Original subtitles

[ddd]

Incoming!

[BOMBS DROPPING]

Take cover!

[SOLDIERS SHOUTING]

Fire!

[CANNONS FIRING]

You okay, Baker?

Come on.

Come on, come on.

What the hell kind of gun is that?

I'm not sure,

but the forward observer said it may be some type

of Russian-made heavy artillery.

Hey, Charlie's gonna level this firebase

if division artillery doesn't shut his guns down.

We don't know what the gun is.

Any sign of a probe?

No, not yet,

but we're taking casualties, L.T.

I mean, this place wasn't designed

to take this kind of pounding.

[BOMB DROPS]

Sir, we've got a chopper coming in.

Well, order him off.

I did. He told me to bug off.

Ready? Fire!

Ready? Fire!

Are you sure, sir?

Hold your fire!

There's a chopper coming in!

[HELICOPTER APPROACHING]

Get that wing-wiper out of here!

[BOMBS DROPPING]

I don't know who that sucker is,

but if he tries that again,

I'll blow him out of the sky myself.

Lieutenant Goldman!

I'm Captain Larry Heath.

I'm here to assume command of Bravo Company.

Sir, I wasn't expecting you till Monday.

Well, when I heard about the heat,

I decided to jump in a little early.

I spotted some muzzle flashes

from the chopper.

I know where those big guns are located.

Where's the CP?

Come on, on the double, gentlemen!

Feed this coordinate to Artillery.

Alpha Lima 1-niner 7780.

Alpha Lima 1-niner 7780.

Keep that line open to the chopper pilot.

One fired.

Redleg confirms one fired for range.

Artillery on the way.

Redleg, this is the chopper.

Your initial round landed 200 meters south of the target.

Roger, chopper.

Okay. Adjust and fire for effect.

Adjust and fire for effect.

Roger. We copy.

A good shot, Redleg.

You dropped it right down Charlie's tail pipe.

You won't be hearing from those guys anymore, Bravo-6.

Welcome to Firebase Ladybird, sir.

Just doing my job, lieutenant.

[REFUGEES CHATTING QUIETLY]

[BABY CRYING]

What do you make of that?

Well, they're definitely scared of something.

Look at 'em,

They're carrying everything they own.

Let's go have a talk with the captain.

This new captain must be really wired

to snag all this stuff.

You don't spend a year

on General Woodman's staff in Saigon,

and not have your act together, Ru.

Yeah, this guy, he's definitely okay in my book.

Nancy Sinatra, man.

Look at that miniskirt!

Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo!

Ooh, captain. Captain.

At ease.

You know, I know a guy in special services

who's going to send us all the most recent releases

as soon as they come in.

In case you don't know,

my previous post was on General Woodman's staff

in Saigon.

I had a nice big desk,

nice big air-conditioned office,

and I gave it up to come here.

I fought to come here.

You know why?

You could be crazy.

Because we have a chance to make history, gentlemen.

We have a chance to end this war.

Hanoi needs a victory.

We're gonna get in his way.

We're gonna scour this entire valley.

So when Charlie tries to make his move,

we're gonna be there, we're gonna know about it,

and we're gonna break his neck.

The risks are great,

but the rewards, gentlemen,

are greater.

Bravo company is gonna become the meanest, toughest,

and most effective fighting unit in Vietnam.

You men are soldiers,

and as soldiers, your job,

what you're being paid for, is to grease dinks.

You should be encouraged to do so.

So what we're gonna do

is we're gonna give you a bonus when you do a good job.

From now on, every month,

the squad with the most kills

gets a week in R and R at Vung Tau,

premier beach in Vietnam.

Right on!

[SOME SOLDIERS CHEERING]

Premier beach!

Carry on, gentlemen.

TAYLOR: Now, there's a man with ideas.

I think I like this dude.

Sir...

Excuse me, sir.

What is it, lieutenant?

Well, sir, I think you're right

about Charlie making his big move.

Did you see the refugees

outside the wire?

Obviously, something's about ready to jump off.

Yes, sir.

I just hope the captain, here, realizes

our defenses here still need a lot of work.

I mean, the perimeter wire's never been finished.

We still need tangle-foot

and about 10 or 12 rolls of chicken wire out there.

We're not building a farm, here, sergeant.

Yes, sir, I'm aware of that.

I also remember what happened to the French

at Dien Bien Phu.

Well, as I'm sure you realize,

the nature of warfare has changed dramatically

since Dien Bien Phu.

We're protected 24 hours a day

by the most sophisticated system

in military history.

I just hope

that Charlie is foolish enough to attack this place,

and in the meantime,

we're not gonna dig in here

like a bunch of gophers.

Yes, sir.

Well, now,

what do you make of this fellow?

[SIGHS]

Well, he may be a general someday,

but he's dead wrong about our defenses.

I heard that.

Okay, L.T.,

I'd like to get the third squad

busy digging those trenches right away.

Well, dig quietly.

I'll try and cover you.

All right.

I hope our lives don't get in the way

of his ambition.

So how many bonus points per foot

do we get for this job, huh?

Somewhere between zero and none.

Yeah, next thing, they'll be wanting us

to sing one of those songs

that goes doo-dah, doo-dah.

Guys, water break.

All right.

All right.

Give me that.

So how many days you got left, Doc?

I got 15 and a wake-up.

Wow, that's great. What're you gonna do

when you're a civilian, Doc?

Oh, man, I can't even think that far down the road.

I already re-enlisted.

You what?

I re-enlisted.

See, they got this new program.

I get an army scholarship to medical school,

and I serve the rest of my time

after I graduate.

Yeah, Doc, you're the only guy I know's

gonna get out of this mess

with more than scars on your tail.

Wow, that's all right!

I bet your parents are real proud, eh?

Yeah, they are.

See, they were both in internment camps

during World War II.

Lost everything.

House, everything.

My dad keeps saying get all the education you can.

Said they can't steal that from you.

You know, a doctor gig wouldn't be that bad.

You get to write the prescriptions

for all the dangerous drugs you want,

you get a slough of nurses chasing after,

and all you got to do is re-up for six years.

I would not do that, Doc.

[LAUGHING]

He's got a point.

Go away.

See you guys.

Think about it, Doc. Think about it!

Sergeant, what's going on here?

Well, I took it upon myself to get some trenches dug

and we strung some wire up along the berm there.

Who gave you the orders?

Sir, I, uh... gave the Sergeant the orders.

I thought these men were scheduled

to go on reconnaissance of the valley floor,

but obviously they're too busy here digging ditches.

Send out another squad.

Yes, sir.

I want to see you in the CP in an hour.

Yes, sir.

Santucci!

Get your men! Saddle up!

Apparently we have different ideas

about the chain of command.

I don't know what you mean, sir.

You don't know what I mean?

Platoon sergeant seems to have an inordinate influence

on decision-making around here.

The platoon sergeant's on his third combat tour,

and I'm proud to say I've learned a lot from him.

I think the hallmark of any good officer

is to be willing to listen.

I'm listening, Lieutenant.

Sir, we need to fortify this base--

I'm not against

shoring up Ladybird's defenses.

On the contrary, I want that done

as quickly as our limited manpower will permit.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

But every command has its priorities,

and ours are aggressive patrol and reconnaissance.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

What we need

are confirmed sightings of enemy troop movement.

Charlie's intent,

and intelligence reports confirm this,

is to use this valley

for a surprise attack on Danang and Chu Lai.

Well, if that's the case, sir,

they're not gonna by-pass Ladybird.

They'd be leaving an active firebase to the rear.

Now, you listen to me.

Charlie cannot afford an attack on this base.

It'd use up his assets, it'd slow him down,

and lead to certain annihilation.

He will pass us by.

Am I getting through to you, lieutenant?

Yes, sir.

Good.

Lieutenant...

you and I have gotten off to a bumpy start.

I regret that.

I do too, sir.

I'm on the fast track, here, lieutenant.

The opportunities for advancement

have never been greater.

I know we can work together.

I'm sure of it.

Sarge, someone's gonna have to

get us some more wire.

Wow, Santucci's squad

got themselves a prisoner.

Something ain't right.

Hold it right there, now!

Where's your squad leader?

Where's Santucci?

What's the problem?

I don't know, sir.

What's he doing? He's out of his mind?

[SPEAKING VIETNAMESE]

[GUNFIRE]

[SHOUTING]

NVA, 409th regular infantry.

Charlie's starting to make his move.

Last report on this unit, they were north of Hanoi.

He's playing right into our hands.

What the hell were they doing that close to the base?

Oh, probably wanted to have a first-hand look at us.

Once they start their move through the valley,

they'll have to keep us bottled up.

Or run us over.

I know how these people think.

This base is of no strategic importance to them.

Hey, maybe Santucci's still alive.

Hey, we better send out another patrol,

see what happened to them.

Yes, sir.

That was damn good shooting, sergeant.

I'm gonna give third squad

credit for three kills.

This will look very good

in General Woodman's trophy case.

You get your squad, Anderson. Let's get it done.

Let's go.

Baker, what are you doing?

I thought I saw something.

Hey, come on, man.

Look, I want that weekend at the beach.

Man, my butt's dragging too low

for an incentive program.

Baker, you all right?

I'm sick, man.

Did you take your salt tablets?

Drink some water, come on.

What's the problem here?

He's dehydrated, Sarge.

We gotta get him out of the sun.

What, are you crazy or something, Baker?

You're packing enough ammo

to break down a mule in this heat.

He's wants to go surfing awful bad.

Oh, yeah? Let me tell you something,

this incentive program

is gonna get some people killed here.

Hey, Sarge, take a look at this.

Baker, you take some of that off.

Here, not too much.

What have you got, blood?

No, blood's darker, and you can smell it.

It's cosmoline.

Is that grease or something?

Well, not exactly. The NVA uses this stuff

to their protect weapons in transit.

Rockets and mortars, mostly.

Got more of it over here, Sarge.

Yeah?

And look, see the tire tracks?

They must've moved a whole weapons platoon through here.

They never clean this stuff off till they're ready to fire.

Sarge, better get up here.

Latrines.

I wouldn't be surprised

if a whole company bivouaced here last night.

Any sign of Santucci's squad?

Nothing.

All right, you guys,

we could be getting in over our heads, here.

I want every one of you at 100%.

Let's move out.

Sarge...

Santucci.

All right, keep your eyes open and your mouths shut.

Percell... you and me, we stick to the trail.

The rest of you, fan out. Come on.

[VARIOUS JUNGLE BIRDS CALLING]

Sarge? Sarge...

Sarge!

Sarge!

Sarge!

Santucci.

Oh, man, I'm gonna be sick.

Let's get the hell out of here, Sarge.

No, we got to cut 'em down.

So you turned tail and ran?

No, sir, we withdrew.

Hell, they could've nailed us anytime they wanted to.

How many did you see?

Believe me, sir, they're out there.

I mean, they wanted us to find those bodies.

Did you take any fire?

No, sir, they're trying to spook us.

I mean, there were tracks everywhere.

We came across a bivouac--

Your job... what you're being paid for,

is to find the enemy, notify me

so I can call in air and artillery support!

I wasn't gonna risk my men's lives any further.

I mean, we got the proof we need--

I can't go to General Woodman with a greasy rag!

I need concrete, conclusive evidence

that the enemy's moving through this sector!

Well, we need more men.

No, what we need is competent leadership!

What we need is a certain kind of aggressiveness,

and if you're not up to the job--

NVA [ON MEGAPHONE]: Attention!

Attention all GI in Bravo Company!

You are surrounded

by the People's Army of North Vietnam!

You have no chance!

You must surrender now,

or you will die!

Put down your arms, GI!

Why do you fight L.B.J.'s unjust and immoral war?

[BOMB DROPS]

How long could this go on?

Till Charlie runs out of ammo, I guess.

Yeah, but what's he up to?

I mean, it's been going on and off all day long.

You are victims of capitalist oppression!

Look around you!

There are no sons of the ruling elite

fighting at your side!

It's bull, man!

What about Horn? He went to college, right?

[MORTAR ROUND DROPS]

You are surrounded!

Unless you surrender,

you only have a few hours to live!

[RADIO FEEDBACK]

You're on the air, baby.

TAYLOR: Get down!

You're singing the wrong tune, chop mouth!

That's right! You the ones better surrender,

you little sawed-off fish head suckers!

That's right! This is your last chance,

or you're all gonna look like leftovers

from a razor fight at a chitlin supper!

[LAUGHING]

Hey, Chief, come here, come here.

Say something about Ho Chi Minh's mama.

[SPEAKING VIETNAMESE]

[VOICE RESPONDS ANGRILY IN VIETNAMESE]

[SOLDIERS LAUGHING]

Way to go, man.

You did pretty good.

It doesn't even need a translation.

You messed 'em up, boy.

All right, fish heads!

This is Radio Ladybird! You--

[EXPLOSION]

No more joke, GI.

Tonight, you die!

Are we out of water?

We're close.

Yeah, we're running low

on ammo for the mortars too.

To your health, soldier.

Pass it around.

Now, I know you guys are concerned about fireworks

and the shortage of ammo and water.

Just got off the horn with Brigade.

Resupply's on its way,

and as for the shelling,

it's not a prelude

to an assault on this base.

Charlie's intention is to harass us

and to pin us down, nothing more.

Charlie is playing right into our hands.

His big move is underway.

As soon as we've pinpointed his troop concentrations,

our fighter bombers and our artillery

will waste him.

Gentlemen,

what's happening right here in this valley

could lead directly to the end of the war.

We've set in motion a great historical event.

You're going to be proud

to tell your grandchildren you were here.

Now, keep your chins up and your heads down.

You'll be all right.

You got my word on that.

[BOMBS DROPPING]

Cover!

Take your positions!

Come on! Come on!

It's set.

Aim one. Fire!

Percell...

Well, we've only got about 10 gallons left.

That's if the dinks didn't hit the barrels

in the last few minutes.

[BOMB DROPPING]

Just keep your chin up and your head down, L.T.,

and we'll be all right.

Yeah, right.

Sir...

Sir, it's a secure net.

Colonel Dalby from General Woodman's staff.

This is Bravo Six. Over.

What's happening, Six?

We're receiving heavy firepower, sir.

We need immediate counterartillery support.

We got problems all over.

There's a mortar attack

on your direct support artillery base.

Their headquarters

in the fire direction center

are off the air.

What about Tac Air?

Negative.

Your air cover has been pre-empted

by an attack on Lon Vi.

It's a mess.

We got action everywhere.

Sir... we need some help up here.

Do the best you can, Larry.

We'll get you something

as soon as it's available.

Yes, sir.

Don't worry. He'll get us some support..

even if he has to go all the way up to General Woodman.

Aah!

Caldwell...

Caldwell!

You hang in there, Teddy.

You hang in there, you're gonna be all right.

Come on, now. Come on.

My glasses. My glasses.

[TEDDY WHIMPERING]

[BOMBS DROPPING]

Teddy, quit your screaming! You're gonna make it!

Here, Doc!

Take him to the bunker.

He's moving everybody down.

Come on, Doc, he's in a lot of pain--

Hey, I'm out of morphine.

Let's go!

What did I tell you, lieutenant?

Here comes our resupply.

Should be plenty of ammo in there besides water.

[GUNFIRE]

CHOPPER PILOT: Bravo Six, we're coming in hot.

We're taking heavy machine gun fire!

We're hit! We're hit! We're turning back!

Good luck, Bravo-6!

CAPTAIN: They dropped it outside the wire.

Captain, we don't get that ammo,

we're gonna be throwing rocks at Charlie.

We'll cover you.

Let's go!

Grab it and go! Grab it and go!

Got to go!

Go! Go! Go!

Come on!

Give them some cover! Burn the mountain!

Sir, that's a waste of ammo--

Cover fire!

Get out of here! Get out of here!

Nice work, sergeant. You got most of it.

These are useless in our tubes.

This is 60-millimeter. We need 81.

[BOMBS DROPPING]

What was the name of that creek somebody said we were up?

[BOMB DROPS]

[AMMO EXPLODING]

[HORN PLAYING HARMONICA]

Hey, Randy...

Yeah?

What's this for?

My grandmother gave it to me.

It's supposed to bring you good luck.

So why are you giving it to me?

Because I can tell

you're gonna be a big successful doctor someday.

I just wanted you to know--

if only one of us makes it out of here alive, I...

I'd rather it be you.

If we bury it,

at least the gooks won't be able

to get our stuff.

You know, I started writing my mom in English.

It's gonna be hard enough

for her to understand this in Spanish, sarge.

All right, y'all, now, listen up, here.

I want you to take one of your dog tags

and stick it inside your boot.

All right?

Sarge...

Yeah?

We don't have a chance, do we?

Oh, yes, we do, Percell. There's always a chance.

You'll be all right.

Hey, Ruiz...

Now, when this is over,

I want you to get yourself a haircut, you hear me?

I ain't ready for this, Sarge.

Well, man, nobody is... you know?

What about the support you promised me?

Where the hell are they?

They've been diverted

to a hot spot up north.

Is General Woodman aware of the situation?

Affirmative.

You know the problem as well as I do, Larry,

we couldn't commit

air and artillery to your sector

without a confirmed target.

We're taking heat everywhere.

I'll get back to you.

Yes, sir.

What are your orders, sir?

Orders? What do you need orders for?

For the defense of the firebase.

The enemy will attack tonight.

If the sergeant had followed my orders to begin with,

we wouldn't have been cut off like this.

Sir, in all fairness to the sergeant--

All Sgt. Anderson had to do was to beat the bushes

and flush out a third-rate peasant army!

Air artillery would have destroyed them!

All you had to do

was force the enemy to engage!

If I would've done that,

I would've lost my entire squad.

In warfare,

it's sometimes necessary to take losses

in order to gain your objective!

If you don't understand that, sergeant,

you're unfit to wear those stripes!

Sir!

We're running low on ammunition.

We are surrounded,

and the enemy is mounting a major assault

on this base!

Now, what are your orders?

[BOMBS DROPPING]

There's nothing we can do.

This base is lost.

Request permission to burn the code books, sir.

Go ahead.

L.T., now, I don't care what that man says.

We can't just roll over on our backs

and die here.

We aren't.

We still got those mortar shells?

Yeah, and a C-4 block.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, you guys, on your feet. We got to move.

Taylor, you got to round up some det cord.

Baker and Horn, there are a couple buckets of nails

over by the mess tent.

You go get them. Pick up any nuts, bolts,

anything metal you can get your hands on.

All right, Percell, you and Johnson go help the L.T..

Come on! Come on! Come on!

We got to go!

I got the det cord.

All right, guys,

we're running out of time.

Baker... did you set those gasoline cans like I told you?

Yeah, I got a barrel in every pit in the base.

Now, here's a diagram that'll show you how to rig 'em up.

Ruiz, give him a hand.

Soap suds?

Yeah.

Take this detergent with you. You're gonna need det cord,

and as many phosphorus grenades as you can get your hands on.

Percell, Horn! Get those mortar shells!

I thought they were the wrong kind.

We're gonna use 'em anyway.

Now, listen to me. Listen close.

You gotta unscrew the fuse, take the fuse out,

insert the det cord with a dab of C-4,

you screw the fuse back in.

You wrap 'em together with electrical wire,

then you sneak out to the perimeter as far as you can,

and you string your electrical wire

right back to that little old detonator.

You got it? Now, if you don't, tell me now. Got it.

What's going on?

All right, we're gonna set up three lines of defense--

the perimeter, CP bunker, and a little treat for Charlie

if he happens to make it through the first two.

All right, let's do it. Come on.

Johnson, you're my new cannoneer.

Yes, sir, but I ain't got any ammo.

Just get me some nails and some wire.

[ddd]

There's a relief column on its way.

When?

By daylight.

Captain, by daylight,

there ain't gonna be anything left here

but elbows and toenails.

You'll never understand how the modern army works.

You got that right.

Last of the water, man.

Last of the water, guys.

Taylor, Johnson.

Last of the water.

I brought you some water, sarge.

Thanks. Did you get some of that? Yeah?

Yo, Danny.

Better drink up while you can.

You guys okay?

Yeah, yeah, we're all right.

All right.

I'm counting on you.

Me too.

I just heard from Battalion.

Yeah?

Nothing.

You ready?

Yeah. You?

Yeah.

You wait until they're on us, Zeke.

Yes, sir.

Incoming!

All right, when the shells hit, get your heads back up!

Charlie's gonna be right behind them!

Fire!

That's all I can do for now, all right? Go. Go on!

Here they come.

Don't fire till you hear the 60s.

Hold your fire, now! Hold your fire!

All right, stand by. I'm going to hit some mortar!

All right, they're coming!

Hold your fire, now.

Wait till they hit the wire, then give them a jolt!

All right, 60's get it!

Grenade!

Fall back to the CP!

Come on!

Get some more clips over here!

[YELLING IN VIETNAMESE]

[SOLDIERS YELLING FRANTICALLY]

Where's the doc? We need a medic!

Doc! Get out of there!

Get down to CP!

To hell with Redleg's priority!

We're being overrun here!

Redirect all general fire! Do you copy?

Do you copy?

Do you hear me?

The antenna's down!

Get away from the door!

Everybody down!

Here goes our second jolt!

[COUGHING]

[SPEAKING VIETNAMESE]

Listen.

All right. Charlie's digging through.

All right, everybody get down

as flat as you can.

See you all in hell.

[ddd]

PILOT: Uh, move in with extreme caution, Abel seven.

There's no sign of the enemy.

As a matter of fact,

there's no sign of life down there at all.

Man, this place is really wasted.

[ddd]

Larry. Are you okay? Hmm?

Yes, sir, Colonel Dalby.

We lost a lot of good men.

I'm going to recommend this soldier

for a silver star.

You did a hell of a job.

The general's going to be real proud of you.

You all did a hell of a job.

The damn kill ratio must be better than 11 to 1.

We slaughtered them.

This is just the kind of head-on fight

we've been waiting for.

With a little luck,

there'll be a lot more days like this one.

[ddd]

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