- Whose guy? What guy? - The Medal of Honor candidate.

Why didn't he just come himself?

Because it's posthumous.

You'd better read that. Here you go.

Christ...

I have been reminding you since July.

We're talking about one

of the bloodiest days of the war.

Pits saved lives.

And he was awarded the Air Force Cross.

- What's wrong with that? - It was downgraded to the Cross.

We put him up for the Medal of Honor.

- That's different. - Sergeant, I'm gonna tell you

something you probably already know.

Decoration upgrades are rare.

The criteria for review is new information.

Figured the new information part was your job.

This was 30 years ago.

I mean, is there an agenda you have I should know about?

Justice delayed is justice denied.

That's my damn agenda.

Sergeant Tulley, the secretary of the Air Force resigned today.

In three months,

everyone in this office is gonna be gone, including me.

This will take years.

We'll follow up on this next week.

Secretary Peters?

Yes.

Thomas Tulley, Air Force Pararescue,

retired.

Defense Contract Audit Agency

is looking for a regional director.

That wouldn't be a step backwards.

Okay, well, you are now officially

- on your own. - Don't be like that.

Call sheet is on your computer.

The secretary's looking for you. And your wife called.

Wait. Why?

- Well, she didn't say. - No, Peters.

He wants to see you in his office in five minutes.

Congratulations on the job, Carl.

No moss grows under your feet.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Sit. Sit down.

A Master Sergeant Thomas Tulley

doesn't think we're giving this MOH matter a fair shake.

- It's a misunderstanding. - That's what I said.

Sir?

Operation Abilene

was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war.

- The Vietnam War. - Thanks.

An entire company nearly wiped out

but for this PJ's efforts.

Pararescue Jumper.

Pitsenbarger is a legend in the PJ community.

I understand that.

Well, Carl's putting together your itinerary.

You'll collect combat testimonies, personally,

and prepare a package for a full decorations review.

But we're about to present the budget to committee.

Yeah, well, Carl has it covered.

I've been working on it all year.

And now you're working on this.

The Medal of Honor

is the highest recognition of military valor there is.

Patton said he'd have traded his command for that ribbon,

Eisenhower, the White House.

Now, why do you think

four-star generals and presidents

would say something like that?

Honestly, I have no idea.

Well, that's a very good place to start.

I'm off the budget 'cause some grunt

chased Peters into the shitter.

Are you kidding me?

He's not a grunt. He's Air Force.

And you're off the budget 'cause you embarrassed him.

- Tulley? - No, Peters.

Look... ...I've never done

a medal review. I... I don't have time for this.

What job did you get anyway?

I am legislative director for Madison Holt,

if it's any of your business.

- Chairman of Armed Services? - Is there another?

Look, what, do I have to spell this out for you?

- This is just crazy. - Take a few days.

Go collect some war stories.

Have Celia write up a summary statement

requesting more time.

We look like we give a shit, this furball rolls over

to the next poor slob that takes your job,

you're out of it...

...before Appropriations even sniffs the budget.

- That's it? - Yeah, that's it.

It's only gonna be a day, honey.

We're taking fire

from all corners, over.

Charlie Six

gun three is ready.

Say what rounds...

246, uh, times 7246...

- Everybody down! - Take cover!

Contact, Victor Charlie.

We have wounded and we are taking fire.

Pedro inbound, say, two mikes out.

Copy that, Charlie Six

We are inbound now.

Charlie Six.

They have mortars and automatic weapons now.

It's an ambush.

Hey, Tulley, doesn't look too good down there.

They don't know how to load the litters.

Holy shit. It's their medic.

Okay. Somebody needs to go down there

and get 'em straightened out.

No way. It's hotter than hell down there, Pits.

Those people can't wait. They've lost their medic.

Let me go down, speed up the whole deal.

As soon as we have their wounded,

- you're back on this bird. - Roger that.

You be goddamn careful.

Going down.

Sounds like a suicide mission.

Suicide is hopeless.

What Pitsenbarger did was...

Was valor.

It was a hell of a thing to see from where I was sitting.

Then why didn't he get the medal in '66?

- You must have some opinion. - If my opinion mattered,

this would have been done long ago.

Do you do something, Sergeant?

Do you have a job or a hobby, or is this...

your full-time thing?

I'm a palliative nurse.

I work with terminal patients and their families

to clarify end-of-life goals and...

symptom management, psycho-social...

spiritual support.

Do you make your own bed?

What?

Simple question.

My wife does it.

Must suck to be her.

Is there a point here somewhere?

We've been down this road before.

You're just the FNG.

Sergeant...

this little pet project of yours

has been in a coma for three decades.

There's nothing in this for me, but I'm here anyway.

So what do you want?

Sorry to keep you.

I nap more than I used to.

Mr. Pitsenbarger, sir.

Ah, it isn't getting old that's hard,

it's keeping awake long enough to enjoy it.

- Oh, thank you. - Well...

Thank you.

- So, you're the new one. - The new one?

If you want the real story about Abilene,

you'll need to talk to the mud soldiers.

And they are?

You do work in the Department of Defense, right?

They're the army guys on the ground.

Charlie Company, 16th Infantry, the Big Red One.

Well, as far as they're concerned, you see,

it wasn't Bill's fight.

Bill was Air Force.

Charlie Company took 80 percent casualties.

That's 34 KIAs in the same day.

Bill was a part of it, of course,

but he wasn't one of them.

We have to respect that.

- All right. - Now, Billy Takoda

lives, uh, over in Sterling County.

That's about an hour's drive from here.

Over the years the wives

have tracked down most of the guys.

You might want to start with them.

And this Billy guy, is he, uh...

Will he talk to me? Is he all right?

The two of you should get along fine.

Hello!

What the hell are you yelling for?

Jesus.

Billy Takoda. Not an easy guy to find.

Y'all be careful down there, you hear?

Jeremy, stay out that water.

So what's your story?

Why are you here?

Well, I appreciate what you've been through.

Uh, I'm here to help.

If you wanted to help, you'd pick up a weapon

and get some skin in the game, friend.

You'd acknowledge you own a piece

of every bomb dropped

and every bullet fired in every skirmish

since you been born,

that you have blood on your hands, you understand?

Second chance.

Why are you here?

It's my job.

- I don't have a choice. - See? That's progress.

Vulnerability and communication. Honesty builds trust.

That's the only real currency we got left in this world.

Now you can trust me?

No.

You mind if I, um...

I'm here so I can...

hear your side of the story.

I talk, you listen.

Vietnam wasn't my first square dance.

I was a dog-faced lifer, a natural war fighter.

I loved it.

Nothing made me feel more alive.

But I'd never seen nothing like Abilene.

Lost men like that.

Medic!

Medic! Medic!

Goddammit Kepper, you all right?

Contact, Victor Charlie.

I'm hit.

We have wounded and we are taking fire.

Oh, fuck!

They have mortars and automatic weapons now.

It's an ambush.

Pitsenbarger, where did he fit in all this?

Well, I lost my medic.

We had no LZ, so...

they called in the Air Force helos.

Pedros, Pedros, Charlie Six.

Be advised, we're in a tight one down here.

Multiple casualties. We need you soonest.

Contact, one o'clock.

Advise when you've got us in sight. Over.

Copy, Charlie Six. Pedros has your smoke.

Pits came down, saved lives, evac'ed wounded,

died fighting alongside men he never even knew.

Get down, airman! Get down!

Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow it down.

Nothing but your man into the basket.

Okay, now, you.

Okay? Hold these.

- Nice and easy, now. - One, two, three.

All right, hang tight, buddy.

I'm gonna need you to do something

for me, all right?

I need you to keep the pressure on it, all right?

All the way up you keep that pressure on it.

All right, you're going home. All right.

Okay. Take her up.

All right, hang tight, bud.

Hold the line. Hold the line.

- Come on. - What's the story, Lieutenant?

We've got a 100-meter perimeter.

We're taking fire from everywhere.

We've got two KIAs and at least eight wounded that I know of.

All right, I'm gonna need two of your guys.

It's your show, airman.

Mott!

Tulley says this whole medal thing was your idea.

Is that true?

I made out the paperwork,

sent it up the Air Force chain, that's all.

- But he never got the medal. - Mm.

Not the big daddy, no.

Why not?

It was war.

Pits wasn't the onlys one, you know.

I must have wrote over a dozen letters

to parents and girlfriends.

After that, all you can do is make amends...

and try to forget.

How do you do that?

Like I said, get some bark in the game.

You went... You went back to Vietnam?

I didn't understand the world anymore

and the world sure as hell didn't understand me,

so where the hell else was I gonna go?

Well, after I got healed up,

this old high-school buddy of mine called

and invited me for beers.

We sitting at the bar

and he's shooting the shit about girls

and how we used to raise hell back in the day.

The more he talked, the more I realized...

there wasn't nothing hitting, you know?

Then he blurts out, "I hear you got the Purple Heart.

What happened? You get shot?"

It gets real quiet.

All these drunk assholes just staring at me.

Alls I can hear is...

screams from the jungle that day and...

artillery whistle in the air.

And I started to get pissed.

So I pull my shirt up...

...just to shut him up.

He looks kind of awkward

and then he starts chuckling and says,

"What was you doing, running away?"

You know what? Maybe I was.

Maybe that's what I've been doing all this time.

I was a refugee in my own country,

and that hurt way more than those bullets.

Does it still hurt, Grandpa?

Only on the inside, baby boy.

Come on, kids, time to eat.

Honey, think this gumbo's about ready.

I'm gonna need you to get on the record.

That's about as on the record as you're gonna get.

Hey.

Donna Burr? Hi.

Hey, man, he doesn't even get up till eight o'clock.

Oh, uh, I'm sorry.

Scott Huffman, DOD.

- He... He works nights? - Jimmy's PTS.

He's OCD.

He suffers hallucinations

and about 50 other war-related effects.

He sleeps during the day

because the night just plain terrifies him.

Do you even know any Vietnam vets?

No. It's a new experience for me.

How did you two meet?

You mean, what do I see in a Section 8 like Jimmy?

No, not at all, ma'am. I'm... I'm just...

I was his nurse...

at the VA.

You can learn a lot about these guys

hanging with them.

What they did, what it cost.

And every day he finds the courage

not to stick a gun in his mouth.

So I think he deserves a little compassion,

and, believe me, I get a lot more than I give.

So if he wants to sleep during the day...

that's okay with me.

So I saw Frank Pitsenbarger,

and, uh, he told me you have a contact list

for all the Charlie Company guys that you've put together.

So that's what you want?

Well... no, I...

I'd love to talk to your husband, too.

I hope you're sincere about this,

'cause Jimmy is tougher than a two-dollar steak

and he can smell a rat a mile upwind.

Well, I don't have a position here

or an opinion. I'm...

Here's your list.

Thank you.

You wanna talk to Jimmy, you're gonna have to wait.

I'm not making any promises.

Thank you.

Hey.

Sleeping on post

would get you fragged in my unit.

Know what I'm saying, sir?

People round here think I'm a goddamn vampire.

Maybe they're right too,

'cause I ain't slept in the dark for 32 years.

You know what I'm saying, sir?

You know what that is?

Yes.

- No. No, I... I don't. - Yeah.

Big Red One. First Infantry Division.

Baddest goddamn GIs ever laced a boot.

Is that loaded?

You know what you call a gun that ain't loaded?

A fucking stick, sir.

You know what, Jimmy? Uh, ca... Can I...

Can I call you Jimmy?

I'm a civilian, so...

- you don't have to call me sir. - The only reason I'm talking

and not shooting is 'cause of Tulley.

He said this is all about Pits getting the medal.

- Ain't that right? - Right. Absolutely.

'Cause I don't give a shit about you.

I don't give a shit about anything.

I just wanna be left goddamn alone.

You understand what I'm saying?

I mean, I've been fucked over and fucked around.

Nobody knows what went down with me over there.

Nobody knows.

You understand what I'm saying, sir?

Listen, man, I...

I didn't come here to get shot at,

or to rattle your cage. I'm just...

I'm just here because Tulley said

your statement was important, as did Mr. Pitsenbarger.

I was the oldest FNG they'd ever seen.

Germany, Guam...

goddamn Okinawa.

Ten years and I never squeezed off one round.

Understand what I'm saying, sir?

FNG? What is... What is that?

Fucking New Guy.

Lower than tits on a snake.

FNGs got people killed.

All them years waiting.

Come Easter of '66, I'm in goddamn Vietnam.

I mean, I signed up for this shit.

Thirty-three years old and I was gung-ho

and ready to kill something.

Hey, Ray, you're short, right?

Thirty-two days and I'll be swimming in Schlitz

unless you get me killed.

How long did it take you to grease your first dink?

- Understand what I'm saying? - Get off my back.

What's your problem, man?

You trying to get each other killed? Hmm?

Man, get the hell away from him.

Now, you know better, Ray.

Keep your eyes open, man.

- Go, go, go! - Charlie! Get down!

Get down, get down!

What we got?

- There was three of them. - I... I got one.

I got one.

Holy shit.

Nice shot.

Charlie Six, Charlie Three.

Jesus Christ.

Charlie Six.

Lieutenant, what the hell is going on up there?

FNG bust his cherry is all.

Copy that. Anything else?

- Negative. - Roger that.

Charlie Three out.

Kep, check him for intel.

Then shove a couple of grenades up under him.

Anybody comes for him, we'll know.

FNG.

Welcome to 'Nam, Jimmy.

Come on, I got you.

I ain't never seen nobody die before.

That little matter sucked

all the whoop-ass right out of me.

Understand what I'm saying, sir?

I felt real bad about that for exactly 12 hours.

And then I didn't feel bad about nothing.

Thought this was going to the bottom of the pile.

We are the bottom of the pile.

Some guy named Ray Mott called, said he was confirming.

Today's adventures in post-traumatic exorcism.

Hopefully he won't have a gun.

Sit down and walk me through the requirements

for a congressional decorations package.

- New eyewitness statements. - Okay, we're doing that.

DOD report of casualty.

Well, he's definitely dead. So that's two.

And chain of command endorsements.

Bingo. Where are they?

Because some guy named Kepper

wrote the after-action report and passed it up.

It would have to have been approved

from Bien Hoa, Saigon, to here at the Pentagon.

- That would have been protocol. - Right, so where is it?

Well, a lot can get lost in 32 years.

This is the government we're talking about.

Well, if I can't find the chain of command endorsements,

this thing's DOA. I'm out of it.

Why not ask Kepper?

Because he's living in Nha Trang,

which is in Vietnam, and that's 11 time zones away.

There is this new invention called the telephone.

Look, apparently this guy is some Kurtzian burnout

smoking ganja under the Bodhi tree.

I'm not going there.

- Is that the budget top sheet? - Yeah.

All right. I'll call you from the road.

I come out here, knock out a box or two,

check my targets, pick up my brass.

Keeps me civil with the kids.

Hear you went

- to see Jimmy Burr. - Yeah.

He kills things to relieve stress.

Flower box, 75 meters.

You know, he's got a bullet in his head still.

It didn't kill him, so they slammed him into VA,

doped him up for about 20 years.

Can't imagine why.

It's a hell of a thing, you know,

to have somebody die so you can pop melons and...

shoot rabbits by the light of the moon.

Weapon's clear, Gene.

Weapon's clear.

Your reputation precedes you.

- Jimmy isn't a fan. - Yeah, Tulley either.

Well, if you guys want this guy to get the medal,

I gotta get statements, testimony.

It was one day, decades ago.

Pitsenbarger came into that shitstorm on purpose.

I mean, how do you account for that?

Duty, commitment, mission. Pick one.

I kept telling him to get out...

but he wouldn't go.

Even his CO ordered him back up.

Their bird was getting ripped up.

But he waved them off.

Probably saved them too.

Hell, he was Air Force.

He shouldn't even have been there.

- None of us should have. - How so?

We'd already been out two weeks on patrol,

but once we tangled

with those NVA forces, naturally,

we got the duty.

- Duty? - Bait, brother.

Live bait.

Everybody down!

They put us there to make contact.

Alpha and Bravo would flank and we'd grind 'em into pulp,

take 'em out at whatever cost.

Search and destroy. Notches on your pistol, baby.

Kill ratios, body counts.

It was total bullshit.

Westmoreland, McNamara, Johnson.

That's how they kept the money flowing.

Kick an anthill. Grease a mess of gooks.

Next day the NVA'd be right back again.

- What's happening? - More gooks, sir!

- Where? - Over there, sir!

This place is crawling with them!

They're in the trees.

They're in the trees.

Cover me!

We didn't have a fucking chance.

Ah. You're dogging it.

Just so you know,

I can't find the chain of command endorsements

in the Pitsenbarger file.

- So put it in your report. - I'm missing something.

- What are you doing? - What?

This thing was ancient history before you were born.

Let me let you in on something.

It is an undisputed fact at the Pentagon

that all the real hardware goes to the officers.

There's been one enlisted Medal of Honor

in the history of the Air Force.

So somebody makes endorsements disappear

because the guy's enlisted?

It's not a can of worms you wanna open.

- Why not? - Because confronting

the Air Force decorations board is not in your best interest.

Oh, shoot.

I'm getting a shower.

- Yeah. - It doesn't count.

Hey there, hotshot.

Thought you fell off the planet.

I'm pacing myself. It's a long way down.

What can I do for you?

You ever hear of a General John A. Hackmeyer?

He was one of the army silverbacks

down in Saigon during the war.

He was also the service secretary

that approved the Medal of Honor of your division.

Think you could track him down?

He's probably fertilizer by now.

Besides, you're the one with the DOD security clearance.

Maybe we don't want the DOD to know.

Can you hold on a second?

We don't?

Chain of command endorsements

are an essential element for congressional review,

and they're not in the file.

What are you asking me?

I'm asking you if it's possible

that what we're looking for isn't really lost.

What are you doing?

I'm doing my job. What do you...

What do you mean, what am I doing?

It's a rare quality these days.

What, did you grow a conscience?

Not at all. It's a waste of energy.

Well, I'll sniff around.

Okay.

- Daddy? - How you doing,

mister?

We have company.

Hi.

Long drive from Wilmington in that school bus.

I don't have a car.

They let me take her home nights.

- Who wants to build a fort? - Me.

- Okay. - Thanks for the coffee.

Pleasure.

You messed with my head, man...

when you came to see me.

Started having dreams again.

Can't sleep.

Probably normal, considering.

Sit down.

I, um...

When I got out of the, uh, army hospital in Saigon,

I wanted to wear my dress uniform

for my mother, even though I knew...

even though they carried me off the plane. She was...

She was crying when she saw me,

my ribbons and my Purple Heart.

They took me straight to the VA

and I was in there for months before I got home,

I never saw that uniform again.

She packed everything up from the war in my duffle,

like it never happened, you know,

and I guess I didn't care,

'cause it's been sitting in her attic ever since.

My daughter's a shrink.

She thought maybe...

it'd be good...

uh, for me to unpack it.

Everything was still there.

The smell of war still on my clothes.

And, um...

Pits gave that to me.

He asked me to take care of it.

He asked me to bring it to her.

The guy saved my life

and there was one small thing that he asked of me

and I wouldn't do it.

I couldn't do it.

You know what that makes me?

1954.

It snowed all night. Ah, that was a beautiful Christmas.

I got Bill his Flexible Flyer.

It's... It's still out there in the garage.

- You were close? - Sure.

But, uh, I wa... I was on the road in... In those days.

I missed so much.

Yeah.

You close to your dad?

Actually, I never met him.

Why... Why did you let him go?

Why didn't you just stop him?

You can't teach your children values...

and then just withdraw 'em because you're afraid

of what you might lose.

It just seemed like such a high price to pay.

If not my son...

then whose?

My neighbor's?

My sister's?

Yours?

Bill...

he honored all of us by serving,

and that's no small thing.

No disrespect.

None taken.

In 1965,

the first ground troops landed at Da Nang.

I had the thing on TV all the time.

A couple of weeks later, the US embassy was bombed.

Americans his age started dying.

Boys from our own town.

I... I think it moved him.

He came to me one night, I knew what he was thinking.

God, it sent a jolt right through me.

But he went easy on me.

He never asked for permission.

I think he knew what it would mean later...

if something happened to him.

By the time I woke up, he'd already gone.

Next time I saw him...

he had a haircut and orders.

I was never so frightened and I was never so proud.

I can't help it, but I... I still miss...

watching him mow the lawn out there,

the smell of fresh cut grass on his sneakers.

And how he folded his clothes, even when they were dirty,

'cause he knew it pleased his mom.

I miss the way he tapped his cleats for luck

when he went up to bat...

and the way he always found me...

when he crossed home plate.

There's a thousand things like that.

But mostly, I miss what I didn't get to see him do.

What do you mean?

Well, I never got to see him marry,

or fall in love with a child of his own.

Because only then...

could he understand how much his father loved him.

I... I have a son.

Then you know what we're talking about.

Who is, uh, Jenny?

Oh, Jenny Raynor.

So beautiful.

She came to live with us while Bill was overseas.

You see, Mr. Huffman...

we actually lost...

- two children that day. - Here are her letters.

She gave them to us when she got married,

but we could never bring ourselves to read 'em.

Mr. Pitsenbarger...

I just... I just wanna be clear.

This process doesn't take months.

It takes years.

Scott, I have cancer.

I should have been gone already if you'd believe the doctors.

But, he's a fighter, my man.

I'm sorry.

Dying isn't harder than losing a child,

I promise you.

- Do what you can, son. - Thank you.

He sleeps so soundly.

He has no worries.

Pitsenbarger...

he had everything.

People really cared about the guy.

And really loved him.

How could he give all that up?

He knew what he was leaving behind,

and still he...

had such certainty.

Of what?

That...

no bullet was gonna...

stop him from being who he was.

I've never felt that certain

about anything in my entire life.

I have.

Look, we're gonna play possum, all right?

No matter what, don't move, don't breathe.

Come on, get on top. Come on. Hurry up.

We have contact all around us.

VC got their whole goddamn battalion

- out of bed for this one. - We're gonna tighten up

- this circle right now. - Takoda's still out there, sir,

Willy, and Burr, too.

Nobody gets left outside the perimeter.

Hello?

Whatever it is you want...

it's okay.

Psst.

Anybody alive?

Yeah.

- I can't breathe. - Whoa.

Well, they messed you up good, Lieutenant.

Get me out of here, will you?

Hey. All right.

I need you to help me with the lieutenant, okay?

- Are you with me? Ssh, ssh. - You gotta help Willy.

- We can't leave Willy. - Shh, shh.

Willy's gone, friend, all right?

Now, are you with me? Look at me. Are you with me?

All right. Come on. All right, up you get.

Come on, grab a shoulder.

One, two...

Grab his belt. Let's go.

This way.

Come on, man, let's go! Get up!

It's Takoda. For Christ's sake, don't shoot.

Put him down over there. Over there. That's it.

Easy, easy, easy.

Wrap it and pack it, all right?

Right, not too tight. Just venous pressure.

Okay, that's it. That's it.

Okay.

Just a few minutes, all right?

Hey, you're doing great.

You're doing just great.

All right, okay.

One, two, three.

I need you to hold that,

all right? Don't let that move.

- Okay? - Why are you here?

Because you're here.

Did he...

say anything?

He never says anything.

Hey. Somebody somewhere likes you.

- Hey, Carl. - The FBI is doing due diligence.

You're on the shortlist

for Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs.

What'd you tell 'em?

That you're a lying, womanizing pimp

and you cheat at hoops.

They assured me those were all occupational requirements.

What about the MOH?

MOH? I'll reassign it.

I mean, I probably should have done it in the first place.

Somebody was bound to pick you up.

I see Senator Holt's peddling an election-year memoir.

Yeah, you should read it.

You might learn something.

- You write any of it? - Every other word.

That's good, Carl.

First time you've told the truth in four years.

What's the matter with you? You...

You don't want the best civilian job in the Pentagon?

I mean, this... This makes you.

It's 3-D moves from here on out,

not to mention getting you back to Appropriations.

I need to finish this report.

Are you kidding me? Look at me.

You're a predator, man. You're a goddamn meat eater.

That single instinct

has taken you very far in a very short time,

so don't get sentimental on me now.

So you're gonna finish the review?

Yeah, absolutely.

I'll send an intern down to pick it all up.

An intern.

- Well, congratulations, man. - Yeah.

You'd think I'd be better at this second time around.

Well, you could read the instructions.

That would be cheating.

- Stanton was looking for you. - Well, he found me.

I'm on the shortlist

for Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs.

What about Dave Croft?

Croft's out.

- Well, that's great, then. - It's a career maker.

E-ring, a view of the river.

Well, since they threw in the view...

Yeah. I mean, what's wrong with that?

What about the MOH?

The Pitsenbargers are in town.

Frank's having some tests done at the VA.

What's wrong with him?

Ewing's sarcoma.

God.

They're gonna be here for Thanksgiving.

Maybe they'll see our situation and meet Luke and you and...

You are not using us as your excuse.

Our life is not an excuse, Tara, it's a fact.

Besides, Stanton said he's gonna

have someone pick it up right where I leave off.

Okay.

We were Michigan fans

long before we moved to Buckeye country.

It's more than a football game

when the Wolverines come to Columbus.

- Do you still go to the games? - Oh, God, no.

- Not since... - 1965.

I'm sorry.

Talking about Bill

is one of the greatest joys of our life.

Keeping him alive keeps us strong.

It's how we balance our grief

and how we live a happy life without him.

Oh. Huh.

Is that a game?

This is a machine that gives me my medicine.

Whoa.

- We are minutes away. - Yeah, we're ready.

- May I help? - Oh, uh, Luke, honey,

why don't you show Alice and Frank your room?

- Thank you, Luke. - Okay. Okay.

How do you think I should do this?

Be honest.

I meant the turkey.

Scott, may I, uh... give the blessing?

Yeah, of course.

Okay.

Heavenly Father...

please bless this food

that it may nourish this growing family

and the friendship between us.

And give praise to this young man

as he honors us with his commitment to ensure

that the sacrifices of the fallen...

were neither in vain...

nor will they ever be forgotten.

Amen.

What you say, mister?

- What are you doing here? - Tulley had your number.

So I called, talked to your wife. Nice woman.

She told me where you was at.

Sit down.

- Coffee? - No.

You tracked me down to give me this?

You... never appreciate

what American artillery can do...

till you see it waste your own people.

What are you talking about?

The first round killed three for sure.

Ain't no telling how many of the wounded

would have died later if the VC hadn't got to 'em first.

If you give your shooters a good plot,

them Red Legs could put a .105 round

inside a pickle barrel.

I got the distance correction wrong...

and we got thumped by our own shit.

- What are you saying? - It was blue on blue, brother.

Friendly fire. Ain't no getting around that.

Damage! Damage!

Charlie Three has a fire mission.

Shift from Queensland, direction 3-1-0,

distance 300 meters.

We will adjust.

Shit. Splash. Adjust left 100.

What the hell was that?

Can I get some ammo, please?

I need some fucking ammo.

Man down!

Charlie Three has a fire mission. Drop 100.

Fire for effect.

Make it danger close. Make it danger close.

Move up! Move up!

Medic!

Medic!

So when Tulley says I'm the one what started it,

that's what he really means.

The truth is...

I killed my own men.

If I get those numbers right...

Pitsenbarger probably never even gets that call,

never comes down that wire, never...

saves my life.

Maybe he's the one sitting on a riverbank somewhere

with his grandkids around him, and that'd been fine by me.

Instead he's dead...

and they gave me the goddamn Silver Star.

For what? Surviving?

I sit around year in and year out thinking

about 20 seconds

32 years ago I wish to God I could have back.

Surviving isn't a crime.

No, it ain't... but it's a life sentence.

Getting that medal for Pits,

for his family, for the men I lost,

might be the only decent thing I get to pull out of that war.

So, why don't you go on back up to Washington

and make that happen, all right?

Daddy.

Hey.

I'm thirsty.

Okay, buddy, let's get you a drink.

Daddy, are those the army men you're helping?

Yeah, they are.

Do you want me to be a army man?

- Hey. What's going on? - Hey.

He just needs a drink.

Oh, I see. Let's go get you some water, huh?

- Everything okay? - Yeah. See you in a bit.

Okay. All right. Let's get you some water.

Well, Jim, I was deployed to Vietnam

at a very interesting point during the war,

and that's really what prompted me

to write the book.

I was initially serving as the G3,

or operations officer,

for the 1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One,

now, we were deployed, uh,

northwest of Saigon...

...in a very crucial area

next to the capital...

...Saigon then,

- now Ho Chi Minh City. - Hello?

Now, what I meant by a very interesting period...

Hey.

- Where is he? Can I see him? - Slow down.

Okay.

Hey, Frank.

Got someone here to see you. It's the FNG.

- Mr. Huffman. - How you doing, Frank?

All the better for seeing you.

Thank you for coming.

Of course.

He gave me a call and, uh...

- here I am. - Right.

Is he dying?

We're all dying, son.

I think he's holding on...

for you to get this done.

Why are you in the middle of everything?

I mean, what's in it for you? He didn't save your life.

Didn't he?

So you feel like you owe?

Absolutely.

You asked me if I had an agenda.

It's those people upstairs.

Now, what about you?

We'd already been out two weeks on patrol,

but once we tangled with those NVA forces,

naturally we got the duty.

- Duty? - Bait, brother.

Live bait.

They put us there to make contact.

Alpha and Bravo would flank and we'd grind 'em into pulp.

Why don't you just ask Chauncey Kepper?

He wrote the after-action report.

He's the sage of Southeast Asia.

We've all been there to see him.

If there's anyone who knows where the bodies are buried,

it's Kepper.

I found this. May the second, 1966.

Interview with Mr. Kurtz.

Ex-pat, Sergeant Chauncey Kepper.

He wrote the after-action report.

Apparently.

What I can't understand is why nobody from the DOD

ever talked to him.

Southeast Asia is supposed to be beautiful.

Down that way.

- Over there. - Okay.

Ahoy there.

You pray, Mr. Huffman?

Not really.

I didn't either. I prayed that day.

Prayed for a miracle...

and one came. His name is Pits.

We're gonna

get you home, huh? You're gonna go back home?

Man, you're gonna have one hell of a scar

by the end of summer.

She's gonna be impressed with this one.

All right, I got some pain relief coming up.

All right, hold tight, bud. Hold tight.

There you go, buddy. There you go.

One, two, three.

Pits, come on!

- Come on! - All right, buddy. Here we go.

Okay. Let's go!

Come on!

Pits, let's go!

That after-action report that you wrote on the battle.

A lot of it is missing.

Everything that I wrote

went up the Saigon chimney 32 years ago, brother.

Look, I... I talked to a lot of the guys

in Charlie Company and...

no one seems to know. I mean, who even thought up

Operation Abilene in the first place?

Company CO, Mad Matty Holt.

- Madison Holt? - Colonel.

He's a big shot in Washington now, I think.

Yeah, Senator Holt.

Maybe gonna be Secretary of Defense one day.

He was a good CO.

It was a very bad day.

So why do these vets come here to see you?

Why they come here is none of my business.

Well, what do you do here?

I live, I love, and listen.

- So you listen to them? - Yeah.

- To the vets. - Uh-huh.

Try to rewrite their story, help 'em.

You can't change their past.

But you can change your perspective.

You can create new memories,

happy memories, even in a sad place.

It's choices.

Our guys come through here,

people think the war is who those men are.

It's not. It's what happened to 'em.

And it's just wonderful to,

kind of, go through stuff with 'em.

Hey, I wanna show you something.

Shh.

This is incredible.

I never brought anyone who didn't feel happy here.

You did all this?

Yep.

You know where we are?

Uh...

No.

This is where he came down.

Pits.

I thought I saw an angel.

And there he was right in front of me, all clean and pressed.

Air Force.

This is Abilene.

- Here? - Right here...

under your feet.

But now it's Avalon.

Avalon.

Avalon.

Now, how can that be possible...

to have those two things in the same place?

Just stay here for a while...

and breathe.

Let it go.

The veterans hold something for all of us.

They take the shame of war, denial...

anger.

They just come here so somebody'll listen to them.

That's why medals are so important.

It helps... It helps bring us together,

tell stories.

I'm... I'm just a witness.

You're a witness, too.

The Vietnamese love their khom loi.

It's symbolic for letting go...

and if you have something that you...

You wanna leave here...

something you brought with you...

you don't want to take back...

well, just let go.

They're coming!

Let's go!

I'm on the hook with Red Leg.

Tell them to drop it on top of us.

Charlie Six, emergency fire mission.

- Call them in now! - Damage. Damage.

Charlie Six, emergency fire mission.

Quebec Tango 633.

Damage, damage. Charlie Six.

Emergency fire mission. Quebec Tango 633.

This is Broken Arrow. We are being overrun.

Hold this. Keep pressure on it.

Somebody's still out there!

I need a tourniquet, I'm bleeding out.

I need you to do me a favor.

I need to get this to someone.

- No. - Please?

- No. - It's a stamp.

I'll hold onto it till you get back.

Okay.

What are you doing, man?

You've done enough, brother. You be still.

Pits came down, saved lives, evac'ed wounded,

fought, died alongside men he never even knew.

You pray, Mr. Huffman?

I prayed that day. Prayed for a miracle.

I ain't never seen nobody die before.

Coming out!

That little matter sucked

all the whoop-ass right out of me.

Understand what I'm saying, sir?

All this hellfire coming in.

To him it was like...

nothing could hurt him.

He was there to save lives and that's what he was doing.

Who knows how many guys are walking

around alive today because of him,

what he done.

When he didn't come back...

I felt like the best part of me went down with him.

I still think about it, 'cause...

...if anybody deserved to get out of that hell alive,

it was him.

Make yourself at home.

You know, I could have you arrested.

Senator Madison Holt, formerly Colonel Madison Holt.

First Infantry Division, the Big Red One.

The senator's distinguished military career

is a matter of public record. It's undisputed.

- I bought the book, Carl. - Yeah? Did you read it,

or did you just look at the pictures?

Holt was part of the brass

that cooked up Operation Abilene.

You're not really suggesting that Holt ordered an NVA ambush?

I'm suggesting that it'd be pretty convenient for you

to keep that off the record...

...which is why you put me on it,

because you knew I'd dump it.

You know, Holt's gonna be Secretary of Defense someday,

maybe even president.

You had the comm...

Command endorsements all this time.

I'm taking them.

Have you ever been the subject of opposition research?

'Cause if you even twitch on this,

I will have them on you like spray paint.

You'll never get another mortgage, passport,

or Sam's Club membership card

let alone a political appointment.

But I'm not worried about all that.

- Why not? - Because it's not in your nature

to spit in the face of a man

who could just as easily make you.

What's my nature?

Climb, prosper, expand the gene pool,

just like the rest of us.

I'd appreciate it

if you'd leave the place the way you found it, and...

don't forget, we got squash, Wednesday.

Jenny,

sometimes it's difficult to understand

why we've been sent here,

or to explain what happens.

I only have a minute,

since we got a call to make pick-ups

near Xa Cam My, about 30 klicks from here.

You know, Jenny,

the only thing I fear of dying

is that dreams of you won't come,

that death is dark and still

and endless like these jungle nights.

But sometimes I think, Jen,

maybe it is this place I'll wake up from,

safe and warm in your bed,

the morning light streaming in.

But if it is the thunder here that's real,

and if this letter should reach you instead of me,

then know that I am never far.

Take care of Mom and especially Dad,

because he'll take this worst of all.

Tell them I'm sorry for what I've put them through,

but that I am sure of my purpose

and in the words we all believe,

these things we do that others may live.

Bill.

You have an impeccable record.

The secretary has given you his highest recommendation.

Thank you, sir.

So why do you think you'd be effective in this position?

Well, I'm connected,

ambitious, persuasive...

not afraid to make enemies,

and I want this job more than anybody.

At least that's what I would have said a month ago.

Okay.

And today?

Today I'm...

just unavailable.

Air Force?

Yeah.

I'm sorry about your buddy, man.

I'm so sorry.

The whole time I'm washing him...

his feet and his hands...

I didn't feel anything.

Nothing.

That's when I knew I'd been there...

too long.

I shipped him back...

and I finished my tour and I got on with my life.

Did you?

Did I what?

Get on with your life?

I'm standing here.

You know...

when I was five years old...

I watched my father pack up his things in his car

and leave my mother and me.

I was so afraid.

It hurt so much.

I ran out to the driveway, and I...

shoved my hand in the car door as he slammed it shut.

I thought that if he saw I was injured

and really hurt, then he would...

have to take me to the hospital

and the doctor would tell him to stay and take care of me.

But he just drove away.

I chased his car down the street,

my hand all mangled, and...

till my mother scooped me up.

Ah. You were marked.

Just like you.

What happened to you on April 11th, 1966?

My friend died.

What happened to you?

- I told you. - It's okay.

It's not okay.

- Just... - Nothing about it is okay.

Just tell me.

What is it? What... What was it? What happened?

He died. He got killed. He got shot in the head.

- And the... Well, that's war. - Right, right, it was war.

So how long are you going to punish yourself?

- Punish myself? - What was the thing you did?

- What'd I do? - Yeah.

Just tell me, what was the thing you did?

- No, you stop it. - It's okay to talk about it.

- You better stop it, man. - Just say it.

Say what?

He knew it was dangerous. I told him...

to be goddamn careful...

And? What?

No, no, no, no, no. I'm not doing this.

- Doing what? - Doing this.

I told him to come back up,

get back on the wire, get back in the ship.

He didn't do that. Why didn't he do that,

get back in the ship?

Because he couldn't. Because people needed him.

Yeah? Yeah? Yeah?

Well, fuck you and...

Oh, God.

It's gotta hurt to be mad at him.

Yeah.

What else happened to you, Tom?

I... I stayed in the bird

and I... I... I didn't go down. I...

I was relieved. I...

I stayed, you know, where it was safe.

God, when I found him...

I was...

...I was glad...

that it wasn't me, that I didn't wanna be dead,

I... I was alive and it...

- ...it felt good. - You did feel something.

Yeah, I felt ashamed!

You're not a coward, Tom.

You're a hero.

Deal with that.

Just let me...

Let me have it for a while. Come on.

Do you know what I want?

I do.

I want some grace. I want some serenity.

I want my country to honor my brother

before his parents.

I want my friend, your friend...

I want his father to leave this place in peace.

Can I get you anything else, Senator?

- No, thanks, hon. - You can put it on my number.

- Okay. - Gentlemen.

Hey, Carl.

Colonel.

- Do I know you? - I should hope so.

Master Sergeant Thomas Tulley.

38th Rescue Squadron, Operation Abilene.

Uh, you want to speak to the senator,

- you go through channels. - It's all right, Carl.

I'll talk to these men.

Sir, this is a 1966 routing memo

between you and General Hackmeyer

downgrading the William H. Pitsenbarger

Medal of Honor request

to an Air Force Cross, dated on October 7th, 1966.

Guys, you wanna give us a second?

Go ahead.

Have a seat.

We have an opportunity

to upgrade the Cross to the Medal of Honor.

To cut through the bullshit, we need a congressional sponsor.

Mr. Stanton doesn't think you'd favor

the publicity of being associated

with Operation Abilene during an election year.

You have no idea what you're starting.

I think I do, Carl.

Have you ever been

the subject of opposition research?

'Cause if you even twitch on this,

I will have them on you like spray paint.

Information was removed from the original package

to disqualify the decorations board's review

for congressional reapplication.

We have since recovered those documents.

This... This, Senator, this...

This communiqué is simply a response

to the colonel's MOH request

saying that the Air Force Cross was awarded instead.

It's pretty open to interpretation.

You are under no obligation to respond to any of this.

If you sent it up the chain,

why didn't he get it then?

Honestly, I don't know.

Maybe it fell through the cracks somewhere.

Maybe MACV didn't wanna call too much attention

to one of the bloodiest days of the war.

Or maybe I just didn't fight hard enough

to get this man what he deserves.

Senator, your political enemies will take full advantage

of any admission of wrongdoing.

Your military judgement will be called into question.

They'll try and hold you to the Medina standard.

He's right, sir. They might.

What happened on...

Operation Abilene,

one of the darkest days of my life.

You're hurt, Lieutenant.

Why are you still here?

I won't leave till you have all my wounded.

What happened here?

You marched us right into a kill sack

with no idea how we was gonna get out.

That's what happened here.

Can somebody explain this to me?

Can somebody explain this to me?

You tell me.

Hell, I think we all died a little bit that day.

You tell me!

Mistakes were made. This is probably one of 'em.

We went to see General Hackmeyer at the VA.

He verifies your story, sir.

Senator, please, it's my job to protect you.

- Protect me from what, Carl? - From everything.

Usually we're judged by what we do.

But I find that what we don't do...

is what haunts us.

Here's the plan.

We're gonna roll the dice. We're gonna go with the truth.

No matter how uncommon or uncomfortable that may be.

Mr. Chairman, I refer you to S2549,

Page 44, Title 5, Military Personnel Policy,

- Subtitle E, Other Matters. - Yes?

This amendment authorizes a posthumous Medal of Honor

for Air Force Staff Sergeant William H. Pitsenbarger...

for conspicuous gallantry in action in Vietnam,

11 April 1966, during Operation Abilene.

Mr. Chairman, point of order.

The chair recognizes

the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina.

The rules of this committee prohibit authorization language

to be included in this Appropriations Bill.

Will the chair yield?

Chair apologizes to the gentleman from Ohio,

but this committee has much business

before it today and so we must move on.

Mr. Chairman,

- I sincerely appreciate that... - Mr. Chairman.

...but it should be obvious

that there is absolutely nothing in this amendment...

Uh, the Vietnam War was over long ago.

- I know that, Bob. I was there. - Maybe you should take a rest.

Stop kicking that dead horse.

Gentlemen, this is a point of order.

I'm sorry. We must move on.

The Chair recognizes the lady from Florida.

Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator, what the hell happened in there?

The distinguished gentleman

from North Carolina shut us down.

- That's what the hell happened. - Just like that?

Look, it's payback.

I harpooned a tobacco subsidy at his last session.

Unfortunately, he's ranking member,

so there's not a lot I can do about it.

But I promise you,

I will get this in next year's bill.

Hopefully by that time,

the distinguished gentleman will be dead.

So will Pitsenbarger's father.

- What? - He's dying, sir.

Ah, Jesus. I didn't know about that. I'm sorry.

I'm truly sorry.

So that's it?

Unless you got a tobacco subsidy

to horse-trade with the senator from North Carolina.

What about those men?

What about Pits?

Holt says he'll get it on the bill next year.

And Frank?

I can't cure cancer, Tara.

If I push this any harder, I really will end my career.

- It's interesting. - What?

In 12 years,

I have never seen you back off of anything.

I'm scared.

Fear is good.

Fear is a survival instinct.

You're supposed to be afraid.

Use it.

You turned down a significant

career opportunity to finish this.

You figure out why four-star generals

and presidents would trade legacies

for a medal?

Because they know that guys like Pitsenbarger

don't do what they do for them.

They do it for each other.

A life for a life.

That's big stuff.

There are worse things that can happen to a man

than getting killed in a war.

Like?

Like losing men,

losing a child,

a father...

having to live with that.

You think a piece of ribbon is gonna change that?

I'm gonna go public with the story.

I'm gonna name names.

Shaming Appropriations

in front of the Washington press corps

on the eve of a national election

sounds a little dangerous.

Yeah.

But it'll be great television.

Well done.

Thank you

Mr. Huffman,

I'm Mary, the supervising producer.

We're gonna put a wire on you.

- Okay. - We have you on split screens,

so the anchors are gonna be able to hear you,

but they're not gonna be able to see you.

- Okay. - All right, come with me.

Dad, are you nervous?

I am. But I'm not afraid.

All set.

In an unusual move today,

a member of the Department of the Air Force,

a gentleman named Scott Huffman,

went before cameras

to accuse high-ranking senators and their staffs

of playing political football with military valor.

...long-awaited HR Defense

Appropriations Bill, it stalled in the Senate

when a Pentagon staffer accused lawmakers...

...the bill, including a recommendation

for a posthumous Medal of Honor for William H. Pitsenbarger

is now heading to the Oval Office,

and President Clinton...

...is expected to sign that bill.

An airman named Bill Pitsenbarger

will be awarded the Medal of Honor today

for his service in Vietnam.

He gave his country

what Abraham Lincoln once called,

"The last full measure."

I'll be right back.

Hey.

It's good to see you, man.

It's good to be here.

So... ...the, uh...

lady in red, behind me...

she's, um...

the address on this letter.

Bill gave me this. He asked me to give it to you.

I'm sorry it took so long.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Amid the gloom and waste of war,

we occasionally witness a brief but...

brilliant flash of personal valor

so radiant it becomes impossible to ignore.

Such is the heroism of William Hart Pitsenbarger,

who was moved by higher angels of duty,

courage and sacrifice

to make, on behalf of men he did not know

and a nation that until now did not know his story,

the most supreme sacrifice.

Frank, Alice...

on behalf of the President of the United States of America,

in the name of Congress, for conspicuous gallantry,

extreme valor and intrepidity,

at the risk of his own life,

above and beyond the call of duty,

I award the Medal of Honor

to Airman First Class William Hart Pitsenbarger.

Uh, now, this... This isn't in your program,

but if you could give me just a moment more of your time.

I'd like to recognize some guys

who are gonna hate me for doing it.

Now, we have with us today

some of the veterans of Operation Abilene,

Charlie Company, second of the 16th Infantry.

Now, these men were the witnesses

to Bill Pitsenbarger's heroism

and they've worked and worked for 32 years...

to see this day come.

Would you honor us, please,

by standing and being recognized?

And would the airmen of Pits's unit,

the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service,

also please stand?

And any other PJs from Vietnam, would you rise?

If there are any other US veterans here today,

will you please stand?

If there are wives or parents here,

would you stand?

And any children or grandchildren,

would you join us?

And any other friends or family,

anyone who has been touched or moved in any way

by the actions of this Medal of Honor recipient,

would you also stand?

Look around.

This is the power of what one person can do.

Thank you, son.

So you don't forget us.

Thank you.

Daddy!

Hey, little man.

- I'm glad we got to come. - Ah, me too.

Where's your mom?

Looking good in that uniform, Jimmy.

This is my son, Luke.

Nice to meet you, soldier.

I wanted to say...

I wanted to say thank you.

Understand what I'm saying, sir?

You're welcome, Jimmy.

But you really don't have to call me sir.

Sure I do.

Why's that?

You earned it, sir.

Ah, you take care, now, 'cause it's a jungle out there.

What's your name?

- Luke. - I'm Tommy.

Early on, you said...

there was nothing in this for you.

Of the millions of men and women who served in the US Army,

a total of 3,498 received the Medal of Honor.

Only 18 of the recipients were members of the US Air Force.

Only 3 of them were Airmen.

One of them was William Hart Pitsenbarger.

On April 11, 1966,

when we took off on that mission...

Pits made a statement.

He got on the hot mic and he said,

"Boy, Captain," he said,

"I don't feel good about this mission."

They were prepared for us, they knew we were coming.

They were in, uh, ground holes, in trees and on the ground,

and, uh, as we walked,

they just simply closed the back door.

So they started calling us

to help them get out the wounded.

And Pits said, "Let me... Put me on the ground,

I can organize this much better."

I said, "I don't wanna lose you, Pits.

And it's hotter than hell down there because the war

and the firefights going on all the time.

You can hear the stuff."

So down he went.

My initial thought on seeing him rappelling out of, uh,

uh, coming out of the helicopter, I'm thinking,

"What in the hell is this guy thinking

coming down here?"

There's not a one of us

that wouldn't have left there if we could.

And the only guy that could leave

was Pitsenbarger, and he didn't.

Marty Kroah was on the ground and he sent for me,

because, um...

he said, "I want somebody to know what Pits did,

so that it gets reported back, in case I die."

At that time Marty had been shot five times.

When we found out the next morning...

that he had been killed, it was just...

It was a sad time for everybody.

To me, uh, this is one of the most,

uh, important things I did as Secretary of the Air Force.

Well, it should have been handled by itself.

It was just a fundamental wrong.

It was wrong to Bill Pitsenbarger,

it was wrong to his family.

Wrong to the airmen who supported him.

When you think about it,

uh, it is extraordinary to have people

who worked for 30 years to get this done.

I mean, these are people who had their own lives,

wives, children, grandchildren,

and this was a passion for them,

and I just thought that was extraordinary.

And I just... I felt... And... And I owed it to Pits,

and I wouldn't... And not just myself,

there's other people who feel the same way,

basically, our whole crew. We owe it to him.

Bill's blood is mixed with ours forever.

He... He is our brother.

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