1 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,440 15 February, 1972. 2 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,240 New orders - Survivor Assistance Officer, 3 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:23,360 escorting the body of a lieutenant back home - a tough but brief duty. 4 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,560 TRAIN SCREECHES TO A HALT 5 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,280 I'm not sure I'm very good at this. Rockville! > 6 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,080 Especially in this case - I never even knew the man. 7 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,240 Yes, ma'am. 8 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:47,520 What can I say to his family? 9 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,000 What can I do that will make any difference? 10 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,400 All aboard! > 11 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,000 Mr and Mrs Johnson? Yes.I'm Major Laird, 12 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,880 the Survivor Assistance Officer. 13 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:19,080 I've brought your son home. 14 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:24,160 The Army extends its deepest sympathy for the loss of your son. 15 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,160 His country is eternally grateful for his sacrifice. 16 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,960 I'm here to do whatever I can to help you. 17 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,160 If you want a military burial with full honours... 18 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,800 Thank you. We want to keep it simple. 19 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,160 When do you plan to have the funeral? 20 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:42,680 Today. 21 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,640 Today?At noon. 22 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:50,680 Oh! 23 00:03:54,400 --> 00:04:01,320 24 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:08,640 25 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:15,720 26 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:22,680 27 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:30,520 28 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:37,320 29 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:44,960 30 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,960 31 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:59,480 32 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,400 00:05:03,480 ALL: Amen. 34 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:08,000 Praise be to God... 35 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,480 ..for the power of music, 36 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,000 to be able to lift our voices 37 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,160 above the sorrow of this moment. 38 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,800 We've said a lot about Dwyte Johnson here, this morning. 39 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:29,160 We all know deeds, more than words, make the difference in this world. 40 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,400 You know where the funeral is, 41 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,800 you know that you are all invited. 42 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,280 I hope to see you there. 43 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,040 You... 44 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,440 ..was killed in war. 45 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,960 Let us go out of here, 46 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,680 in the spirit of love and peace. 47 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,720 Amen. 48 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:55,640 Pall-bearers. 49 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,640 < All rise, please. 50 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,840 < Proceed out. 51 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,360 You must be the officer Ada told me about.Yes, ma'am, I'm Major Laird. 52 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,760 Eudora McAlister, a family friend. 53 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:30,480 I'm driving them to the cemetery. Would you care to come with us? Thank you.My car's out in front. 54 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,920 Mrs McAlister. > 55 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,200 Mrs McAlister. What...what is going on here? 56 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,160 A funeral. Just as I told you. 57 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,640 You told me it was a friend. Dwyte Johnson IS a friend. 58 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:54,880 Dwyte Johnson. That boy can't be buried here!It's their plot. 59 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:56,720 We own it legal. 60 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:13,640 Mrs McAlister, did you really give a gravesite to these folks? 61 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:15,800 No. < We bought it. 62 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,400 Fair and square. How much d'you pay for it? > 63 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,720 It's private property, Mr Oster. 64 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:28,840 Our son died for his country, and has a right to be buried in any part of it. 65 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,200 Any part but right here. 66 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,840 ­ Luther, Ada, you've got a nice casket there. 67 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,960 Why don't you bury Dwyte where he belongs? 68 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,280 People belong where they want to be, not where they're told to be. 69 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:48,320 Dwyte loved this place, and he loved this town in spite of everything. 70 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,280 He deserves to be buried right here. 71 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,840 Look, I'm sure we can work this out. 72 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,040 I'll call my commanding officer. 73 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:01,200 We don't need any Federal intervention. This is a local affair. 74 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,480 Let me read you something. 75 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,200 "Within the city limits of Rockville, Georgia, 76 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:11,760 "burial is limited to the caucasian race, or their ashes thereof." 77 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:16,880 Now, folks, that's the law, I'm sorry, and I'm here to enforce it. 78 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:20,480 So, let's take the casket and put it back on the hearse. 79 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,840 How can you do that to these people? 80 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,440 They are as much a part of Rockville as anybody. 81 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:28,840 You're a good one to talk about Rockville! 82 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:30,520 You're gonna ruin this town! 83 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:32,320 I think this has gone far enough. 84 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,600 Let's move on before this turns into something ugly. 85 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:38,720 Something ugly! 86 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,640 What would you call this?! 87 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:43,960 BELL RINGS 88 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,640 I'm sorry if this turn of events took you by surprise, Major. 89 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:48,920 We had to try it directly 90 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,520 without telling any more people than necessary. 91 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:58,280 This won't be solved overnight. How long are you here for? Three or four days, 92 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,800 but I'll stay as long as necessary. 93 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,000 BELL STOPS RINGING 94 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,720 What do you want me to do now, Ada? 95 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:17,640 Could we keep him at the church for a spell?Sure. We'll take care of him. 96 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:35,720 Really enjoyed that and I wanna catch you for lunch some day, OK?OK. 97 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,480 Enjoyed talking to you. 98 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,480 Excuse me, Chief. 99 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,600 I'd like to talk to you about today. There's not too much to say, Major. 100 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:54,160 What do you want?I'd like your help in getting Lt Johnson buried in that cemetery.Can't do that. 101 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,640 So, his body is just supposed to hang in limbo? 102 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:03,040 The place for him is about five miles out of town with his own people. 103 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:04,120 Out of town? 104 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:09,560 Don't blame me. It began long before my time. I just keep the peace here. 105 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,920 Take a look around, this is a good town with good people. 106 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,080 I watched Dwyte grow up here. 107 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,960 I know what you're thinking, and rightly so. It isn't the best end, 108 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,000 but, unfortunately, he died before this town was ready for this. 109 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:26,360 Maybe if he'd lived a little longer... 110 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,040 A little longer! This is the 1970s! 111 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,320 Our schools are integrated and our people get along, 112 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,080 maybe not perfectly, but they get along OK. 113 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,440 I got things I gotta take care of. 114 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,280 I did call my commanding officer. 115 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,720 The army won't rest until Lt Johnson gets his due. 116 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,640 The army might do better by putting that boy in a veteran cemetery. 117 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:55,160 This was his home. His parents want him here!I'm sorry. 118 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,440 You could go to court over this, you know that?That could take years. 119 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:04,120 Do you want his parents to wait that long before they can lay him to rest? Do you? 120 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:09,440 I can't help you, sir. You tried, you did your duty. 121 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:11,880 Won't you let it drop? 122 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,840 And that's the limit to what the army can do? 123 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,440 After that it goes to the US Attorney, right? 124 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:29,480 OK. Thank you for the information. 125 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:31,880 Yeah. 126 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,520 Milk or sugar, Major? A little milk, please. 127 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,560 I had that book out earlier. 128 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,040 That boy left us a lot of memories. 129 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,360 You must have been very proud of him. 130 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,080 Mrs Johnson... 131 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:25,960 ..when I first realised what you and your husband were trying to do... 132 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000 ..I must admit I was a little surprised, 133 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:34,120 but my orders were to render all reasonable assistance. 134 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,160 I'm still here to do that... 135 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:42,000 ..even though it's taking a little longer than normally. 136 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:43,360 But... 137 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:50,120 Well, I've come to see what you're up against here. 138 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:55,160 On top of all your grief, are you sure you wanna take this on? 139 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,800 All my grief? 140 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,760 I don't know yet how much grief's in me. 141 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,560 How many tears. 142 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:12,240 I thought I used them all up on that first night, but I didn't. 143 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:18,240 For the rest of my life I may not reach the bottom of that river. 144 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,800 But my grief, my husband's... 145 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,920 ..is no excuse not to do the right thing. 146 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,280 You said you had no children? 147 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,960 Er, no, ma'am...not yet. 148 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,080 I hope you do. 149 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,600 They're a blessing. 150 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,520 They're such a blessing. 151 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:49,280 Some folks, they're ready for that kind of thing, but I wasn't. 152 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,080 Everything Dwyte did was such a surprise - 153 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,400 walking early, talking of Blues Street, 154 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,080 and playing ball like that. 155 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:03,320 And bringing home those grade cards. 156 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,480 Mr Johnson and I went to school, 157 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:12,120 but we ain't never brought home no grades like that. 158 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,480 He was a wonderment. 159 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:21,920 You know, sometimes we'd sit and try to figure out where he'd got it all from. 160 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,360 What great-grandma or grandpa had that kind of a mind. 161 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,000 And when you've got a child like that, 162 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:35,680 sometimes you don't even feel like you're the mother, you feel like... 163 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,640 ..you brought a gift to the world. 164 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,840 A message. 165 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:45,920 Even you yourself don't understand it - not all of it. 166 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,680 And now he's dead. 167 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,640 I think I can say that now. 168 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,320 But he's not gone. 169 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,840 Not unless...they take him out of this town. 170 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:08,960 A town he brought honour to. 171 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:18,440 It would be like turning time around and saying he was never here at all. 172 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,800 And we can't do that, Major Laird. 173 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,240 So, no matter... 174 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:34,000 ..what the grief, or how much trouble... 175 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,880 ..we just can't do that. 176 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,440 D'you read this editorial, Jo? 177 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,600 Clifford, you know I don't read it until I get you clowns out of here. 178 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,560 It's about that cemetery incident. 179 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:02,360 Listen to this. "A white woman owning a plot in the town cemetery 180 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,440 "evidently donated it to the Johnson family..." 181 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:11,640 Now, who do you suppose that is? Never guess in a million years. 182 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,840 "..leading them to the false hope of burying their son there. 183 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:16,760 Huh! False is right. 184 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,840 D'you want anything else?No thanks. 185 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,640 Do you know where I can get a paper, though? 186 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,560 Great.People like that deserve what comes to 'em. 187 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,280 And what is that?What? 188 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,960 What's coming to 'em. 189 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,120 You defending this nonsense, Henry? 190 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:41,320 No, no. But I'm not going to attack it, either. 191 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:46,240 The way I see it, the only way to get what you want is to go for it. 192 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,000 They get those ideas from outsiders, 193 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,040 or from kooks like er... 194 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,080 ..Eudora McAlister. 195 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:58,800 Everything all right? Just fine, thanks. 196 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:15,040 But how can you say that I used his casket as a political football?! 197 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,920 I have to.Sam Jennings, we've known each other for 50 years. 198 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:24,600 You know I'm not a political person, I'm not a "joiner". 199 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,600 You belong to the "odd-balls of the world" party. 200 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:30,960 You may even be vice-president. 201 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,520 What's so odd about helping friends? Helping your friends? 202 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:36,680 Or are you using them to make a point? 203 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:41,040 Listen, I thought long and hard before giving them that extra plot, 204 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,280 because I knew how people like you would interpret it. 205 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,720 I have to interpret it. It's my job to give people some perspective! 206 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,080 Do you remember what it was like in the South in the '60s? 207 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,600 Remember those mobs, the violence? 208 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,480 The girl blown up in a church? 209 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,920 It didn't happen here. This town got through it all right. 210 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,840 Get through it? We didn't get through anything, 211 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,440 if someone like Dwyte Johnson can't even be buried here. 212 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,920 My God, Eudora! You...measure the world from perfection downward. 213 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:16,760 Well, I don't. 214 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:21,080 I measure it from chaos upward. That's the difference. 215 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:26,600 If you don't like my paper, why not start your own? You'd be good at it. 216 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,960 I don't want to start a newspaper. 217 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,640 I don't even want to read one for a while - especially yours. 218 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,120 You can cancel my subscription. 219 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:37,280 Again? 220 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,880 What's wrong? What happened to you? 221 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,040 I remember young Sam Jennings, the idealist. 222 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,400 Yeah, I remember that. 223 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,000 That was a long time ago, Eudora. 224 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,840 Mrs McAlister!Are you going to see the editor, too?Yes, ma'am. 225 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:04,040 Iwish I could believe it would do some good! 226 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,360 PRINTING PRESS CLANGS 227 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,880 SOMEBODY'S OUT THERE. 228 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:33,960 Did you want to see me? 229 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:40,000 I'm Sam Jennings.I'm Major Kendall Laird, Survivor Assistance Officer. 230 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:43,320 I'm here to help the Johnsons with the burial of their son. 231 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:47,240 And I suppose you're here to give me a piece of your mind, too. 232 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,200 Sit down, Major, and go ahead. 233 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:53,680 I just saw Mrs McAlister leave here looking mad as a cat. 234 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:58,200 My guess is she's pretty upset about this editorial of yours. 235 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,360 I didn't mention her by name.You don't have to in a town this size. 236 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,400 Eudora and I go back a long time, Major. 237 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:13,000 And over those years we've had our differences - public and private. 238 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,240 But I have to say she has survived them pretty well. 239 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,680 I'm not worried about her. But what about the Johnsons? 240 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:21,040 Is this fair to them? 241 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,600 It's not a question of fairness. 242 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:29,280 It's a question of timing, the speed...Mr Jennings, this is 1972. 243 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,640 Integration has been the law of the land for 15 years now. 244 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:37,720 It may be the law of the schools, but we're talking about cemeteries. 245 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:42,560 Where we bury our families. And that is a very personal thing here. 246 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,000 Don't you think it's a personal thing to the Johnsons? 247 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,640 They deserve better than this. 248 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,840 Yes, maybe they do. 249 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:56,960 But don't let this incident give you the wrong idea about our town. 250 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,440 Look...Mr Jennings, 251 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,480 I can see you care a lot about this town. Let me ask you a question. 252 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,280 What picture flashes into your mind 253 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,640 when I mention Little Rock, Arkansas? 254 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,000 You saw it, didn't you? 255 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:17,840 The photo of the little black girl clutching her books out of fear, 256 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:22,320 being escorted into school by armed soldiers. 257 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:26,840 Do you want Rockville to be remembered like that? 258 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,480 No, I don't. But... 259 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:33,480 If you don't want a demonstration or a Supreme Court case, 260 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,280 you should give equal space in your paper for Dwyte Johnson. 261 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,880 His men have put him up for a Silver Star... 262 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,240 ..for saving their lives. 263 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,640 Are those white boys? Most of them, yes. 264 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,840 Isn't that a hook for your story? 265 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,600 If it's a story, yes. If it's a sermon, no. 266 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,560 Can you...get to those men? 267 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,680 Me? 268 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,600 You're the journalist, Mr Jennings. 269 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,080 Don't worry about that, Major. 270 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:09,520 You bring me hard information, and I'll write the story. 271 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,880 Do you mean that?Damn right. 272 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,080 And I'll print it. Fair and square. 273 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,120 It's a deal. 274 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,680 Colonel Holme, your original assignment was a routine matter, 275 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:31,920 but it's turned into real... Well, a very uncertain situation. 276 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,400 I want to help, but I don't know what to do. 277 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,080 There just don't seem to be any guidelines. 278 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,080 What are the feelings in the town? 279 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,480 I don't know exactly, sir. 280 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,840 Seem to be people on both sides. 281 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:52,720 The local editor wants to interview those who put him up for the medal. 282 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:57,800 Is this so your activity doesn't stir up more controversy?No, sir. 283 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,920 In doing right, the army's got to be concerned about community relations. 284 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,200 Rockville's just 60 miles away. 285 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:11,600 I'm very conscious of that, sir. But the Johnsons are very determined. 286 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,040 But you must proceed with caution. Yes, sir.Keep in touch. 287 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,600 Thank you, sir. 288 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:24,880 GUNSHOTS 289 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,000 Range clear on the left?! 290 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,040 Range clear on the right?! 291 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,640 The range is now clear! 292 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,760 Sergeant Erskine? 293 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,880 At ease, Sergeant. 294 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,920 Can you give me a minute?Yes, sir. Sergeant Bradford, can you take over? 295 00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,680 < OK, take five. 296 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,800 It's about Lt Johnson. What do you want to know? 297 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:08,640 I'm trying to help him out.With all due respect, Major, he's dead. 298 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:13,840 Ain't nothing anyone can do for him now.Well, actually, there is. 299 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:21,960 His town doesn't want him buried in a white cemetery. You guys can help. You put him up for a medal, right? 300 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,520 Is this an official investigation? 301 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:29,720 No, I understood Colonel Holmby was gonna brief you guys on this. 302 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,760 Yes, sir. I just wanna be sure. What do you need to know? 303 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:39,120 Well, the man died with honours. I'd like to know more about that. 304 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:40,160 Sure. 305 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:45,360 Well...he must have been a good officer, right? 306 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,720 He wasn't afraid of nothing. And he didn't look for combat, but... 307 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,080 ..he sure had a tendency to charge right on in. 308 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:57,600 Sounds like you have a little problem with that. 309 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,000 Sir, do you like getting shot at?No. 310 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,240 Me neither.But, you like him?Yeah. 311 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,680 Did you have any feelings about serving under a black officer? 312 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,000 Not really, all officers look alike to me. 313 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,640 A good Joe. The day he saved your lives... 314 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:21,920 ..what can you tell me about that? Mainly I remember the rain, monsoons. 315 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:25,280 We got pinned down in crossfire near the river. 316 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:31,640 We couldn't get any air. Suddenly all hell breaks loose with the mortars. 317 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,800 It happened so fast. Before we knew it, he was dead. 318 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,480 The impact pushed him into the river. 319 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,720 He got a grenade off before he died then it went quiet. 320 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,280 Quiet?Yeah. Major, Nam's funny that way. 321 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:50,080 What about the man? What was he like? 322 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,480 I can't say I got to know him well, sir. Officers keep their distance. 323 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,240 There must have been something... 324 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:03,280 That's all that comes to mind, unless you have any particular questions. 325 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,240 Will that be it, Major? 326 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,800 Yeah, that's all, Sergeant. 327 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:10,840 Yes, sir! 328 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,280 Sergeant Booker T Douglas?Yes, sir. 329 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,320 Sergeant, come on down here, will you, please? 330 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:33,640 I'm looking for information about Lt Dwyte Johnson. 331 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:38,920 Could you be more specific, sir? Mind if I record this?If you want. 332 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,840 I'm talking to everyone in the unit. This is Booker T Douglas. 333 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,600 You men put him up for a medal, is that right?That's right. 334 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:52,160 I was wondering...did you and he have a special kind of relationship? 335 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,840 In what way, sir? Most of the unit was white. 336 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,440 No, sir, he treated me just like the others. 337 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,040 And how was that?Good. 338 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,640 He wasn't one to get very chummy with the men, sir. 339 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,360 They respected him, right?Yes, sir. 340 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,680 Can you tell me about...? I want to get hold of the personal side. 341 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,520 Can't help you there, sir.Why not? 342 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,920 Can't say I ever got to know him. He was a brother, but he was an officer. 343 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,400 No fraternisation. You dig what I'm saying, sir? 344 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:28,080 But he was a good Joe. That's what they tell me. 345 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,120 What do you remember about the day he was killed? 346 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:40,920 It was raining. Had been for days. My feet were rotting in my boots. 347 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,600 We got caught in the crossfire with Charlie. 348 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:50,640 Couldn't get no air support. Well...then all hell broke loose. 349 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,400 And when it was over... 350 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,440 The Lieutenant was dead. 351 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,480 He fell in the river. 352 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,960 Will that be all, sir? 353 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,600 Yeah, that's all. Thank you, Sergeant. 354 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:13,560 JET FLIES OVERHEAD 355 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:43,480 Specialist Porter?! 356 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,880 Yeah.Is it Kevin Porter who served under Lt Dwyte Johnson? 357 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,440 Er...just a second. Let me secure these weapons. 358 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:00,000 Sir?Can I speak to you for a moment in the office, Specialist?Yes, sir. 359 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:06,600 I heard someone was asking about the Lieutenant.Oh, yeah?Er...grapevine. 360 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:14,040 We've got three phones - one to contact the army and the other two to keep us sane.I know what you mean. 361 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,480 So, how can I help, sir? Well, it's about the Lieutenant. 362 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,880 His family has been having trouble with a few people in his home-town, 363 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:31,320 and I thought maybe your feelings about the Lieutenant could help them change a few minds back there. 364 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,360 You don't mind if I record this, do you?No, sir. 365 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,360 This is Porter. PORTER COUGHS 366 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,400 What do you remember most about the Lieutenant? 367 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,920 He tried to maintain more discipline in the field than most officers. 368 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,520 Guess that was West Point talking. 369 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,520 How did you feel about that? 370 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:59,320 Oh, it was for our own good. He was great. A real good Joe. 371 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,760 What did you say? 372 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:03,720 A real good Joe. 373 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:05,960 How did you feel when he was killed? 374 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:12,560 There was nobody that died I didn't feel for. And that goes for the Lieutenent. 375 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,320 That last day... 376 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:22,520 let me know what he did to save the unit. 377 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,320 Well, we were... trapped in a crossfire. 378 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,360 And nobody knew how to get out. 379 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,720 It was wet. 380 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:35,240 It had been raining for 15 days. 381 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,040 We radioed for air support, but there wasn't any. 382 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,360 Then from out of nowhere... 383 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:43,760 it happened. 384 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,280 What happened? 385 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,000 All hell broke loose. 386 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,640 DOUGLAS: 'Then all hell broke loose.' 387 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:05,360 BRADFORD: '..The mortars. Then, all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.' 388 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,840 BRADFORD: '..Black to me. A good Joe.' 389 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:15,200 DOUGLAS: 'Dig what I'm saying, sir? He was a good Joe.' 390 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,480 KNOCKING 391 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:11,440 Is this the McAlister residence? Yes, come in.Thank you. 392 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:17,160 Mrs M went down to the kitchen. I'm Eleanor Clark.Kendall Laird. 393 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,560 This way, please.Thank you. 394 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,240 Major Laird. 395 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:30,120 Are you always this punctual? Yes, ma'am, I'm well trained. 396 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,480 Please sit down.Thank you. 397 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:40,040 Eleanor goes to University in Atlanta, but when she's here she helps me in this big old house. 398 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,280 Tea?Yes, please. 399 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:50,080 Won't you stay?No, thank you. I have to go.Eleanor, this is the officer I was telling you about. 400 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:56,560 His assignment is to help the Johnsons bury their son, however they choose. 401 00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:00,760 I thinkyou know my orders better than I do. 402 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,280 No. You seem to be conscientious. 403 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,880 Help yourself to cream and sugar. 404 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,520 Would the army be willing to take this to court? 405 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,880 Eleanor is a law student. 406 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,960 I hope it doesn't come to that. Or it doesn't drag on. 407 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,240 I worry for the Johnsons. 408 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:22,640 And for you Mrs M. There are all kinds of people here. 409 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:30,440 Some of MY relatives don't agree with the Johnsons. But then they never met Dwyte. We went to school together. 410 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,120 He's partly the reason I went to law school. 411 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,800 He never had much time to socialise. 412 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,880 Ada was worried about him in that way. He was always pushing himself. 413 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,960 Even when he was very young. 414 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,840 I'd better go. Do you mind me using your car? 415 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:54,960 Heavens, no! But check the oil. She's consuming great quantities. 416 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,560 One of these days I'm gonna get in there and find the trouble. 417 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,720 Nice to meet you, Major. 418 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:05,320 Same to you, Eleanor. 419 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:11,400 So, you've known the Johnsons for a long time?Yes, a very long time. 420 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,760 Ada's mother was a midwife. She delivered my only child. 421 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,920 So, our families are connected in life and death. 422 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,960 My son, Alban... 423 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,680 ..died in the early days in Vietnam. 424 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:33,160 And Ada was a real comfort to me then. 425 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,840 It must have been very difficult for you. 426 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,720 A great preacher once said, 427 00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,600 "Be kind. 428 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,400 "Nearly everyone is fighting a hard battle." 429 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:48,480 And not just on the battlefield. 430 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,560 So! 431 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,040 Why did you want to meet with me, Major Laird? 432 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,800 I'm concerned about the Johnsons. 433 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:03,480 You must have realised the plot was going to create a schism in the town. 434 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:07,080 I did it to heal a schism. 435 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:11,280 This goes beyond principle - it's a personal thing. 436 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:16,360 If you had known Dwyte, you would have known what I mean. He was... 437 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,640 something special. 438 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,680 I keep hearing that kind of thing. 439 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:24,040 Didn't he have any faults at all? 440 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,160 Oh, yes. He could be demanding... 441 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,520 mostly of himself. 442 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,560 But... 443 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,080 he shone. Everybody could see it. 444 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,680 You see... nothing was impossible to Dwyte. 445 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:43,360 Everything was a possibility. 446 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,800 When he was eight...he went to the library to borrow a book. 447 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:53,400 But the librarian wouldn't let him have it due to his race. 448 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:58,520 So he said he would wait... until she changed her mind. 449 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,040 And he did. He waited! 450 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:04,440 All day long he stood at that desk waiting! 451 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:10,040 Huh! That poor woman - she was so unnerved by the end of the day. 452 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,040 If she hadn't been so decrepit, she might have tossed him out. 453 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,640 But closing time came and there he was, 454 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:24,600 and, I think, when five o'clock rolled around, she was so worn down she just gave him the book. 455 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,480 So, if it had been anyone but Dwyte, 456 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,560 I probably wouldn't have given up that plot. 457 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:36,000 But, my goodness, if he can't turn tradition around, 458 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:40,280 we may have to wait another thirty years! 459 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:45,160 And, of course, Ada and Luther aren't gonna budge. 460 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,480 Sometimes it takes 461 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,160 one person making one move 462 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,560 to open people's eyes. 463 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:56,960 It's HARD to be that one person. 464 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,000 But when the time comes - 465 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,200 and you know it - 466 00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:07,240 you just say, "I guess this is it. It's me that has to do this." 467 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,480 What? 468 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:51,960 I'm just remembering that time he climbed up to the church belfry and got stuck. 469 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,120 Do you remember that?Mm-hm. 470 00:39:55,600 --> 00:40:02,080 Climbed up there, couldn't get down, was getting hollered because he know he didn't have no business up there. 471 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,000 Then they came and rang the bell for church vespers. 472 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:10,800 Oh! HE LAUGHS 473 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:14,480 He had such a headache. 474 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:21,240 Every time I started balling about it, I just cracked up. 475 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,480 Oh, that boy. 476 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:31,120 That boy. 477 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,160 Specialist Oliver? 478 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:52,960 Yes, sir.That's a pretty good shot. Do you do that every time? 479 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,120 At ease, Specialist. 480 00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:00,600 You expected me, didn't you? 481 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:06,520 Sir, before we begin, I would like to know what my rights are. 482 00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,960 Why do you think you need to know your rights? 483 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,680 Sir, unless you inform me, I won't co-operate. 484 00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:18,440 This isn't an investigation. It's an informal talk about Lt Johnson. 485 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:24,000 Do I understand, sir, I don't have to answer questions?Yeah, that's right. 486 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,240 May I be dismissed? 487 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:33,680 So, you won't discuss Lt Johnson with me?Correct, sir. 488 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:40,320 May I ask why not?! Sir, I request a lawyer is present before I say another word. 489 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:50,480 Why don't you go back to your game, Oliver? 490 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,400 SOUNDTRACK MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH 491 00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:53,040 BRADFORD: 'He wasn't afraid of nothing...' 492 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:56,320 DOUGLAS: 'He fell in the river.' 493 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,560 BRADFORD: '..Before anyone knew, he was dead.' 494 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:05,600 BRADFORD: 'Impact. ..Threw him head first into the river.' 495 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,120 Remember "Stinky" Gilroy? 496 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:17,160 The minister's son, right. 497 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:21,600 He had it all figured out - one of those 20-year guys. 498 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:26,440 Calculated his retirement fund, knew just what he was gonna do. 499 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:31,800 He gets out, hangs around the house all day, drives his wife crazy. 500 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:34,640 Finally, he takes one drink... 501 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,360 Well, that's not going to happen to you, Sarge. 502 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:44,680 Oh, no way. I got this place to keep me busy, I got no wife - 503 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,080 never could find a woman dumb enough - 504 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:52,160 and my drinking days are done. Two bottles of beer nowand I pass out. 505 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,520 I envy you. I always did. 506 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:59,680 You were the only guy I knew who I could imagine outside the army. 507 00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:02,120 You kept things in perspective. 508 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:07,440 It's easy. When things start to get complicated, you take a nap. 509 00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:15,200 What do you do when you can't sleep? 510 00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:19,200 Then you go talk to somebody. 511 00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:22,240 BIRDS SING 512 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:32,440 Come on, Kenny. I know you didn't come down herejust to drown worms. 513 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,560 Do you know of any verified cases of fragging? 514 00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:48,520 I... 515 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:51,880 heard men in bars bragging they did it. 516 00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:55,920 The only thing I believed was that they were lying. 517 00:44:55,960 --> 00:45:01,480 I've seen others get drunk and stay silent when the subject comes up. 518 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,920 Hard to know what that silence means. 519 00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:09,320 My guess is, they did something too bad to talk about. 520 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:14,360 If there had been a conspiracy to kill a superior officer in combat, 521 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:17,400 and I could get one of them to crack, 522 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:24,560 do you think I should bring them to justice, even though it would destroy the dead man's family? 523 00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,920 That doesn't sound like justice. 524 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:35,520 Letting them get away with it isn't justice, either.Butjustice is an idea - it's not real. 525 00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:38,320 I mean, family, that's real. 526 00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:44,120 What's REAL is it's someone who's getting shot at whilst out there. 527 00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:49,000 If ideas don't mean anything, why be willing to lose your life over them? 528 00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:56,080 I'm not a philosopher. I don't think about it like you do. I don't think about it at all. 529 00:45:56,120 --> 00:46:00,280 And what we saw in 'Nam, what about that? 530 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:06,920 I don't think about things - it's not my way. 531 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:11,440 Do you wanna ask me about 'Nam? I didn't like it over there. 532 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:16,680 I didn't have to think about it not to like it. It just came natural. 533 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:19,920 Yeah, but you followed orders.Yes. 534 00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:24,880 You must have believed in something. In following orders!Oh, come on! 535 00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:28,760 I know you. It must have meant more to you. 536 00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:32,360 When you find out about it, why not tell me? 537 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:36,000 Come on, Kendall! What has got under your skin? 538 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:43,600 Well, I've gotten to know the family and I would hate to hurt them. 539 00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:48,680 I've also met the men in the unit. I KNOW they're covering something up. 540 00:46:48,720 --> 00:46:51,800 I can't think what else it could be. 541 00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:00,760 I don't know. Maybe the best thing to do would be just to drop it. 542 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,800 It would certainly be the easiest thing to do.So? 543 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:08,840 So... 544 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:12,360 You're gonna do the hard thing, right? 545 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:31,840 Morning, sir. 546 00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:40,080 Sir, Major Laird.Major, have a seat. You wanted ten minutes? 547 00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:43,800 Yes, sir, I'm on a special assignment, 548 00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:48,120 as an SAO helping the family of Lt Dwyte Johnson, 549 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:51,000 and I've run into a problem.Go on. 550 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:55,040 I've been interviewing some of his men stationed here 551 00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:58,440 and I may have uncovered a conspiracy. 552 00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,680 What kind, Major? 553 00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:06,800 When I asked some of them to describe the battle where he died, 554 00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:10,600 they kept repeating the same key expressions, 555 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:12,960 as if they had rehearsed them. 556 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:17,160 They seemed nervous when recording the interviews. 557 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:22,200 One of them refused to talk to me without a lawyer present.Major... 558 00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:26,720 are you suggesting Lt Johnson was killed by his own men? 559 00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:33,720 These men put him up for a medal, sir. Something doesn't make sense. 560 00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:39,120 You realise it's something that's almost impossible to prove? 561 00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:42,000 Yes, sir, I do. 562 00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:47,160 And have you thought of the effect this issue would have on his family? 563 00:48:47,200 --> 00:48:52,800 Yes, I've thought a lot about that. I can't imagine anything worse. 564 00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:58,760 Lt Johnson...was a black officer commanding a largely white unit. 565 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:03,000 Race isn't an issue in the army. Theoretically. 566 00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:09,600 It's informal for now. If you find anything substantial, 567 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,080 I'll turn it over for criminal investigation. 568 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:16,320 I know how sensitive...We both do. 569 00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:19,160 We both do. 570 00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:21,640 I want a report in three days. 571 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:26,240 Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. 572 00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:38,200 Major Laird, someone just called. Here's your message, sir.Thank you. 573 00:49:47,080 --> 00:49:49,520 Yeah, Sam Jennings, please. 574 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:54,000 Hi, Sam! ..Yeah, what's up? 575 00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:58,000 What? 576 00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:00,320 Overnight they did that? 577 00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:07,800 They bought the cemetery from the Council, made it private property and now it can't be de-segregated. 578 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:15,360 It was Oster and a couple of his cronies. They slipped it through without informing the townsfolk. 579 00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:22,200 I don't like the smell of it. They're hanging onto the status quo your editorial defended. 580 00:50:22,240 --> 00:50:26,240 No! I was not trying to defend the way things were here. 581 00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:32,680 I said I thought Rockville was not ready for change of this type at this time. But... 582 00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:34,440 I don't know. 583 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:40,040 I've heard things said around here that I thought I would NEVER hear. 584 00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:46,080 I've even heard people agree to burying Dwyte Johnson in Rockville Cemetery. 585 00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:50,120 What I'm telling you is that the town has changed. 586 00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:53,880 Maybe just an inch. But it HAS changed. 587 00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:57,800 What does that mean for the Johnsons? 588 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,080 What have you got on that story? 589 00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:04,080 There is a complication on the military side. 590 00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,680 What the hell does that mean? I'm under pressure, 591 00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:10,680 all of a sudden, to...er... 592 00:51:10,720 --> 00:51:15,760 do something else in the next few days.So, you're just gonna wait. 593 00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:19,800 This isn't as easy as we thought it was gonna be.Oh? 594 00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:22,440 I'm working on it, Sam. 595 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,320 I'll be in touch, OK? 596 00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:27,480 OK. 597 00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:48,240 Mr Johnson! 598 00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:51,800 Major.How are you today? 599 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:55,320 Oh, tolerable, I guess. Back to work, huh? 600 00:51:56,800 --> 00:51:59,520 Well, not exactly.Why not? 601 00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:02,240 Oh, you know... 602 00:52:02,280 --> 00:52:07,880 Fellow called me up last week about wiring up his garage. 603 00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:12,400 I go there this morning to measure up and he says, "Forget about it." 604 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:14,840 And that's related to the cemetery? 605 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:18,280 I don't know. 606 00:52:18,320 --> 00:52:21,320 He lives about a block away from it. 607 00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:25,280 Do you think you're gonna lose any more jobs? 608 00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:33,800 If Dwyte was buried out of town, do you think the jobs would reappear? 609 00:52:33,840 --> 00:52:35,840 HE SIGHS 610 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:38,280 Doesn't that make you angry? 611 00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:40,320 It makes ME angry. 612 00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:43,200 Where you from, Major? 613 00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:44,800 Wisconsin. 614 00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:49,840 Well, I expect it makes you angry because you just figured it out. 615 00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:51,960 Me and Ada... 616 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:56,320 we figured it out two or three weeks ago. 617 00:52:56,360 --> 00:52:59,320 Yes, sir, we figured it out. 618 00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:02,960 Out of all the bad things that could happen, 619 00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:05,600 we went on and did it anyway. 620 00:53:05,640 --> 00:53:08,320 Paid Mrs McAlister ¤15 for that plot. 621 00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:13,360 She said that's what she paid for it when she bought it. 622 00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:20,240 Kind of made us feel like we was... buying our freedom, you know, 623 00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:22,760 like in the old days. 624 00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:26,480 Look here. 625 00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:28,760 See that path there. 626 00:53:31,080 --> 00:53:34,080 Old Dwyte he... 627 00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:38,080 Well, we had a... basketball hoop up there. 628 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:43,200 He had a fancy lay-up shot he used to practice. Over and over. 629 00:53:43,240 --> 00:53:46,240 Well, when the call came... 630 00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:49,280 said he was gone... 631 00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:53,760 ..body was missing. 632 00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:00,760 Well, it was like he... he wasn't here at all. 633 00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:06,240 And I'd come out here and look at that path there and... 634 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:10,120 Well, he must have been here. 635 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:13,600 I'm a different man than I was, Major. 636 00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:21,040 Cos there ain't no way I'd be doing this, if it wasn't for Dwyte. I feel good about that. 637 00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:24,480 So, they can take the jobs. 638 00:54:25,520 --> 00:54:31,680 But there ain't no way they can take that feeling away from me. 639 00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:36,640 Look, Mr Johnson, I really do admire what you're trying to do here, 640 00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:42,480 but, before I can proceed with the army side of this, 641 00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:49,680 I must ask you if a military burial in a Federal cemetery is an alternative you're considering. 642 00:54:49,720 --> 00:54:52,280 Do you want it to be? 643 00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:54,720 It's not my decision. 644 00:54:54,760 --> 00:54:58,080 My orders are to assist you any way I can, 645 00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:02,760 but I must be certain of your wishes before I can go any further. 646 00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:07,760 I expect you think me crazy for going on with this.No. 647 00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:10,480 You're not crazy. 648 00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:12,840 Well... 649 00:55:12,880 --> 00:55:15,880 sometimes I think we're crazy. 650 00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:20,720 But then...I remember some of the letters he had written. 651 00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:23,480 Well, I don't think that any more. 652 00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:25,880 Oh, you know... 653 00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:29,640 most of them was just Dwyte being funny. 654 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:33,560 You know how it is. He didn't want us to worry. 655 00:55:36,560 --> 00:55:41,960 He was like that - he was always protecting other people. 656 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,320 That last letter, Major... 657 00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:48,320 that last one... 658 00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:54,200 Well...I...I think maybe you oughta read it. 659 00:55:54,240 --> 00:55:57,480 WOMAN: 660 00:55:57,520 --> 00:56:01,600 661 00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:07,200 662 00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:10,200 663 00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:14,680 664 00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:18,480 665 00:56:18,520 --> 00:56:22,520 666 00:56:22,560 --> 00:56:25,600 667 00:56:25,640 --> 00:56:29,440 668 00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:33,960 669 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:40,160 670 00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:45,920 671 00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:12,000 LOUD CHATTER AND MUSIC 672 00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:31,120 Evening, Douglas. What do you want, Major? 673 00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:33,640 To talk. 674 00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:36,760 We already talked. 675 00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:38,800 Well... 676 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:41,400 I'd like to talk some more. 677 00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:46,920 Well, I don't want to talk to you, so unless I'm under orders... 678 00:57:51,520 --> 00:57:54,520 Could I have a draught, please? 679 00:57:57,920 --> 00:58:02,920 I hear you're a pretty good soldier. Don't want to hear it, Major. 680 00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:04,280 I'm not staying in. 681 00:58:04,320 --> 00:58:06,920 Two more months and I'll be out. 682 00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:10,960 Your record indicates... I just did what I had to do, 683 00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:16,280 so don't give me "America's finest", cos I don't go for slogans no more. 684 00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:18,920 My time is short, so is my attitude. 685 00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:21,240 I'm getting out. 686 00:58:21,280 --> 00:58:25,200 I'm just trying to get a guide bearing on Douglas. 687 00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:30,960 Shove off - really. 688 00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:37,320 Why are you sticking with them? 689 00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:43,360 We always hung together. 690 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:46,560 A good unit. 691 00:58:46,600 --> 00:58:50,000 Over there we kept each other alive, you know? 692 00:58:50,040 --> 00:58:55,000 Good God! I would have thought that you of all the men in the unit... 693 00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:01,960 Where are you going when you get out? 694 00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,080 You're from Chicago, right? 695 00:59:06,760 --> 00:59:09,760 You got family there? 696 00:59:12,480 --> 00:59:19,880 How would you feel if somebody told you where you could or couldn't bury your mother, say, or your father? 697 00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:23,440 Talk to me, Douglas.Why? 698 00:59:23,480 --> 00:59:26,160 You haven't heard anything I've said. 699 00:59:30,040 --> 00:59:33,440 Was Lt Johnson shot in the front... 700 00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:36,800 or in the back? 701 00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:44,400 CHATTERING 702 00:59:56,600 --> 01:00:03,360 They had lots of fishing tackle, wallet, keys, they had to walk along the shore to get home. 703 01:00:03,400 --> 01:00:06,880 The next day, they stay in a motel and watch TV. 704 01:00:07,920 --> 01:00:13,440 I end up lending them 20 bucks to buy them gas and fish so it won't look so bad. 705 01:00:18,880 --> 01:00:22,680 So, er...how's that case coming along? 706 01:00:23,720 --> 01:00:26,040 Oh, which part of it? 707 01:00:26,080 --> 01:00:30,480 The civil rights suit or the possible murder mystery? 708 01:00:30,520 --> 01:00:33,280 Going nowhere fast in both lanes. 709 01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:35,680 Who says you gotta do it all? 710 01:00:35,720 --> 01:00:43,120 I don't, but I'm afraid of what will happen, if either one of them gets turned over to somebody else. 711 01:00:43,160 --> 01:00:45,640 You're a worrier, kid. 712 01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:50,600 Always have been. Hey, remember crazy Mulrooney and his model? 713 01:00:50,640 --> 01:00:52,440 "Few things matter... 714 01:00:52,480 --> 01:00:55,480 BOTH: "..and nothing matters very much." 715 01:00:55,520 --> 01:01:00,440 Yeah, right! Except food, smokes and centrefolds, 716 01:01:00,480 --> 01:01:05,080 and then they sent him home with a perforated ulcer. 717 01:01:05,120 --> 01:01:11,400 Unfortunately, Sarge, both these things do...matter very much. 718 01:01:11,440 --> 01:01:14,960 There are a lot of people, me included... 719 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,320 You know how it is in the service. 720 01:01:17,360 --> 01:01:24,760 You get used to moving around, learning new names, having a few beers then shipping out. 721 01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,120 But there are certain faces that... 722 01:01:27,160 --> 01:01:30,680 you don't forget. 723 01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:34,040 Dwyte Johnson seems to be like that for me. 724 01:01:34,080 --> 01:01:36,680 I can't figure out why. 725 01:01:36,720 --> 01:01:40,120 I never even met the man. 726 01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:43,920 Maybe he's the guy on the other end of your saw. 727 01:01:43,960 --> 01:01:46,000 What does that mean? 728 01:01:46,040 --> 01:01:52,840 As a logger, I thought the best guy to have on the other end was your opposite. 729 01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:57,680 Like a mirror reverse, so that when he pulled, you pushed. 730 01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:00,320 So, you think we're... 731 01:02:00,360 --> 01:02:02,200 like, opposites? 732 01:02:02,240 --> 01:02:10,120 Well, you said he liked to take chances, and he didn't try to please everybody all the time.Hmm. 733 01:02:10,160 --> 01:02:16,160 You've been a good soldier, a brave one, but you're still trying to paddle the boat 734 01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:18,640 and not make waves. 735 01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:25,320 Major Laird? 736 01:02:25,360 --> 01:02:32,480 Colonel Holmby. This is Sgt Major, retired, Bill Davis, my old squad leader.Colonel. 737 01:02:32,520 --> 01:02:34,520 Nice to meet you. 738 01:02:34,560 --> 01:02:35,960 Major Laird. 739 01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:40,600 How is your special assignment progressing?It's coming along, sir. 740 01:02:40,640 --> 01:02:42,080 Good. 741 01:02:42,120 --> 01:02:47,080 General Hauer has called me about it. We can't keep him waiting. 742 01:02:47,120 --> 01:02:49,880 No, sir. I understand.Good. 743 01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:52,920 Enjoy your dinner.Thank you, sir. 744 01:02:56,920 --> 01:02:58,880 Fun guy. 745 01:03:00,800 --> 01:03:03,320 COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC PLAYS 746 01:03:05,880 --> 01:03:09,840 Sure enough, the car starts going slower and slower. 747 01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:11,720 Vroom! Vroom! 748 01:03:11,760 --> 01:03:16,600 We get to the on ramp. It's downhill. 749 01:03:16,640 --> 01:03:21,680 We get out of the cab, the two of us push the cab right up to the station. 750 01:03:21,720 --> 01:03:26,520 I barrel through the airport, get to the plane before the doors close, 751 01:03:26,560 --> 01:03:31,560 get on the airplane, I sit down, takes me about an hour to get my breath and dry off, 752 01:03:31,600 --> 01:03:33,360 and then... 753 01:03:33,400 --> 01:03:36,520 and then they send my luggage to Cleveland! 754 01:03:39,480 --> 01:03:42,120 CHOKING 755 01:03:48,720 --> 01:03:55,120 I thought when you got to be 40, you didn't have to scramble around like that. 756 01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:58,120 Why don't you come down here 757 01:03:58,160 --> 01:04:01,080 and just fish for a day or two, huh? 758 01:04:01,120 --> 01:04:04,600 You can use bait or not. Yeah, sure, any time. 759 01:04:04,640 --> 01:04:07,840 Why not? You're due some time off. 760 01:04:08,880 --> 01:04:12,800 No, I was never very good at vacations. 761 01:04:12,840 --> 01:04:17,320 That was one of the big problems with Jan and me. 762 01:04:17,360 --> 01:04:22,240 Lousy vacations, it turns out, make for great grounds for divorce. 763 01:04:22,280 --> 01:04:25,080 You over all that?Oh, yeah. 764 01:04:25,120 --> 01:04:30,640 Eight years - I can barely even believe that I was married to her. 765 01:04:31,640 --> 01:04:34,280 I can believe it. I was there. 766 01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:51,280 So, you...want another beer? 767 01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:54,320 Another excuse not to talk about it? 768 01:04:54,360 --> 01:04:57,840 Look, Sarge, don't push me, OK? 769 01:04:57,880 --> 01:05:02,280 I've been going through a lot these days, a lot of pressure. 770 01:05:02,320 --> 01:05:06,640 Just don't tell me everything is hunky dory.I didn't! 771 01:05:15,480 --> 01:05:17,440 I'm sorry. 772 01:05:17,480 --> 01:05:21,760 I didn't mean to bite your head off. You're allowed. 773 01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:27,200 Yeah, here I am. Everywhere else I feel like I'm in a strait-jacket. 774 01:05:27,240 --> 01:05:32,160 I can't do this or that because of rules or because I'll hurt somebody. 775 01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:37,440 And I can't work out what the HELL is going on as nobody will talk! 776 01:05:37,480 --> 01:05:43,960 I can't keep bugging these guys with the same stupid questions over and over again. 777 01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:47,000 Why not?Because it doesn't work!! 778 01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:54,240 I barge into the NCO club at the base, and I'm talking to this soldier about the whole thing - 779 01:05:54,280 --> 01:05:57,280 black kid named Douglas. 780 01:05:58,720 --> 01:06:01,400 He turns round and walks out on me. 781 01:06:01,440 --> 01:06:06,240 I'm afraid if I go after him again, he'll clam up for good. 782 01:06:06,280 --> 01:06:10,320 And I just KNOW there's something he's not telling me. 783 01:06:10,360 --> 01:06:14,360 I don't know what you're crying in your beer about. 784 01:06:14,400 --> 01:06:18,880 You could have dropped this any time you liked, right? 785 01:06:21,880 --> 01:06:25,480 You know what your problem is, Kenny? 786 01:06:25,520 --> 01:06:30,080 What?You finally got hold of something you believe in. 787 01:06:50,080 --> 01:06:52,400 Sir. 788 01:06:58,720 --> 01:07:03,960 Look, why do you keep coming around my face?! You're driving me crazy!! 789 01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:06,600 Look, this is not going to go away!! 790 01:07:06,640 --> 01:07:12,320 Douglas, I'm sorry about what I said at the club last night. That was... 791 01:07:12,360 --> 01:07:19,520 way out of line, but something is going on and if we keep covering it up, it'll rot until it explodes! 792 01:07:19,560 --> 01:07:20,720 Tell me something! 793 01:07:20,760 --> 01:07:23,360 I owe you nothing! I... 794 01:07:23,400 --> 01:07:27,200 Let me tell you what it was like for a brother. 795 01:07:27,240 --> 01:07:34,720 I was giving blood to a white guy, I was pumping my own blood into him! And when he comes to, he sees me, 796 01:07:34,760 --> 01:07:37,000 and he starts yelling to stop, 797 01:07:37,040 --> 01:07:41,160 even when he's been told he's gonna DIE unless he takes my blood, 798 01:07:41,200 --> 01:07:45,360 this ranch-running redneck had to THINK about it! 799 01:07:45,400 --> 01:07:48,800 So...Lt Johnson ain't alone in it. 800 01:07:48,840 --> 01:07:54,840 So you should want to help him. You think I'm still part of this army. I'm not. 801 01:07:54,880 --> 01:07:59,000 How does that help Dwyte Johnson get what's right? 802 01:07:59,040 --> 01:08:04,040 The name of the game is survival. Stayin' alive! You dig? 803 01:08:04,080 --> 01:08:10,600 I'm sorry Lt Johnson's dead. I'm sorry I wake up at night sweating when it's cold out. 804 01:08:10,640 --> 01:08:14,040 I'm sorry I'm talking to you! Something is going on. 805 01:08:14,080 --> 01:08:18,360 You weren't there! You weren't in that hole! 806 01:08:18,400 --> 01:08:22,520 Oh, man, when Johnson and Buyer got hit you weren't there. 807 01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:25,320 Buyer? 808 01:08:25,360 --> 01:08:27,640 Who's Buyer? 809 01:08:28,680 --> 01:08:33,720 There's no mention in this whole place of anybody named Buyer? 810 01:08:33,760 --> 01:08:41,320 They were pulling them units out pretty fast. I doubt we'll ever get all the historical records back. 811 01:08:41,360 --> 01:08:45,360 If he was in that unit, there's three possibilities - 812 01:08:45,400 --> 01:08:49,840 he's wearing civvies, he's wearing bandages, 813 01:08:49,880 --> 01:08:52,800 or he's wearing dirt. 814 01:08:52,840 --> 01:08:57,520 Now, if you want, I can find a way of tracing him. 815 01:08:59,800 --> 01:09:02,560 I want. 816 01:09:19,720 --> 01:09:22,640 Specialist Buyer? 817 01:09:22,680 --> 01:09:24,680 I'm Major Laird. 818 01:09:29,440 --> 01:09:31,440 How's it going? 819 01:09:31,480 --> 01:09:33,560 How does it look? 820 01:09:36,840 --> 01:09:38,800 Looks rough. 821 01:09:44,400 --> 01:09:46,320 What do you want? 822 01:09:46,360 --> 01:09:52,720 I've been assigned Survivor Assistance Officer... I ain't dead yet. 823 01:09:52,760 --> 01:09:58,200 ..Survivor Assistance Officer for the family of Dwyte Johnson. 824 01:10:01,040 --> 01:10:03,040 Go away.Why? 825 01:10:03,080 --> 01:10:07,880 Nothing worse can happen, so there ain't nothing you can threaten me... 826 01:10:07,920 --> 01:10:13,920 What makes you think anybody's here to threaten you? Nurse! Get him away from me! 827 01:10:13,960 --> 01:10:21,080 You're not being threatened! Is that clear?Clear? Is anything real clear to you, Major? 828 01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:23,360 Less and less every day. 829 01:10:25,480 --> 01:10:27,680 Where's your home, Buyer? 830 01:10:27,720 --> 01:10:30,360 Right here, sir. 831 01:10:30,400 --> 01:10:33,400 I mean where are you from? 832 01:10:33,440 --> 01:10:35,760 Arkansas. 833 01:10:35,800 --> 01:10:41,400 Maybe you're not surprised at the problems in Rockville.Problems? 834 01:10:41,440 --> 01:10:45,400 You don't know? You're not on the grapevine, too? 835 01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:50,880 I ain't on anybody's grapevine. I don't talk to anybody. 836 01:10:51,920 --> 01:10:58,080 The Johnson family can't get Dwyte buried. The town cemetery's all white. 837 01:10:58,120 --> 01:11:01,280 They found him? They found his body? 838 01:11:01,320 --> 01:11:04,200 Took them a while. 839 01:11:04,240 --> 01:11:06,760 Oh.What's the matter? 840 01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:11,800 Where did they find him?Down river from where you and he were hit. 841 01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:13,120 You OK? 842 01:11:13,160 --> 01:11:15,480 Where...where is he now? 843 01:11:15,520 --> 01:11:18,360 In his family's church an hour away. 844 01:11:18,400 --> 01:11:20,440 He's floating. 845 01:11:20,480 --> 01:11:23,480 He's floating like I last saw him. 846 01:11:23,520 --> 01:11:31,160 I...I can't...deal with this. I don't want to hear any more about this. Just go away and leave me alone! 847 01:11:31,200 --> 01:11:36,400 Sshh.I can't...Calm down! Just listen to me for a minute. 848 01:11:36,440 --> 01:11:38,440 It's OK. 849 01:11:41,640 --> 01:11:45,080 Buyer, I know what you went through. I was there. 850 01:11:45,120 --> 01:11:46,560 It was... 851 01:11:46,600 --> 01:11:51,400 some part of Nam that we'll never put behind us. 852 01:11:51,440 --> 01:11:59,040 But at least for us the fighting's over. We came home. Lt Johnson came home dead and he's still fighting. 853 01:11:59,080 --> 01:12:03,120 Now I'm trying to help him. You help me. 854 01:12:03,160 --> 01:12:08,040 I escorted the body of a Vietnam hero back to his family. 855 01:12:09,200 --> 01:12:13,800 And those people can't even bury their only son. 856 01:12:15,440 --> 01:12:18,840 When I started all this, it was just a coffin, 857 01:12:18,880 --> 01:12:23,880 but I go into his home, I find out this was an amazing man. 858 01:12:23,920 --> 01:12:29,280 Dwyte Johnson did more in 24 years than most of us will do in 50. 859 01:12:29,320 --> 01:12:36,120 The men who served under him, who put him up for a medal, they don't want to help him! 860 01:12:36,160 --> 01:12:38,640 And I don't know why. 861 01:12:38,680 --> 01:12:40,680 Look at me! 862 01:12:40,720 --> 01:12:45,560 You tell me what happened out there. What happened? 863 01:12:45,600 --> 01:12:50,040 Until I know it, Dwyte Johnson is not going to rest. 864 01:12:50,080 --> 01:12:54,080 And I'm not going to rest until I find it. 865 01:12:54,120 --> 01:12:57,120 You've found it.Found what? 866 01:13:00,520 --> 01:13:02,880 It was all my fault. 867 01:13:02,920 --> 01:13:04,840 What are you talking about? 868 01:13:07,480 --> 01:13:09,440 Everything. 869 01:13:09,480 --> 01:13:11,120 The air strike. 870 01:13:11,160 --> 01:13:16,920 Buyer. Tell me everything from the beginning.I can't.You can. 871 01:13:16,960 --> 01:13:20,440 I can't!You can! No, I can't!Why not? 872 01:13:20,480 --> 01:13:24,080 I can't fix... I can't change what happened! 873 01:13:24,120 --> 01:13:28,280 You're holding on to something. Let go of it!No, I...I... 874 01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:30,200 TELL ME! 875 01:13:30,240 --> 01:13:36,240 I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, but please, please, help me. 876 01:13:36,280 --> 01:13:40,280 Help me pull something good out of all this! 877 01:13:40,320 --> 01:13:44,320 Major, you don't know what you're asking me to do. 878 01:13:44,360 --> 01:13:46,680 I know I don't. 879 01:13:46,720 --> 01:13:48,840 I know I don't. 880 01:13:52,960 --> 01:13:55,960 But whatever it is, Buyer, 881 01:13:57,800 --> 01:14:00,800 this is the time to do it. 882 01:14:26,360 --> 01:14:28,560 (Buyer.) 883 01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:47,400 Gentlemen.ALL: Sir. 884 01:14:51,520 --> 01:14:55,720 Specialist Buyer refused to talk to me alone. 885 01:14:55,760 --> 01:15:00,560 What he has to say he wanted to say in front of all of you. 886 01:15:07,360 --> 01:15:12,560 The Major told me the story you been telling about how Lt Johnson died. 887 01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:16,840 < I have come 888 01:15:16,880 --> 01:15:18,560 to tell the truth. 889 01:15:18,600 --> 01:15:21,360 What the hell are you doing? 890 01:15:24,240 --> 01:15:26,360 I gotta do this. 891 01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:28,640 I don't. 892 01:15:28,680 --> 01:15:31,600 You don't know what I'm gonna say! 893 01:15:31,640 --> 01:15:33,520 SIT DOWN! 894 01:15:50,680 --> 01:15:53,560 All right, Specialist, 895 01:15:55,280 --> 01:15:57,840 take it from the beginning. 896 01:16:00,720 --> 01:16:03,560 Well, you see, Major, 897 01:16:03,600 --> 01:16:08,600 about ten days before Lt Johnson got killed 898 01:16:08,640 --> 01:16:13,880 we were sent out on a reconnaissance patrol, north of Shu Li. 899 01:16:14,920 --> 01:16:21,840 < Now, man, that's all we did. We were humping those boonies, looking for Charlie, 900 01:16:21,880 --> 01:16:25,880 like clay pigeons out looking for a shooter. 901 01:16:25,920 --> 01:16:31,400 So we get to this top of the mountain, top of the hill there, 902 01:16:31,440 --> 01:16:34,920 and, er, we looked down at the valley. 903 01:16:36,120 --> 01:16:38,120 There were VC 904 01:16:38,160 --> 01:16:40,080 < moving supplies through. 905 01:16:40,120 --> 01:16:43,640 Tell them about the lieutenant's great idea, Buyer. 906 01:16:47,840 --> 01:16:52,280 So the lieutenant says he's gonna call in an air strike. 907 01:16:53,360 --> 01:17:00,480 He checks out his map, hands me some co-ordinates, and tells me to call in the biggest strike we can get. 908 01:17:00,520 --> 01:17:03,640 And we got it, didn't we? 909 01:17:03,680 --> 01:17:06,520 It landed smack-dab on us. 910 01:17:07,960 --> 01:17:09,960 Was anybody hit? 911 01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:11,760 Yeah, Wilson. > 912 01:17:11,800 --> 01:17:17,720 Never knew what hit him. Went home in medium-sized chunks. 913 01:17:17,760 --> 01:17:21,800 BRADFORD: I wonder what they told his parents. 914 01:17:21,840 --> 01:17:24,320 The Lieutenant felt real bad. 915 01:17:24,360 --> 01:17:29,080 I don't believe this! Buyer, are you feelin' sorry for him? 916 01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:32,560 You bad-mouthed Lt Johnson more than anyone! > 917 01:17:32,600 --> 01:17:34,440 YOU called him super-spade! 918 01:17:34,480 --> 01:17:36,440 I said that to you? 919 01:17:36,480 --> 01:17:38,760 You were the most prejudiced! 920 01:17:38,800 --> 01:17:41,480 HEATED ARGUING 921 01:17:41,520 --> 01:17:43,960 I never said one racial remark. 922 01:17:44,000 --> 01:17:48,720 You never said anything good cos he made it to West Point and you didn't. 923 01:17:48,760 --> 01:17:53,960 You shut your mouth, I don't need to listen to that stuff.THAT'S ENOUGH! 924 01:17:57,520 --> 01:17:59,640 Was there racial tension? 925 01:18:08,400 --> 01:18:10,480 Porter? 926 01:18:11,520 --> 01:18:13,720 Things were getting better. 927 01:18:13,760 --> 01:18:16,360 We had a good unit. > 928 01:18:17,400 --> 01:18:19,400 We were... 929 01:18:19,440 --> 01:18:23,400 the only good thing I was ever part of. 930 01:18:26,040 --> 01:18:29,040 Well, Wilson was our first casualty. 931 01:18:31,640 --> 01:18:35,640 We were feeling real lucky up until then. 932 01:18:35,680 --> 01:18:40,840 Lt Johnson was real sharp. It wasn't like him to make a mistake. 933 01:18:43,080 --> 01:18:46,440 Yeah, but he kind of lost it after that. 934 01:18:46,480 --> 01:18:48,720 He did not lose it! 935 01:18:51,040 --> 01:18:54,520 You could see it was tearing him up inside. 936 01:18:54,560 --> 01:18:57,480 But it was too late. 937 01:18:57,600 --> 01:19:01,560 I should have told him. I tried. I just couldn't. 938 01:19:01,600 --> 01:19:03,480 What are you telling us? 939 01:19:03,520 --> 01:19:05,960 He didn't make a mistake. 940 01:19:07,640 --> 01:19:11,160 When I called in the air strike, I changed the co-ordinates. 941 01:19:11,200 --> 01:19:13,680 You did what? 942 01:19:13,720 --> 01:19:16,120 I thought they were wrong! 943 01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:24,040 Let me get this straight. 944 01:19:24,080 --> 01:19:28,440 Didn't the Lieutenant check? Yeah, but I lied again. 945 01:19:28,480 --> 01:19:33,240 < I told him they were the numbers he gave me.Why? 946 01:19:33,280 --> 01:19:36,840 Why? Why did you change the numbers? 947 01:19:38,320 --> 01:19:41,200 He figured a black man couldn't plot. 948 01:19:42,360 --> 01:19:44,360 Is that true? 949 01:19:48,800 --> 01:19:50,680 So... 950 01:19:50,720 --> 01:19:55,520 Buyer was responsible for an air strike hitting the unit. 951 01:19:58,840 --> 01:20:02,320 Lieutenant Johnson thought it was his fault... 952 01:20:03,480 --> 01:20:06,480 ..and all of you thought so, too. 953 01:20:09,000 --> 01:20:10,880 All right now. 954 01:20:12,680 --> 01:20:15,600 let's get down to it. 955 01:20:17,760 --> 01:20:22,000 What happened when... when "all hell broke loose"? 956 01:20:25,480 --> 01:20:27,120 Erskine. 957 01:20:32,560 --> 01:20:36,120 Well, it was pretty much like what we told you. 958 01:20:38,440 --> 01:20:41,440 'Cept we left part of it out. > 959 01:20:41,480 --> 01:20:42,840 What part? 960 01:20:46,000 --> 01:20:51,800 Lieutenant Johnson thought that he knew where the fire was coming from. 961 01:20:51,840 --> 01:20:56,080 He grabs his grenade launcher and he shouts... > 962 01:20:58,360 --> 01:21:00,880 .."Let's take it." 963 01:21:02,000 --> 01:21:04,320 And then he jumps up... 964 01:21:08,040 --> 01:21:10,880 And what happened then? 965 01:21:11,920 --> 01:21:15,480 Buyer was the only man who followed him. 966 01:21:15,520 --> 01:21:18,280 They were cut down right away. 967 01:21:18,320 --> 01:21:21,400 Before he died, 968 01:21:21,440 --> 01:21:28,240 the Lieutenant aimed his launcher at the spot he thought the mortar was...and fired. 969 01:21:28,280 --> 01:21:30,720 Did he hit it? 970 01:21:36,520 --> 01:21:39,360 So he did save your lives? 971 01:21:42,880 --> 01:21:45,640 Why didn't you follow him? 972 01:21:45,680 --> 01:21:47,960 I don't know, sir. 973 01:21:49,000 --> 01:21:51,760 Oliver, what about you? 974 01:21:56,520 --> 01:21:59,040 Why didn't you follow him? 975 01:22:00,120 --> 01:22:03,480 Well, when the lieutenant made that mistake... 976 01:22:04,520 --> 01:22:07,760 Well, after we thought he did... 977 01:22:07,800 --> 01:22:10,800 ..we started to doubt... 978 01:22:11,840 --> 01:22:14,240 To doubt his leadership? 979 01:22:16,160 --> 01:22:19,160 Would you have had the same doubts 980 01:22:19,200 --> 01:22:22,200 if your officer had been white? 981 01:22:28,080 --> 01:22:31,080 Douglas, what about you? 982 01:22:32,760 --> 01:22:37,400 I didn't follow him that day because of the way he was acting. 983 01:22:37,440 --> 01:22:41,040 I didn't know if he was the man he was before. 984 01:22:46,880 --> 01:22:53,920 How long did you hesitate? Was it, like, one second or...or fifteen? I don't think anyone knows, sir. 985 01:22:53,960 --> 01:23:01,280 Like, when you're in a car wreck, you hear the brakes squeal for what seems like forever, but it's only a second. 986 01:23:01,320 --> 01:23:04,600 It happened before we could think about it. 987 01:23:07,000 --> 01:23:14,200 If you didn't get together to plan all this, why did you get together to cover it up?He saved our lives. 988 01:23:14,240 --> 01:23:17,760 It was wrong for us not to give him the medal. 989 01:23:17,800 --> 01:23:20,240 Oliver was against it. > 990 01:23:20,280 --> 01:23:26,600 because we'd have to explain why we weren't with him when he died. 991 01:23:40,480 --> 01:23:43,440 Gentlemen, I, er... 992 01:23:43,480 --> 01:23:46,480 I want to read you something. 993 01:23:49,160 --> 01:23:53,800 This is the last letter that Dwyte Johnson ever wrote. 994 01:23:56,560 --> 01:24:01,560 I think he must have written it sometime during that last week. 995 01:24:03,120 --> 01:24:05,360 "Dear Mum and Dad, 996 01:24:06,400 --> 01:24:10,080 "only got a minute so I'll write while I can. 997 01:24:10,120 --> 01:24:15,320 "We had our first casualty. It shook up the whole unit, including me. 998 01:24:15,360 --> 01:24:17,720 "Making decisions 999 01:24:17,760 --> 01:24:21,760 "that risk death for others is a terrible burden. 1000 01:24:21,800 --> 01:24:26,040 "I care about all these men. Their lives are in my hands 1001 01:24:26,080 --> 01:24:28,920 "and my hands are not supposed to shake. 1002 01:24:28,960 --> 01:24:32,720 "They so believed in their country they'veoffered themselves to die. 1003 01:24:32,760 --> 01:24:36,840 "My job is to keep that from happening and it's so hard. 1004 01:24:36,880 --> 01:24:44,040 "Sometimes I feel so confused. Not a moment goes by that I don't ask myself,'Am I doing this right?' 1005 01:24:44,080 --> 01:24:48,000 "But don't worry about me, I'll get through this. 1006 01:24:48,040 --> 01:24:51,440 "I miss you and love you. Your son, Dwyte." 1007 01:26:31,320 --> 01:26:33,960 INAUDIBLE 1008 01:26:40,720 --> 01:26:43,720 Left. Left. Left, right. Detail, halt. 1009 01:27:16,560 --> 01:27:19,920 We're here for the funeral of Lt Johnson. 1010 01:27:19,960 --> 01:27:23,280 You, er, can't come in here for that. 1011 01:27:23,320 --> 01:27:28,920 Mr Oster, we still own that plot. You can't just take our property. 1012 01:27:28,960 --> 01:27:30,480 We'll buy it back. 1013 01:27:30,520 --> 01:27:33,240 It's not for sale. 1014 01:27:33,280 --> 01:27:35,080 < This cemetery 1015 01:27:35,120 --> 01:27:40,000 is now the private property of the Graykirk Corporation. 1016 01:27:41,280 --> 01:27:44,200 We have a racial covenant 1017 01:27:44,240 --> 01:27:47,240 and you can't bury that boy in here. 1018 01:28:02,000 --> 01:28:06,080 These are his buddies. 1019 01:28:06,120 --> 01:28:08,120 He saved our lives. > 1020 01:28:08,160 --> 01:28:11,120 And we're a good unit, mister. > 1021 01:28:11,160 --> 01:28:15,200 And when we make up our minds to do something, > 1022 01:28:15,240 --> 01:28:18,240 nobody can stop us. 1023 01:28:20,480 --> 01:28:24,440 - Am I right, Sgt Douglas? - You're right, Buyer. 1024 01:28:27,120 --> 01:28:29,920 Step aside, Mr Oster. 1025 01:28:29,960 --> 01:28:31,960 It's over. 1026 01:28:34,920 --> 01:28:36,920 Gentlemen. 1027 01:28:45,560 --> 01:28:47,280 Forward... 1028 01:28:47,320 --> 01:28:49,320 march! 1029 01:28:49,360 --> 01:28:51,720 Left. Left. 1030 01:29:27,120 --> 01:29:33,160 Well, it looks like Rockville was ready for this after all. Looks like it. 1031 01:30:24,560 --> 01:30:28,280 ..of this world the soul of our deceased brother. 1032 01:30:28,320 --> 01:30:33,000 We therefore commit his body to the ground. Earth to earth. 1033 01:30:33,040 --> 01:30:35,120 Ashes to ashes. 1034 01:30:35,160 --> 01:30:37,440 Dust to dust. 1035 01:31:17,440 --> 01:31:20,440 HE SOUNDS THE LAST POST 1036 01:32:52,440 --> 01:32:55,080 INAUDIBLE 1037 01:32:56,120 --> 01:32:58,120 'February 23rd 1972. 1038 01:32:58,160 --> 01:33:01,160 'We buried Lt Johnson today. 1039 01:33:02,760 --> 01:33:04,800 'Finally. 1040 01:33:04,840 --> 01:33:08,840 'But his spirit feels very much alive here. 1041 01:33:08,880 --> 01:33:11,880 'In this town, in his men, 1042 01:33:11,920 --> 01:33:13,680 'in me. 1043 01:33:13,720 --> 01:33:16,720 'I came here as one kind of person. 1044 01:33:16,760 --> 01:33:18,840 'I'm leaving as another. 1045 01:33:20,880 --> 01:33:24,880 'Together with his family and his men, 1046 01:33:24,920 --> 01:33:27,920 'I think we made a difference.