Original subtitles

Yes, sir.

Hey, Gifford.

Gifford.

Get your gear.

Get that arm up, Gifford. They're still in the army.

Colonel Miles wants to see you.

Come on.

Inside. Here's the prisoner, sir.

Gifford.

I've been investigating your case.

Ordinarily, I turn this sort of thing over to a court-martial.

But in this instance, you hold a well-earned silver star.

Your record till now has been excellent.

And you've shown definite qualities of leadership.

You know, at one point, I was going to recommend you for a battlefield

commission.

Why'd you do it, Gibbert?

I think you lost control of yourself.

That can happen.

Especially with men who've been out here for a long time.

Is that it?

Off the record, I'd say you're good for ten years in Leavenworth and a

dishonorable discharge.

Yes, sir.

And on the record, tell you what I've decided.

I can't have you in this area. It's bad for discipline, bad for morale.

We've got a company posted up in the hills.

George Company.

They're in a very isolated area.

Half the time, the road up there is cut off by the enemy.

Can't even use field phones. Have to contact them on radio.

I've spoken to the 2nd Battalion Commander.

We're reassigning you to George.

Yes, sir.

Lieutenant. Sir?

Turn this man over to the driver from George Company.

Yes, sir.

Don't give him this until you're out of the area.

Go ahead and shoot somebody if you feel like it. I don't care.

Anybody but me.

My name's Willie Crawford.

Sam Gifford.

How come you got transferred to George?

It was out of Leavenworth.

Should have took Leavenworth.

Taste of tobacco juice?

Yeah.

Always does.

What'd they get you for?

Assaulting an officer under combat circumstances.

For a fact.

Hurt him bad?

Nearly killed him.

Should have shot him.

You'd have been sure of killing him.

That's George Company sector there.

On most of them hills, we got outposts.

Down there, that's our company headquarters.

That's where Waco is.

Get the lead out, will he?

Send that mallet head in here.

Yes, sir.

What was that?

I mean, yes, Waco. I'm bringing him. I didn't say bring him. I said send him.

Yes, Waco.

Get in it. That's the captain.

Put your rifle down right there, buddy.

I said put the rifle down.

Give me the papers.

Miss Watson.

Yeah, Waco.

Go out and tell that mallet that he's not going to drive the Jeep anymore.

He knows what I said about calling me, sir, and I don't say anything a second

time. Who do you want driving it, Waco? That's my worry, not yours. Just go do

what I told you.

I've heard about you, Gifford.

First you go get yourself a silver star, then you get busted to private.

Oh, it's a rough war, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

Didn't you hear what I said about calling me, sir?

I'm sorry, Waco.

All right.

I don't want snipers taking pot shots at me every time one of you guys call me,

sir.

Hidden officer under combat conditions.

What was his rank? Captain or what?

Lieutenant. Oh, lieutenant.

Should have killed him.

I was trying to.

Samuel F. Gifford.

What's the F stand for?

Francis, sir.

I mean Waco.

That's better.

You know, I got a sister named Francis.

Hey, Millard.

Francis' girl's name, ain't it?

Yeah.

You got a girl's name, Gifford.

Francis.

Do you know anything about a radio procedure?

Yes, Waco.

Okay.

You're my radio operator.

You'll work right over there till I get tired of looking at your kissing.

Oh, another thing, Gibbon.

You ain't gonna hit me.

If you do, you'll never hit anybody again.

You hear me?

This is real stuff.

Just give me this chick's number, boy, and when I get steak, give me that

picture.

Sure.

Let's see the picture, Gifford.

Let's see it.

What's this about a picture?

You sound like a bunch of stinking schoolgirls. He's got a picture we want

to see. Picture of what? My wife.

What? Oh, your wife.

Haven't you guys got anything better on your mind than to think about another

guy's wife?

All right, Francis.

Let me have the picture.

Come on, come on. Let me have the picture.

I ain't gonna look at it.

You got a pretty wife, Gifford?

I got a pretty wife.

About the prettiest wife in Waco, Texas.

I'll bet she's running around with more guys than you can count.

Oh, Waco, don't start that. Shut up!

No, I don't like no bad blood around headquarters.

All right, Francis, get out of here. Go find yourself a hole to live in.

Hey, you know what you've done now, don't you?

You've got him started, and it's going to take us all night to get him calmed

down. He respects a man's wife.

He don't respect nothing.

And Waco ain't married.

Get going, Gifford. You heard Waco.

For a while you took up with him.

That's all?

No.

Ought to be going on outposts pretty soon.

Is that better than this?

Away from Waco.

Hi, little Joe.

This here's a new replacement.

Sam Giffords is named.

I heard.

How'd you like Waco, Sam?

I didn't. It figures.

Waco's a sick man.

Sometimes I wonder how long it's going to take the Inspector General to find

out what's going on up here.

Fifty years.

Miles is nobody's fool.

He's going to wise up to wake her one day.

How come they transferred you here, Sam?

Hit an officer.

You fellas can think of more ways to get in trouble.

They sure can, Lieutenant.

You're a lieutenant?

That's what it says on the paper.

You're National Guard, volunteer, or draftee?

Guard. Hey, company, hold first.

No kidding.

Then you must have known Colonel Cousins.

There was the finest man I've ever known.

When he got killed, I felt just about the same as if somebody in my own family

had died.

Did you know him, Sam?

I married his daughter.

Oh,

they ought to put up a statue to the man who invented kissing. It was a woman.

Oh, how do you know?

Kissing comes naturally to women.

Men have to be taught like this.

Why is it every time we kiss it's like the first time all over again?

Because I'm a witch.

And I've woven a spell around you.

Don't break it.

You know what I like about us? What?

We don't act like married people at all.

Come to think of it, I'm not acting like much of a businessman either.

Here I am wasting the whole morning.

Oh?

No,

really, honey.

I should go out and check on my sharecroppers.

Haven't seen them for nearly three months.

You said that the next time you went, you'd take me with you.

Oh, honey, you'd just be bored.

The only thing that bores me is not being with you.

All right, Jenny.

It'll make the day a lot nicer with you along. That's my sugar.

Trouble is, Mr. Gifford, it's going to be the same as it was last year.

If Pap was still around, we'd get that cotton out as fast as other folks. But

one man working alone, Mr. Gifford, it ain't easy. Can't you get any help,

Carr? What about that fellow up the road, Raker? Can't he help you?

I reckon Rake's got his own crop to get in. Seems to me a couple of his kids

ought to be old enough to work in your field.

I think I'll run up there and talk to him. I don't want to put Rake in no

trouble, Mr. Gifford. It's not a question of putting people in trouble,

car. It's a question of picking cock.

Ma! Ma!

Mr. Gifford's here.

Hi there.

Howdy.

Why, Mr. Gifford, I was saying just the other day you ought to be visiting out

here pretty soon, didn't I, Ray?

That's what you were saying, Mr. Gifford. This is Mrs. Gifford. How do

you do?

Here, Anna Mae, get out of there.

I was just down talking to Carr. He's having trouble getting his crop in. I

thought maybe you could send your two oldest boys down there and give them a

hand.

Well, Miss Gifford, I've been keeping them right busy.

But, uh, Kenny needs help. I could lend him young Tom here.

As a matter of fact, you all better go over there Sunday and work.

Sunday, Mr. Gifford?

That's right.

Sunday, we was planning on visiting my wife's sister, Rose Ellen.

Yeah, Mr. Gifford, we was wanting to see Rose Ellen's new baby.

Raker, you can visit your relatives anytime during the year, but there's

only so many days to get the cotton in.

I want you all over there to cars come Sunday, here.

All right, Mr. Gifford, we'll be there. Better make it early.

Yes, Mr.

Gifford.

Sam, I've got to go home now.

I thought you wanted to see the Croppers, honey.

Why do you talk that way?

What way?

The way you talk to those people.

You mean there's another way?

There must be.

Not if you want to stay in the cotton business, honey.

I swear I don't see why you're so upset about sharecropping. You think they're

happy being treated that way?

I never heard them complain.

Maybe you were never there when they did.

Listen, my family's had croppers for over a hundred years.

They do the only thing they know how to do. They're happy with what they can

get. That's the way it's always been, and that's the way it always will be.

Meanwhile, they're lazy.

They have to be kept jumping.

And they have to be kept in their place.

Oh, now, honey, listen, there's just no sense in us arguing about it like this.

Sam, I'm seeing the side of you I never saw before.

Oh, honey, you're just seeing the business side of me. I can explain the

whole thing to you in five minutes.

Explain a hundred years in five minutes?

The way you treat those people, I think... I treat them the same way my

father did, and my grandfather before. As though they were animals or farm

machinery? They're human beings, Sam. Can't you understand that?

Human beings.

I know what they are.

I don't think you do.

I don't even think you know what you are yourself.

I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure.

The man I'm seeing this afternoon is not the man I saw this morning.

Oh, now, wait a minute, Jenny.

Nobody made you come with me.

No, I'm sorry I did.

Because I didn't enjoy it at all.

I was brought up to be polite to everybody.

And I don't think that business gives anyone a right to be rude.

That's the way businessmen act, and I'm glad I'm a woman.

So am I.

You don't care what I say, do you?

Well, this woman doesn't want to see you again.

The whole rest of the day.

Oh, I meant to ask you, Sam.

How's Jenny?

Well, she's been a little touchy the last few days.

What for?

Oh, who knows why women get touchy.

Wait a minute, Ray.

Afternoon, Mr. Gifford.

Raker help you on Sunday, Carr?

Yes, sir.

Is that all that seven people can bring in for a full day's work? Well, Mr.

Gifford, we all work till long after dark.

What'd you do during the daytime?

Miss Raker, she fell poorly there for a while, working in that sun. That's

Raker's problem, not mine.

And you better start jumping, or I'm gonna set somebody else up on those

acres you're cropping.

Clean him out.

Come on.

Well, leastwise, Sam, your croppers keep on having kids.

Ours act like they're all bred out.

I promise you, I keep telling Poppy how to kick the whole bunch out, get in some

fresh blood.

Our people have been on this land too long.

Mine too.

There's going to be some changes made.

But we can talk about that over some bourbon and branch water. What do you

say, Ray?

Oh, there's a man with a head on his shoulders.

Hi, honey.

Hello, John.

Hi, Jim. Well, Colonel.

Hello, Sam. It's a pleasure.

How are you, sir? Fine. Good to see you. Colonel Cullen. Hello, Ray.

Can I get you a drink?

No, no, not right now, thanks. But don't let me stop you.

I think you're going to need it.

Don't keep us in suspense.

What is it? The president has declared an emergency.

So? So, our National Guard division has been called into federal service.

Called into federal service?

That's right.

Well, just what does that mean to us, Colonel?

Well, it simply means that within two weeks, you and Sam and everybody else in

my command will be on active duty.

The division has been ordered into service for 12 months.

I'll take my drink now, if you don't mind.

I just can't get over it. All I thought the National Guard ever meant was that

Daddy held a review every Monday night and you all held a dance twice a year. I

know that's the way it must have appeared, honey, but after all, the

business of the National Guard is to guard the nation.

But there are oceans between us and everyone else, Daddy.

Do you really think we'll have to go to war?

I don't know, honey, but I got a feeling that we'll get around to it.

Well, I got to be running along.

Can you give me a lift, Colonel? Sure, go right by your place. Goodbye, Sam.

See you, Sam.

Sam.

I'm sorry we fought.

We didn't fight, honey.

Not really.

Those things will happen.

Shouldn't happen to us.

Darling, sometimes I don't understand you.

The way you think, the way you act, the things you say.

Honey, not now.

Please, not anymore.

I'm really sorry we fought.

I'm sorry for everything, I guess, and everybody who's caught up in this

trouble.

And, honey, I'm scared, too.

Don't worry, baby.

Nothing's going to happen.

Don't say that.

Daddy knows better.

There may be a war, and I may lose you in the war.

I couldn't stand it, even if I lost you around the corner.

We may have our differences, but I love you and want to hold you.

Never lose you Because you're still a stranger to me in so many ways

and women love attractive strangers Especially when they're

married to them

Hello, Joe. Evening, Colonel.

Evening, man. Evening, sir.

Evening. Evening.

Hi, Sam.

Colonel.

Ah, Soames.

You wish you were back at the drugstore?

Yes, sir.

So do I, having a nice cold coat.

Evening, Colonel.

Evening.

Oh,

Kenny. Colonel.

Who'd you get to take over your place?

A cousin of mine and his wife. They come up from Louisiana.

Oh, that's good.

Hello, Ricker.

Evening, Colonel.

What do you hear from the family?

They're all just fine, sir. Good, good.

Molesky, how does it feel to be a Chicago boy in the Southern Regiment?

Rough as a cob, sir. Watch it now, Molesky. That's all right, Ray. It's a

perfectly good expression.

I use it myself.

Sam. Yes, sir. Would you step out on deck?

There's a real sharp platoon, right? Thank you, Colonel.

There's not much of a view.

Not much.

You've been awful quiet lately, Sam.

Something bothering you?

Oh, I've just been thinking about a lot of things.

Jenny? First and foremost.

What else?

I don't think I ever appreciated home until now.

Sam.

I never had a son until you married Jenny.

And I don't know where this war is going to take us or what will happen.

But my dearest wish is that you come out the other side alive.

I'd like to see us all come out alive, Colonel.

Yes, all of us will.

But those that do will go back to something a lot different, what they

left.

They'll go back to the South.

Things will be the same. Oh, no, Sam. For God's sake.

No, the signs are everywhere.

Well, I worry about the noose out as soon as I get tired of the oak.

How do you feel about the landing tomorrow?

See that log?

Use that for cover to get on the other side.

Wait for me there.

Man,

my mother told me that it goes like this.

Thank you.

open that Kenny okay let's go where we going the

only way to get in that cave is from the top come on did that we're all gonna be

heroes

We ought to be right above them right now.

Help me with my pack.

Give me the loop.

Raker, you and Kenny lower me down.

Okay. What do you want me to do? Hand me your grenades when I go over the side.

Bernie, relay my signals. Right.

Hold it fire. Hold your fire.

He's falling.

Slow.

Come on.

Come on.

Come on.

A little more.

Slow.

A little more.

Hey, are you there yet?

No, not yet. Hey, Tina.

Let me see.

Let me see.

A little more.

Let's move out Okay,

let's move

Welcome home, Stonewall.

Nice going, Sam.

Anybody got a cigarette?

Yeah.

What's the matter, sir?

I don't know.

Scared, I guess.

Hey,

what is the name of that country?

America.

Good boy.

Real pretty, wasn't they?

Yeah.

You know, I used to look like that myself once.

No.

I think.

Sam? Yes, Lieutenant?

Colonel wants to see you.

Hey, Chief.

They still sending us heroes home?

Anytime now, Molesky.

You're getting pretty friendly with those croppers of yours, aren't you?

We work together pretty well.

Any reason why I shouldn't?

It's your life, Sam.

Reckon it is.

Sam,

it's good to see you.

I wish I could do it more often. I know how busy I come.

Hey, you look a little tired.

I guess we all do.

We'll be off this devilish island in another six hours.

Have you heard from Jenny lately?

Yes, sir. I got a dozen letters from her just the other day.

Good.

Next time you write to her, tell her I'm putting you into the Silver Star for

what you did today.

Sir, Bernie, Raker, and Kenny are with me, too.

Oh, they'll be taken care of.

Now, there's one thing more, Sam.

Sit down.

I heard in a kind of roundabout way that you get a little shaky in

combat. Is that true?

A little.

You think we ought to do something about it?

I'm all right when I have to be.

Don't be a hero saying I'm not I can still do my job Well if you don't feel

right will you come to me son

Ray

and

I have to take a run up the line see how these replacements are settling down

See you on board ship, son. All right, son.

Well, what's the word, Stovall, when we're shipping out?

In about six hours, Bernie.

Not one moment too soon.

That's for me, man.

Let's go.

Wait a minute.

Want a bet? Sure we can. I'm with you, Bernie.

That'll be Colonel Cousin's beer. Am I not right?

That's right, Joe. You're not right.

Just a moment, soldier. My name is Miller.

Captain Miller.

And I have been sent with two of my men for the Colonel's beer ration.

So we'll just relieve you of it. Calm down, Yardbird.

Oh, soldier.

You're addressing a commissioned officer.

Soldier, do you have any idea what the penalty is for insubordination in a

combat zone?

Do you?

Well, young man, the penalty is death.

Come on.

You ain't got no bars on.

Snipers, man, snipers.

Having trouble, Captain?

Take his name, Sergeant.

Take his name. What's your name, soldier?

Well, sir, I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't know... Never mind, Sergeant.

Yes. Take the beer.

Yes, sir.

Boy, if they ship us back to Australia, I am going to drink that whole continent

dry. Well, I got a little old girl waiting for me in Australia.

Man, she's going to wish I'd never seen combat.

Sam.

Listen.

Sounds like someone's calling you.

I wonder what's up.

Suppose they found out who snitched the beer?

No, they'd be looking for Cap Miller.

Don't drink on a pure one. Oh, never, never.

Kenny?

We best have one more. One more.

Hey, Corporal.

Were you calling me?

Yeah. Are you Gifford? Yeah.

They want you at the first aid station.

Colonel got hit by a sniper.

Sam. Sam.

Yeah? Look, about Colonel Cousins.

Well, little Joe may feel real bad about bringing it up.

That's all right.

Forget it.

It's just that I don't know how it feels to lose a friend.

The new colonel wants us to go up the road and take another look at Estacado.

He plans to use it for regimental headquarters.

Did you tell him I was up there with the patrol last night? The place was

deserted. It looked like nobody had been there for a month.

They could have come back.

Is that your idea or the new colonel?

Mom, do you agree?

You never know which way the Japanese might jump.

You're getting a little comfy yourself, aren't you, Ray?

Never mind what I am, Sergeant.

I knew it. I knew they'd come back.

Oh, that piece of wall was ready to fall. Walls don't fall like that unless

they're made to fall.

I think we're running into an ambush.

Relax. Listen, I'm not taking any chances.

You and the others go on foot and scout around. I'll cover you.

You really mean that? I mean it.

Sam, that's an order.

All right, all right. Take it easy.

Let's go.

What's up, Sam?

We're going to take a little walk.

He walked into this joint the last time. Why can't we ride it? You heard the

lieutenant.

Did you ever do much bird shooting back home, Sam?

Yeah, plenty.

Let's do plenty more after the war.

This reminds you of bird shooting?

Sure. Why?

Well, it's kind of like fanning out over a field for a breath.

I got an old 10-gauge to home used to belong to my grandpappy.

Well, you try it. Kick him like you're clearing to the next county.

When we get back home, I'll take you up to my cousin's place, Tom Knox.

That's the best hunting country you ever saw. Man, when I get out of the army, I

ain't never, never gonna fire a rifle again.

But I will come along with you guys and hold y'all's crock of corn liquor.

Told you we should have called before we came.

You know, Gifford, it just dawned on me that I ought to give a real live ex-non

-com and a superstar winner a test to see if he's still on the ball.

I want you to take a patrol.

Go up to Nozagary.

Oh, it's a lovely day for it, Gifford.

Nice and balmy, like they used to say in Honolulu.

Where is Nozagary?

Oh, it's a lovely little town. Beautiful, as a matter of fact. It's

just around the corner from here.

What do you want to know about it?

What I want to know? Well, let me see.

Oh.

I want to know how many beer bottles the Japanese tossed into the church.

Waco, you know they're using that place for the headquarters?

Yeah, I know it.

Give it.

Count the number of guys that threw the bottles, too.

And look, don't get the idea you and the patrol are going to goof off behind a

hill and come back this afternoon and tell me you scouted the place, because

I'm going to have the outpost check on you every 15 minutes.

All right, Francis, get lost.

Let's take a break.

Terry. Yeah? Watch the trail.

You

hear

what I hear?

We should have took care of her. Knock it off, Terry. Quiet.

Take cover.

I wonder how many more of them is coming by.

Are you crazy or something? Not crazy enough to stay here and get cut off.

Get back.

That was close!

Cut the head off.

Okay, we'll take the left fork. If it's the wrong one, we'll make a difference

in a few minutes anyway. Come on, let's move on.

Come on.

Looks deserted to me.

What do you think, Willie?

Never knew what to think about them people.

Well, we'll just go down and see.

Nothing here Let's count the beer bottles

Okay, let's move on.

That's as fanciful a tale as I ever did hear.

So you walked right along with him, huh, Francis?

He's speaking truth, Waco. Anybody talking to you?

No, Waco. Shut up!

You know what I think?

I think you never got to know Zachary.

I think he's been goofing off behind the trees someplace.

That's what they've been doing all right, Waco.

All right, so you got there. So what? Where he's been doesn't matter, Waco.

But you better worry about those mortar squads he saw.

You telling me my business? Yep.

Little Joe.

I'm getting awful tired of that face of yours.

Why don't you take Francis and his patrol here? Go up to Parade George and

relieve Tom Thumb. That's the best news I've heard in a week.

Johnson, one of these... Mortars!

Now, that was short and sweet.

Okay, Sam, okay.

Take it easy, Sam. We'll pull through or we'll take care of you. I don't need any

help.

Millard.

Millard!

Where's Millard?

I think he was crying.

Yeah. I wonder what made him want to cry.

Shut up, Terry.

We still going on the outpost, little Joe?

Beats me, Willie.

I'll just have to find out.

Waco.

Waco.

Go ahead up the bridge, George.

Okay, Jens, end of the line.

Uh-oh.

Come here, little Joe.

We got something.

Tom Thumb!

Hey, Tom Thumb!

What is it?

I got the password!

That you, little Joe?

Yeah! Don't shoot, you hear?

Must be going off your rock a little, Joe.

Never knew you to forget a password before.

Well, I'll tell you, Tom-Tom.

It's been a busy day.

Yeah, I heard the mortars. You have any casualties?

Well, I got killed.

Hey, beat us to one.

Tough tidings.

Listen, little Joe.

I've had it pretty easy up here, but there's something going on across the

river. Can't quite figure it out.

Better keep your eyes peeled after sundown. Sure will.

Well, I hate to leave this exclusive mountain resort, but... At the Waco,

boys!

Let's go.

Take her home, gents. They're all rent-free.

What'd you do before the war, Sam?

Cotton business.

Have you owned gin?

Mm-hmm.

Three of them.

I own croppers, too.

Whereabouts was this?

Grey's Landing.

From me? I'm from Walnut Creek. Used to be a cropper myself.

I figured you were.

Funny, I had you figured for quality folks, but I don't know.

You just don't act like you was.

Want to know something?

I liked you the minute I set eyes on you before I even knowed your name.

You looked beat.

I like beat people.

Yeah, Willie.

That's what I am.

Beat.

Army give you a real bad time, huh?

No.

No, I've been giving myself a real bad time.

Since long before the war.

And I found three friends in the army.

I never had any real friends before.

Then they got killed.

After that, I really was beat.

Nice thing about being beat is nothing left for a man to do but to rear himself

up off the earth.

It looks like Parade George 4 is really getting it.

Willie, keep your eye on the trail.

Okay, Joe.

Oh, no more. Please, no more.

Hold it down, Sam.

Keep it quiet.

He can't help it, Joe.

Take it easy, Sam, boy.

No more.

Easy, boy.

You'll be all right pretty soon.

I reckon that's all we can do for sellers.

Yeah.

I'm going to try and catch some sleep.

Hey, Willie.

Notice anything funny about this morning?

What do you mean, little Joe?

Waco hasn't been on the radio.

That's a fact, isn't it?

Guess I'll check with him.

Hooray, George Charlie.

Hooray, George Charlie.

Morgan, are you sure there isn't an undamaged battery down there?

I'll take another look.

Nope. Grenade got them all.

Sam?

Yeah? You and Terry go back to the company for batteries.

Okay.

Sam? Don't worry, Willie.

I'll be all right.

Anyhow, I suppose Wake will be hungry for the sodomy by now.

Hey, Terry, let's go.

See you.

Waco inside?

Where's Waco?

He's in there.

He's been relieved.

No kidding.

Relieved? Yeah, we had a couple of wounded men last week that we sent down

a regiment.

Well, I must have done some talking because Colonel Miles found out what's

been going on up here. He's been on the radio all morning long. He's coming up

tomorrow himself.

Well, that's the best news in a month of Sundays.

Yeah, Sundays, kid.

Hey, you must have had a rough time up there last night, huh?

Yeah, we lost a man.

Tough. Well, maybe Colonel Miles will relieve you when he gets here. Maybe

he'll relieve all of us. What's this about being relieved?

Ain't nobody gonna be relieved except me.

On your feet.

What are you doing here, Gibbon?

The radio went dead, Waco. We came down to get some batteries.

What do you want to listen to the radio for?

All you'll hear is somebody telling you you've been relieved.

But you ain't been relieved. Get back to outpost. Now, easy, Waco.

Captain Grimes, Lieutenant, and don't you forget it. And I've been put in

charge of this company until they named the new CEO. Now, don't you forget that.

Batteries are in there.

I ain't dismissed you yet.

I may have been relieved, but I'm still ranking officer around here.

Man can stand so much.

I ain't a man anymore.

Let's do it all I can.

He used to be a sergeant, didn't you, Gifford?

Yeah, well, I was a sergeant, too.

First sergeant.

20 years in a regular army.

It was a real army then.

Not like it is now.

Millard was in my outfit. Ask him. Swanson, too. Ask him.

You better be starting back. No, don't give me no audience!

They busted both of us, Kiffin.

You the private, me the captain.

You guys think I'm yellow, don't you?

Well, I'm not.

Here, look at this.

Look at it! Look at it!

They give it to me for what I did at Schofield Barracks on Pearl Harbor Day.

No, I ain't yellow.

Jess, I don't want to get knocked off by a crummy sniper on a crummy island.

Now that I've been relieved, send me back to Schofield.

When I get there, the first thing I want to do is send all the way to Waco, Texas

for my wife.

You know, Honolulu's the only place to live.

I don't know. I lived there for 20 years.

All my time in the army.

All right, you can take over now.

Okay, Waco. Captain Grimes! Okay, Captain! Oh, this is a sloppy outfit.

Discipline! Discipline! That's what you need!

Let me tell you something.

There's going to be a lot of people relieved when I get back to regiment.

Gifford.

Gifford.

You're the one that took that patrol to... To Nozagary, aren't you?

Yes, sir.

That was a fine job.

Yeah, that was a real fine job.

I'm going to see they make a sergeant again.

Don't worry, Swanson.

I'll have you and Millard back with me in a couple of days.

I wanted them to write to the wolves.

Where were you guys trained?

Don't you know enough to salute an officer?

I don't need a driver.

What's the matter with you? Can't you keep your vehicle in running order?

There's a lot of useless people around here. I'm gonna get rid of them.

What I need is...

Let's get the batteries.

Hey, Sam, wait a minute.

Joe, who's that?

Be quiet.

Hey, you guys up there. Hold your fire.

We're reinforcements.

Lily Lollipop.

Sorry, boys.

Waco didn't give us the countersign.

When'd you talk to Waco?

Not more than an hour ago, Joe.

All right.

Come on out where we can see you.

Okay. But don't fire any flares.

There are enemy soldiers all over this hill.

You'll just have to let us walk up in the dark.

All right.

Come on. Wait for me to fire How

many men you got Joe seven, how about you a full

squad nine men glad to see you

Willie yeah, Joe.

I've been hit I Help you Joe stay in your hole

Willie, get back to your hole.

That's an order.

First one I ever gave you.

There's only the two of us left.

Think you're gonna make it, Sam? I don't know.

You a rich man, Sam?

Yeah, I guess you'd say so.

How's it feel?

Right now, it doesn't make much difference.

I always wished I had money.

Maybe you will have.

Nah, I'm nothing but a sharecropper.

The croppers will be better off after the war.

You think so?

Mine will.

That's for sure.

You ever been in Walnut Creek?

Yeah.

What do you think of it?

Not much.

Yeah, it ain't much of a town. I ain't going back there after the war.

Where are you going?

Gray's Landing.

Hey, that's great.

Can I get a job working for you?

Sure.

What kind? Truck driver? I'm a good truck driver.

All right.

You're hired.

How much you pay?

Oh, 150 a month.

A lot of money for a fellow that's lived on 300 a year.

Any good-looking girls in Great Landing?

Lots of them.

Reckon they'd go for me?

Sure. Even if I'm a country jake?

They'd be foolish if they didn't.

I wouldn't want no high-class woman.

You can find the kind you want.

How'd you get along on 300 a year?

Row the vittles and malt can them.

That's no way to live.

Lots of folks do it that way.

My croppers might have, but they never will again.

You used to be rough on your croppers?

Yeah.

Why?

Didn't know any better.

What made you change?

People.

What they've done for me.

You're one of them, Willie.

I ain't done nothing for you, Sam.

You've done more than you know.

And I won't forget.

I won't forget anybody.

Think you're gonna make it now?

Yeah.

Yeah, I... I think so, Willie.

I reckon you will, Sam.

Does it hurt you bad?

No, but it scares me.

Blood really scares me.

Not you, though. Your hands ain't shaking.

They will be.

Sam, look down at that river.

We haven't got a chance with that many.

My leg's ruined, ain't it?

No, Willie.

It'll be stiff.

But I've heard of stiff-legged truck drivers, Willie.

Sam, you gotta make a run for it.

These hills will be crawling with them pretty soon. You get yourself out before

we get cut off. I'm staying here with you.

We'll be relieved before long.

Don't argue.

Take the BAR and go.

I don't want to see your wife or widow, you hear?

I can't go running away like that, Willie.

You're my friend. Well, you ain't my friend if you don't go.

Go on get

Got

a

full magazine See

you in Grey's Landing

You'll see me before that.

Oh, Inosuke!

Hey!

Easy, Sam.

Let me help.

Give me the gun. Don't try.

We'll know how to help you, buddy.

All right.

Come on, Sam. Give me the gun. Stay back.

See the colonel.

I gotta see the colonel.

I gotta see him. What's going on here?

Colonel.

What is it? What's happened? Colonel.

There's a hill called Parade, George.

Yes? Willie Crawford's up there.

He's the only man alive, and he's badly wounded.

You've got to get him down.

Lieutenant Thomas, take two half-tracks full of men and get up there.

Take along a couple of medics, too.

I want that man off the hill, and I want him off fast. I want a double.

Yes, sir.

You, go get the doctor. Yes, sir.

You men, give me your hand here.

Take him inside.

Hey, wait a minute.

Wait, listen.

I'm not leaving here without Willie. Take it easy, soldier.

Relax, son.

Have a cigarette?

Yes, sir.

I'm not leaving here without Willie.

Not without Willie.

One of the half-bots was just on the radio.

They're bringing him in.

What's the doctor's report?

It'll be a long time before EC's combat again.

Here's your Willie now.

Is he dead?

Nope. But he's through fight, that's for sure.

Well, Colonel, where do we go from here?

Home, I should say.

Do you hear that, Willie?

Willie?

Yeah. You ought to be stateside in a week.

I'll see that you're flowing there.

Yeah, Willie.

We got it made.

That's what we got.

For sure.

I'll have Jenny fix us up a big bank.

We'll have fried chicken and drinking whiskey.

And show on the back.

And show on the back.

A whole warehouse full.

Yeah, Willie.

We're gonna have a ball.