Original subtitles

so

so

the first time i saw her was at the

naval air station in alameda california

on a morning in february 1945.

you'd have never known to look at her

that she was a battle-scarred veteran

who had fought bravely in the philippine

sea and had practically been destroyed

when i thought of what this carrier had

been through

how she'd fought with flying colors

i was proud to be assigned to her

i'd heard a lot about her captain too

i was very anxious to meet him maybe a

little nervous even because he was

supposed to be as tough as the ship

he was reputed to be one of the toughest

men in the navy to serve under

whether he was a fair man too or just

tough

time would tell

in a little while now i'd meet him

lieutenant commander mcintyre reporting

aboard of course father mcintyre welcome

aboard lieutenant hanson i'm glad to be

here lieutenant

we didn't expect you until pearl i

couldn't wait i caught a ride on a plane

father mcintyre

i'm john moody protestant chaplain

aboard well i'm glad to know you john

good to know you too father you should

have a lot to talk about being we're in

the same business huh chaplain would you

show the father a stateroom uh zero one

two eight be glad to come this way

father surely hope you find your

stateroom comfortable father thanks

thanks a lot

have you ever been aboard a carrier

before father no never

i wanna know this one from stem to stern

i want to know all of our people

well that'll take a lot of knowing

we have over 3 200 men aboard this ship

well that should be enough for both of

us

uh many protestants

quite a few

how was your turn

oh it could be better

or maybe i can be of some help

what

oh i promise not to steal any of your

customers

padre

remember

me pete kelly

wow

the last time i saw you was in a

hospital bed in pensacola

he ditched his training plane nearly

drowned himself that was a close call

close enough i remember a pretty girl

who used to visit you in the hospital

mary uh

what was her name mary carty oh yes of

course and uh what became of mary connie

she's a mrs p kelly now father oh good

for you boy good for you any little

kelly's not yet but soon i hope soon i

hope

well this will be your first experience

at combat duty hey pete that's right

father we had our final training at

santa rosa

all right you swab chucky's get the

letter and get back

why this ship has got to be polluted

with a mess of skinheads like you guys

is more than i can figure out

but i'm stuck with you and i got to make

the best of it i don't know you can

either

that gear ain't stowed by the time

dinner is piped down we'll work around

the clock many of you guys don't like

the way you're getting treated tell your

troubles to chaplain moody

right right

[Music]

buck our new chaplain father mcintyre

our chief boltson buck fitzpatrick oh

we're proud to have you aboard father

how are you buck all right boys get back

to your working parties before i lose my

temper

not that i ever do

buck the chaplain said he'd like to see

the ship and you know her better than we

do are you just leaving to me sir you'll

be in good hands buck's been with her

ever since she was launched i'll take

your bags and your orders back to your

stateroom if you want that's very good

of you john thank you very much father

see you peter been in the navy long

father

oh about a year but never served on a

carrier before

this is a lot of [ __ ]

about thirty thousand ten

[Music]

he's a good band

and a good leader eddie everett

used to be a radio headliner you've

probably heard of him

yeah i think i have

[Music]

all right eddie pick up the tempo let's

have a little feed in there

shall we

these are some of our bad boys being

mustard father the prisoners at large

and restricted men

for their sins

nothing serious just fighting coming

aboard croc you know the usual

but you take that one guy at the end

chris jordan that's a case for you

tough guy

i'm just in trouble all the time nothing

serious just uh

just stubborn

maybe he needs a little help from my

department well i don't know father

maybe he doesn't want to go to

heaven let's go

look you want to go ashore tonight might

be our last chance are you nuts look i

got a spot where we can have a real ball

i got it all doped out when the guys

break for dinner we hide out when it

gets dark we come back we slip out we go

ashore

no sir i'll have no part of it

when they ask you about me what are you

going to say my name rate and serial

number very clever

we're going top side now father

[Music]

well there it is

this is what most people have in mind

when they speak of a flat top

the flight deck for the planes landing

and taking off

what they don't know is that the main

part of a carrier is down below that's

where her heart is

our ship is as long as three football

fields if you stretch them out end to

win

below decks we've got everything you'd

find in the average american town

and we also have the best barbershop in

the navy

you with the new air group

yeah i'm turret gunner on ensign pete

kelly's plane

my name's halsey william

come again

william halsey yeah

okay admiral

address and there is diction what do you

want that for nothing's gonna happen to

me

i hope oh yes there is

after the war

look son

do you realize hundreds and thousands of

kids have come west to fight this war

kids who've never been away from home

before

what do you think gives them the biggest

kick california and when the war's over

and then same lonesome kids come back

where do you think they'll be heading

california

what do you think they'll be looking for

dame right

what does that lead to marriage

what happens is a direct result

babies that's what can happen to you

admiral no kidding

if you pray your cards right hey give me

some of that food for will you

see kid in my business i sort of got

nature working for me i'm in real estate

i'll put a roof over your head

where do you think you're gonna want it

where else but in california

say you must be from

california and this kid's pretty smart

this is your new chaplain boys father

mcintyre howdy hi no carry on fellas

the best way for us to get acquainted is

the services

well father that's about the end of the

50-cent tour

you want to go further

yeah let's keep going long as my legs

hold out

elsian church what's alongside so long

boys

where was i california oh yeah yeah

see kid my old man's got a 60 acre

orange grove right in the heart of san

fernando valley when i get back

i'm gonna rip up them trees

and i'm gonna build homes for vets when

them guys come pouring off them ships

into the arms of their ever-loving babes

the little loveness are gonna be ready

and waiting for

four bedrooms two heads no money down

move right in

now we're in the after engine room

father this is well below the water line

this is one of the four engines that'll

drive the ship through the water at

almost 40 miles an hour

big huh

amanda good afternoon buck like to have

you meet our new chaplain father

mcintyre commander glassy glad to know

you father welcome aboard thank you well

that's about the end of the tour

has the father seen steering out yet

votes

of course you wouldn't want to see that

that's a way way out you got to go way

down

yes i'd like to

if you're not too tired oh no i'm

feeling fine i was thinking that maybe

you might be getting a

little no no no

staring at it

staring at you wants to see there's

nothing back there he's got to see more

stairs

after you father

go ahead

[Music]

this is your new chaplain boys he wants

to see what goes on down here we heard

you were bored father i'm marty brennan

my name is this is actually golden hello

auntie tom short

tom

well so this is where the ship can be

steered by hand

yes or in case the main controls in the

pilot house are damaged or shot away

how is it done

well

in an emergency we unclutch the steering

engine we use this hand crank

we get our directions from the pilot

house over the sound power phone

it takes 70 turns of this crank to turn

the rudder one degree

and this is your battle station yes

father this is

well thanks boys

hey folks chris jordan is still playing

trick man yeah what are you doing now

he's out hiding somewhere on his ship

and they got search parties out looking

for him you see what did i tell your

father

coming up

[Music]

[Music]

that's my father

[Music]

no telling what this guy might do sir

let's go jordan

what's the matter

well he was due for a promotion of chief

boston's mate he didn't get it he blames

everybody but himself

i'd like to have a talk with him buck go

ahead father but i'm afraid you're

wasting your time i'll wait for you on

the hanger deck

i'm father mcintyre the new chaplain

i'd like to speak to this man alone

all right sir

howdy hello sir

sit down

well first you can forgive my curiosity

and

then you can tell me

what's wrong with you

physically or spiritually

mentally

i'm 100 sound and i got a brain like a

steel trap

and you're stuck with it

i can understand your disappointment

when you weren't promoted who told you

about that

[ __ ]

bless his dear little heart

but i can't understand the fuss you make

about it

got a raw deal

they promoted a guy with half my

experience i've got more sense than a

lot of those dopes wearing chiefs hats

i'm a high school graduate

oh a high school man

but uh

by your behavior you're proving they

were right

i got a sneaking idea they were wrong

wouldn't be trying to sell me a bill of

goods would you father like religion for

instance

well religion is my job

sooner or later i get around to it

but right now all i'm trying to do is

straighten out a fellow who's headed the

wrong way

your hatred doesn't hurt anybody but

yourself

i don't hate anybody father

i like everybody on this ship especially

dear old buck i just want to get as far

away from them as possible that's all

you requested a transfer naturally but

they ignore it and i don't like being

ignored

so i get in their hair and one day

they'll get tired of looking at me and

kiss me goodbye

anything else

nope guess not

but you're here for me again thank you

sir

if you were a betting man father i'd let

you ten to one you didn't get the first

base

no i didn't

but i'll be up with that again

and if i were a betting man i'd be

inclined to take your bed by the

mcintyre

been looking all over for you heard you

were aboard i'm commander matthews well

how do you do commander our executive

officer father he's been with the ship

ever since she was commissioned

welcome aboard thank you thank you

commander commander

come along father meet the captain oh

i'll be glad to

well buck

thanks for everything okay father

be seeing you

more coffee father

yes thanks

just to drop

that's enough it's not thank you

well i've heard some great things about

your ship captain

you got a lot of battle stars i wasn't

with her when she got them they gave her

to me after she was hit by a job suicide

plane and i brought her back for repairs

she's my first big command he forgot to

tell your father

the captain took an emotion in order to

take over command of this ship well that

demotion wasn't much of a sacrifice i

was a fighter pilot for years flew off

the old langley

i always wanted to command a carrier

i've done just about everything in this

navy

even swab decks

you see father i started as an enlisted

man on what they call a mustang

and the fact that i began at the bottom

has always been a kind of a challenge

yes i can understand that that's my wife

and daughter leslie

leslie sixteen she graduates from high

school this year i hope i'll be there to

see it

she looks more like my wife than she

does like me

i'd like to be a break for leslie

it is

we'll be the flagship of a task group

dedicated to a difficult dangerous

mission

we've got a great crew but during the

session in drydock with so much leave

the usual thing happened they slack off

the men have been getting a little out

of hand captain

well now it's time to take in the slack

father it's great to have you aboard

it's great to be aboard

[Music]

attention all hands

attention all hands

this is an order from the captain

a message has just been received which

orders our ship to sail tomorrow instead

of the day after

for this reason he regrets to announce

that all leave and liberty must be

cancelled effective immediately

that is all ain't the skipper got no

place to go wait till my old lady hears

about this picks up a standard they

ought to call this ship the alcatraz all

right you guys cut the chatter

you know we never get liberty the last

night in port

leave your quarters

now the smoking lamp is out throughout

the ship while taking aboard aviation

gasoline and fuel oil

oh hello mr kelly

i didn't know you're standing there in

the dark hi admiral sit on

i've never been so low in all my life

i wired dad and mom telling him i talked

to him on long distance tonight

then i had to go send another wire

calling it off on a kind of no liberty

my dad's a great old guy

but he's been very sick lately

it's tough admiral

i'll bet you were glad to see your wife

when she came in yesterday yeah i met

her at the airport i thought we were

going to be together tonight today's her

birthday but we couldn't make it

i said goodbye to her on the

phone had some news she was saving for

me

we're gonna have a baby

oh that's tough

oh i don't mean about the baby that's

swell but well i mean not being with her

when she told you

that's

terrible now look mr kelly it's all

gonna be okay they'll be waiting for you

on the dock when you get back in

you just keep your chin up huh

huh that's it

just think

a baby

and i'm your turret gunner oh golly am i

proud

[Laughter]

tell me how can they do this to me i

promise to meet this doll tonight don't

worry somebody'll meet her that's what

i'm afraid of let me ask you something

what are we fighting this thinking war

for for life liberty and the pursuit of

happiness so now comes the skipper and

says we ain't got no liberty we ain't

got no right to pursue nothing now look

i don't mind fighting and bleeding when

did you ever blade squawk don't my nose

bleed every time them five inches go off

that's your psychological reaction to

gunfire what's your language fella

every time it goes off it scares the

pants off you

you should crack about being scared

why'd you want to go ashore the other

night

i had a date you mean you were trying to

ditch your date the same date we all got

in the battle area i've been on his

bucket ever since she made her first

strike and i should have got my liberty

tonight all you got to do is tell the

captain there's no problem just tell the

captain i'd like to tell a captain

quiet

if they find out you snuck meyer aboard

the ship they'll throw you both

overboard

don't worry about maya he knows rang you

let a guard stripes on his arms come in

and

vom right under the bunk goes maya

say i keep hearing about this guy buck

buck will do this and buckle do that

who's buck

buck's a chief bolson you'll know him

when you hear him never speaks above a

whisper

carry on you guys carry on

this is just a social visit

i'm making around to see that

everything's buttoned up

everybody present accounted for yeah we

got our full count warden

you must have done time someplace huh

jordan i'm doing my time now hey how

come these guys don't have liberty

tonight what difference does it make to

you you wouldn't have gotten one anyway

oh i'm not thinking of myself i'm only

thinking of my shipmates my buddies who

do you think you're kidding you don't

give a hoot about anybody but yourself

look i'm getting sore about this and

when we dock back at pearl i'm gonna go

to the captain and demand a transfer

well if you do i'll okay it i'll

recommend that you could transfer her to

the waves

can't you see he's just stringing you

this last night belongs to the ship

she's your dame now you're married to

her and she don't want any of you guys

cheating on her

you may be married to her but i got big

news for you i'm getting a divorce

look jordan

there's one thing you got to learn

there's only three things important to a

sailor

his wife his kids and his ship

oh so you imitate dogs huh yes sir

you imitate any other animals no sir

just dogs well go ahead do a dog

imitation of a dog with a can tied to

its tail

[Music]

ah

he's also a ventriloquist oh yes sir

imitation of a dog on the flight deck

okay kid save it save it

golder

when you asked for permission to bring a

dog on this ship i said no no mascots

where is he

come out maya come on

please don't make me give him up sir you

know the regulations if we'da had to

leave i was gonna take him ashore and

find a home for him it's no use colder

if i let you guys have your own way

you'd make a floating zoo out of this

ship

i gotta have discipline

[Music]

do

all right push your penis you don't

belong on this ship

[Music]

i don't like those kids trying to pull

the wool over these old navy eyes huh

tried to bring the pooch aboard huh

boats tried to we did the kid had it as

bug

i heard the dog parking when i walked

over one of his buddies tried to make

believe he was a ventriloquist is that

an old

[Music]

good night don't tell me good night

folks

[Music]

on the morning of february 7th 1945 the

ship was ready to leave from the

anchorage at alameda

as we headed for the golden gate the

shores of our homeland seem more

beautiful than ever

the desire to keep them so

clearly etched that picture in my memory

[Music]

on the way to pearl harbor intensive

training was the order of the day there

was a big job ahead of us and everyone

had to be ready computer defense toy

peter defended

battlestar

[Music]

gun stations

[Music]

torpedo attack

nine betties coming in from dead ahead

distance twenty thousand yards

all 40 millimeter mounts ready

[Music]

all five inch mounts

ready all guns ready to commence firing

combat information center ready

distance ten thousand yards firing

command's firing

[Music]

[Music]

damage control reports conditioned yoke

is set throughout the ship

main control reports all boilers on the

line for full power

cease firing

cease firing

[Music]

three minutes to commence firing six

minutes for damage control to secure

watertight integrity

not bad on gun stations yeah but six

minutes is too long for damage control

to button up the ship if we're not

secure below decks we go down like a ton

of bricks

continue the drills particularly damage

control simulate everything that may

come up in the combat zone i can't

keep him out of joe

when we go into battle every man aboard

this ship should do his job

automatically

i don't want one man to die or cause the

death of anyone else for lack of

training that's all joe thanks yes sir

some of you guys seem to think we won a

war in the first round

but that ain't the case

we got a long way to go before the final

bell and it's going to get tougher every

minute

you guys get all thoughts of the beats

dames and liberty out of your mind for

keeps

there just ain't no such thing where

we're going

and thinking about them only files up

the work that's cut out for us and

another thing

on the way to pearl we're going to drill

around the clock

and you go to these drills on the

doubler

but from now on on the double meat

you've got to move faster than sound

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

general quarters

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

four minutes and 50 seconds that's still

not good enough

men have had a tough day captain they're

all [ __ ] out under battle conditions

they may not see their bunks for 72

hours at a time

one more drill for damage control and

then we'll secure

damage control will be our salvation if

a kamikaze ever gets through our combat

air patrol or an aircraft garage

hi sir

me

[Music]

i know

[Music]

dear sweetie pie i sleep every night

with a picture you sent me under my

pillow and every morning i kiss your big

blue eyes hey give me that thing

with me to hear how you shut down an

enemy plane single-handedly give me that

saved your ship come home to your level

all right

squawk i told you you know when you

throw a left you got to keep your guard

up otherwise you're wide open for a

right you know i've told you this

all right knock it off you're both on

report for fighting fighting

knee fight with my old pal squawk or

playmates i was just giving him a couple

of lessons in the manly art of

self-defense

you don't believe me ask anybody

ask father joe

yeah i think it was a sparring match

okay father but you guys watch it we've

got enough trouble on the ship the way

it is

may i be forgiven for that white lie

maybe you boys are a little over trained

a little overtrained are you kidding

father this is the first night we've had

without a drill

well you better make the most of it get

yourself a good night's rest

come on thanks father good night

[Music]

[Music]

oh

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

no not again

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

what's that green tip you what are you

trying to do rip it off

more training

we've got some night fighters out we're

responding the deck we'll need more room

to take them aboard when they come back

this is the last one kids

i'm glad that's over i'm dying on my

feet now there's an idea bill all day

long and get called out of your bunks in

the middle of the night did you quit

your beefing jordan

captain

but

the flight deck has been responded

due to the number of planes we got on

the flight deck we're unable to get that

last barrier up

request mission let the flight deck crew

go below until half an hour before the

knight fighters land aboard

if i bring aircraft aboard with that

last barrier down it's too big a risk

you can't get the barrier up because

your spot's too loose we spot the deck

this guy kidding how much does he think

we can take okay boys you heard what the

captain said we got to respond to my

deck get moving

come on

i've seen some tough skippers in my life

but this guy's the champ move that front

line forward so we can close up what's

in back of it

the only thing we have to respond buddy

is the guy up on the bridge come back

here jordan

what are we gonna do sweetheart oh it's

a little come on over here i wanna talk

to you

you know better than the sound off like

that the captain knows what he's doing

and he's right he's your team god you

should have married him i ought to kick

you over the side and i would too if it

wasn't against regulations you couldn't

get rid of me big shot use your

influence get me a transfer stop acting

like a juvenile get some sense in your

head

maybe right i guess i've been acting

like a first class child third class

all right i'll play it your way

you mean that

maybe that'll get me a transfer

get below

[Music]

patrick report to the captain on the

bridge

[Music]

captain

what i'm down there buck nothing sir i

just sent one of the men below that's

all a little trouble

i wouldn't say that sir

buck you know this crew better than

anybody what's going on below dex

well if you must know captain the men

are a little steamed up on account of

these extra drills

are we all

you see father when this ship took a

bomb hit in the philippine sea

the japs reported her sunk

i still believe that when they find out

she's alive they'll make every effort to

send her to the bottom

that's why i want this crew on the ball

i want to bring them home i want to

bring this ship home

i understand kevin

good night

good night captain

oh oh by the way

one thing i would like to know

i heard a crack below that you were

about as tough as this captain bly

blind

yeah it seems that he's a ceo who had a

mutiny on his hands

do we have a ship in our navy called the

bounty

captain blair is a character in fiction

huh

good night captain

hey father

hello chris

ah this is one time i'm really glad to

see you

oh

what brought this about well i'll be

leaving the ship right after pearl and

now's as good a time as any to say

goodbye

oh you mean your transfer came through

not yet but it will

what makes you so sure

confidentially i took a poked buck

oh so that's what you did

you took a poke at him huh he's probably

up reporting me right now to the old man

they may give me the worst but at least

i'll get a transfer off this ship

well

it's been nice knowing your father

chris

you and i are gonna see a lot of each

other not after pearl oh yes after pearl

after pearl

because you see i was there when buck

reported to the captain

and he didn't say a word about you

taking a poke at him you don't realize

what a good friend of yours buck is a

friend of mine you must be crazy father

well he proved he has your interests at

heart

you should learn to appreciate him

well so long chris

life is full of surprises huh

dirty double crosser

was more to prepare for than battle

stations

on the day after we left pearl harbor

our planes were having target practice

and learning to land safely on the ship

while it was in motion

and when this was over mr gensby yes sir

tell the captain that last division of

torpedo planes is down to 40 gallons of

gas we'll expedite getting on the board

[Music]

who's the pilot of that last plane

uh

kelly sir

the young friend from pensacola

how much gas we got left here

practically none

[Music]

i enter 18 to dixie

i'm almost out of fuel less than 10

gallons

that's not enough for control the ship's

pitching and rolling you've got to take

a wave off

pete they're giving you a wave off

pete take the wave off you'll kill

somebody don't die before ever ditch

again

brace yourself admiral

we're landing

[Applause]

tell the air officer to have the pilot

of that plane report reports the bridge

aye aye sir

the captain wants a pilot of five tear

eighteen to report to the bridge sir

very well

[Music]

all right you heard him the captain

wants to see you

get going

move

mr kelly

now i got it coming to me

[Music]

instant kelly captain torpedo squadron

five

didn't you recognize the wave off signal

the lso gave you i was almost out of gas

sir i'm afraid to ditch no sir but the

plane only a miracle kept you from

crashing into those other planes killing

a number of people including you and

your crew think of that

yes sir

gasoline systems open for refueling a

fire could spread to other parts of the

ship

a wave off from the lso is mandatory it

must be obeyed but captain if you're

your attention mr kelly

if you go wrong on a simple training

problem like this what are you going to

do in a real fight you won't have any

time to think then

your reactions will have to be

instinctive

if they're not you'll get yourself

killed

and you'll kill a lot of other people we

can't afford to lose

many of the men aboard this ship will

wither in their worst hours at trial

they faced death many times to keep her

afloat

and i'm not going to let any second

guesser follow them up is that clear

yes sir

mr kelly you're relieved of any further

duties involving flying

that's all

yes

it was the morning of march 13th

we were approaching our rendezvous with

task force 58 at the anchorage at ulipi

that's force 58 joe

isn't that something to look at

yes sir

as the intrepid

enterprise

the hancock

i see the pittsburgh

the santa fe

there's our escort the guam it's just

dropping your hook you think we'll get

liberty tonight

liberty what would you do with it well

this is a south sea island there must be

danes on it games not now they got rid

of all abroads are you kidding who done

that some wise guy in washington oh

hey pops yeah

how many ships you figure there are

i don't know must be a thousand a

thousand

man i'll bet there a lot of prospective

customers for my housing project on them

chips

[Music]

[Music]

you guys it says here if i don't show up

in person on or before the 15th and

explain why i didn't report for jury

duty i'm in contempt of court well

tomorrow's the 15th

yeah that's right i can't make it

[Music]

i've seen you do that i have a dozen

times buck how come you don't open them

these are from my dead past

[Music]

she sued me for divorce

named the navy his correspondent she

claimed i loved the navy more than i did

her how about that

she get it nah the judge said love the

navy was no infidelity and threw the

case out of court

i haven't seen her in over two years now

she gets part of my page she keeps

writing to me when i'm done i'm done

yeah

take him back take him back

i'm sorry father

father

how do you pronounce that

uh pseudo-thrip citry

that's a citrus disease

very destructive oh is that right that's

wonderful news that's what my old man's

trees have got the whole 60 acres my

dream's coming true

oh the homes for vets yeah can't fail

father california climate's perfect for

it what a picture

60 acres of diapers blowing in the

breeze

but you went away sweetheart i haven't

gone anywhere not even to dances but

your best friend louie is home on

furlough and and he's sorry for me and

comes to see me every night

hey chris yeah

here's a letter i got it mixed up with

one mine hey thanks chuck

excuse me father

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

i'm gonna have twins

i'm gonna have twins you sure don't show

up mr kelly no no no no don't marry in

me my wife

isn't that great father it's gonna be

twins how do you know well the doctor

says so he practically guarantees it

congratulations

[Applause]

i think so often about you dad wondering

where you are

praying that you're safe

please try to be home when i graduate in

june love leslie

she's still a kid still puts a row of

x's across the bottom of every letter

yeah

it's been a long cruise

[Music]

listen everybody

i just got such wonderful news i've got

to share with somebody or bus what is it

father joe i told you my sister was a

nun in manila she was captured by the

japanese in 42 and that's the last we

heard of her

but she's been found she's alive and

well and back on the job that's

wonderful isn't that wonderful

steve

you lived in manila you must have heard

of the mariano order that my sister

belonged to

i did father

[Music]

what's the matter

my mother and brother escaped from

manila they were working with a native

underground

my mother was captured

this letter from my brother says that

she was executed as a spy

[Music]

on the 14th we were at sea again at

general quarters

when word was passed that the captain

was about to speak to all hands

this is the captain

now that we've left ulysses i can tell

you that we're about to become part of a

task group

whose mission is to destroy air and

naval installations on the japanese home

islands when the japs see this carrier

they'll think she's a ghost ship

they believe she's at the bottom of the

sea

they'll soon find out how wrong they are

and when they do they're going to give

us everything they've got in the way of

suicide planes and submarine attacks the

mission in which we'll be engaged is

most important

we must all be alert for any emergency

and do everything in our power to

protect this ship i have full confidence

in you i'm proud of you

that's all

[Music]

all right i'd really understand your

pilot won't be flying anymore don't

worry about mr kelly when the first

mission comes up he'll be flying it and

i'll be with him

walakowski the captain's orderly tells

me doesn't stand a chance

walakovsky what does he know he's got

big ears he knows what goes on up there

well and he shouldn't blab about it mr

kelly passed up a wave off that's

serious well lots of pilots got grounded

at pensacola but they're back flying

again this isn't pensacola kelly's case

comes up before the trouble board

tonight why stop you should be glad over

you'll fly with some guy that'll bring

you back in one piece

i'm gonna go talk to the captain you're

gonna what i'm gonna go see no enlisted

men can get to the captain without

permission you couldn't even get past

walakoski well i don't see why not lots

of guys got to talk to lincoln during

the civil war i'm gonna try it

lincoln see what he gets for reading

books

where do you think you're going is the

captain on the bridge yeah so what

i gotta talk to him

you gotta what talk to the captain about

what

it's personal

yes

get lost or i'll throw you in a booby

catch look i gotta talk to the captain

it's important what's the trouble

walakovsky it's an enlisted man captain

i think he's nuts i am not

send him in here

aye aye sir

wilson

halsey captain wb turret gunner with

their group five that is

you say halsey

yes captain william halsey

did they call you admiral

yes sir

also what's on your mind

speak up

well sir

i guess i shouldn't have come up here

it must be important or you wouldn't be

here

okay

relax

sit down

there

cigarette

no thank you kevin i don't smoke

mr kelly don't want me to

mr joy

and some kelly

he don't know i'm here

he saw her if he finds out

it's him i came to talk about

he's in a jam

what's on your mind

well

i've been turret gunner on pizza

excuse me on mr kelly's plane ever since

the group started forming in santa rosa

we get sort of close to our pilot but

with him depending on us and we depended

on him

you see mr kelly's got a wife he's crazy

about now family's on the way and he's

all upset

i guess you'd be kind of upset if you

were gonna have twins

a little

well

he had to ditch a plane once in

pensacola and he nearly got drowned

he ain't scared of it sir but a guy with

his responsibilities wouldn't be blamed

for being sort of careful

he should have taken that wave off

but i'll bet even you might have pulled

a crazy stunt like that when you were a

young pilot

i might have

i was kelly's concerned i can't tell you

what my decision will be until i see the

findings of the trouble

couldn't you pull foreign rank on the

board captain

you think the captain ought to do that

well

maybe not

honest i hate to keep plugging like this

but couldn't you give me just a little

hope

well you know my decision will have to

be based on what i think is best for the

ship

but what you've told me about mr kelly

will make my decision easier i hope i'll

be able to restore him to flying duty

you mean that sir

for real

for real

oh gee captain you don't know what this

means to me

maybe i can do something for you someday

i'm sure you can

yes sir i mean i sir

thank you captain

thank you admiral

one of these days they're gonna come and

get you with a butterfly net get lost

get lost or throw you in a booby hatch

why you folakovsky

yes

[Music]

during the night as we steam deeper into

enemy waters our destroyer escort sight

of the submarine

dixie this is

[Music]

dixie this is eagles over

eagle this is dixie over i have a

submarine contact dead ahead of me sir

bearing zero zero zero over roger up

right standard right standard

[Music]

[Music]

too much water

[Music]

zero zero zero range four hundred yards

come left ten degrees mr gallon

[Music]

all right one

fire one

[Music]

[Music]

are you sure

yes sir i have an honestly debris on the

surface

well done out

on the night of march 18

our ship closed within 100 miles of the

japanese empire

[Music]

in the ready room the squadron commander

was briefing his pilots on the job

waiting for them the following morning

their main mission was to destroy any

combatant ships in kobe harbor

and the happiest man among them was my

young friend from pensacola anson kelly

who had been reinstated tomorrow's the

day we've been waiting for

and you guys will really have something

to cut your teeth on and while we're at

it let's give tokyo rose something to

really talk about

the enemy expects us

and he'll throw everything at us but the

gisha girls

okay

aircraft assignments on the board let's

go hit the pads we're going to need all

the rest we can get

during the night of the 18th there was

no arrest for those whose battle

stations were in combat information

center

unidentified aircraft appeared on the

radar screen constantly

we were so close to japan now and our

force was so large that we had been

accurately spotted by the enemy

any second we could be blown to pieces

hey squawk

i wonder what's going on up there japs

are looking first you can depend on that

as we steam nearer to our enemy's

homeland through dangerous waters with

enemy planes searching for and making

attacks on different units of our force

the night was one of continuous alarms

[Music]

[Music]

me too

[Music]

the following morning we were less than

40 miles off the coast of japan

at approximately 6 45 we had already

launched several groups of fighters and

bombers to attack the coast and we're

continuing to launch them all the time

breakfast have been piped on and men not

on their battle stations are on their

way to the mess hall all right boys keep

the line movement get your child get my

top side in a hurry we got work to do

all right skinhead get down a hat your

boys away for that coffee

speaking of coffee i can use a cup

myself excuse me mister

go ahead move

there were 40 planes on the flight deck

of 35 on the hangar deck all gassed and

ready to go they were being launched and

catapulted from the ship as fast as

possible

keep moving boys step lively lively now

and you know what i like about sea duty

why nothing

[Music]

how does it feel to be flying again pete

great

i uh heard some scuttlebutt about you

going to see the captain who me

i would dare go see the captain i

couldn't even get past walkowski

hey patty yeah remember the little

pancake i knew in san francisco

buckwheat yeah yeah that's the one oh

yeah she was tooth timing she already

had a boyfriend a marine okay

how'd you find out the guy wrote me a

letter about it he was kind of indignant

that marines they got no sense of you

yeah

[Music]

[Music]

cbs message from hancock captain hancock

reports bogey 350 degrees relative

distance 15 miles

combat information center reports radar

screen shows no sign of reported bogey

[Music]

ahead

[Music]

[Music]

unidentified aircraft on ford beam

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Music]

i'm

hit

[Music]

[Music]

keep going

all right

are you all right captain

yeah

[Music]

[Music]

fire

[Music]

it's

[Music]

[Music]

captain says the compartments directly

below are on fire magazines are late

let's go any minute get all the

afternoon

[Music]

come on everybody

[Music]

go ahead

we're trapped

yeah but we ain't giving up

they haven't forgotten about this top

side

[Music]

if we don't get out of here some of

these kids are going nuts

[Music]

that magazine goes it'll blow the bottom

out of the ship

tell him to flood it if he has to use

buckets get those men out of the number

three five inch mouth

the ammunition locker what about it the

fire that lock is not more than 150 feet

away if that goes we're done for quiet

some of these kids are ready to crack

[Music]

i gotta get out of here

i don't want to die

i don't want to die

somebody

somebody had gotta let me out of here

easy son

[Music]

easy

they haven't forgotten about us

sure wish the chaplain was here

what for

well i could say a few words

but why don't you pray

i am praying

i mean out loud

me

yeah

i think it'll help the guys

all right fellas

we need help fellas

[Music]

what i mean is i

i guess it's up to god

and i ain't kidding when i say i sure

hope he knows how we feel about this

[Music]

i ain't much on this praying business

when you're scared the

first thing you do is start trying to

square things

but all i'm asking is that

maybe he'll figure we've done the best

we can and let's go with that

we didn't have to get in this spot

so maybe he'll give us a break

maybe he'll take a chance on us

[Music]

figuring that

we'll all try to do better

i guess this is a funny kind of prayer

to you guys but

it's what i'm thinking

[Music]

elevator

hey father what about the kids in the

mess hall

it looks bad they're trapped by fire on

both sides they'll get you in a hurry

they'll suck me the mess hall that's

easy hey jordan where are you going see

you later father

[Music]

chris jordan

in his previous efforts to hide out of

the ship had many times used the

ventilator shaft and led to the mess

hall

now for the first time he wasn't using

his quick thinking for selfish reasons

[Music]

thank you

[Music]

uh

[Music]

so

[Music]

hey it's chris how do you get here

i'm gonna take you top side through the

ventilator trunks now look we gotta

climb and crawl in the dark so stay in

contact with each other don't lose your

heads and don't crowd

now follow me one at a time when did you

start giving orders

okay guys you heard what he said don't

crowd keep in contact and follow him one

at a time

let's go kid let's go

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Music]

that's the way i came in

we gotta go someplace all right come on

you guys let's get going and quick

[Music]

wait a minute

that's the ammunition locker sorry we

gotta take that chance let's go

[Music]

all right come on take it easy

[Music]

easy

[Music]

make it snappy um

[Music]

[Music]

come on let's get out of here

[Music]

hey look there's our chance for transfer

what transfer aboard the cruiser they'll

abandon this bucket we're not going to

abandon her you're married to her you

don't get your way because somebody sets

her fire now stop being juvenile get

some sense in your head

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

emergency crews worked all night to put

out fires which kept breaking out one

after another there was no arrest for

anyone

cbs calling captain from the

flagship dixie this is olympic over

olympic this is dixie over how are you

making off

we have everything under control we can

just keep these fires down thanks for

the air cover admiral most of them are

your own pilots flying from other

carriers

we have two boilers lighted by morning

we expect to proceed under our own power

destroyers will run anti-sub patrols

through the night and screen you

tomorrow

roger

you can only keep our next till morning

one more bomb or torpedo might send us

[Music]

the next day our ship was barely afloat

the enemy bombs had wreaked havoc

everywhere

and it was a question whether we'd be

able to make it back to you literally or

not

how we doing captain not bad we got the

rest of the boilers lighted during the

night we're making 14 knots quarterly

cup of coffee for the commander hi sir

the galley's in pretty bad shape i

managed to dig up some sandwiches can i

get you some no thanks coffee is all i

want

never tasted better

well

we're still afloat

yeah

pick up speed during the day and the jab

aircraft don't spot us we ought to make

you lithium by tomorrow morning

[Music]

unidentified aircraft on port beam

hold it when he gets close

[Music]

[ __ ] stand back stand back you guys

haven't ever seen a dead man before i

ain't dead you dumb jerk

carmen carmen

bring a stretch over here hurry up

take it easy with him now

easy free up you guys

easy with him remember he's not as young

as he used to be

wait like it on my feet again i'll show

you

[Music]

on the morning of march 24th by the

grace of god

we limp back into the fleet anchorage

[Music]

by all the rules of the game she should

be at the bottom of the sea

[Music]

here the job of cleaning up began

we had a crippled ship but after two

tries the enemy had still not been able

to make a ghost ship out of it

what about the man who died here father

i wonder if they resent my being alive

if they feel somehow i let them down

i don't think so

how can i plead my case to a jury of

dead men there's no common language

they know captain

they know

i suppose when we get home they'll have

a band to meet us

no band will ever play loud enough for

those poor kids that missed muster this

morning

we were not out of danger yet however

we still had to take the ship back to

the brooklyn navy yard 12 000 miles away

the job seemed almost insurmountable

we had only 700 men out of the original

3 000 with whom to take the ship safely

home

and there was the possibility every inch

of the way of attack by plane or by

submarine

men now had more than home on their

minds

they had prayers on their lips

on the way to hawaii

we held a memorial service for those who

had given their lives

our shipmates

our friends

after we had honored the dead

we decorated some of the living

jordan olsen's made first class

front and center

[Music]

jordan i've heard a lot about you the

last few days

you're out of uniform take off my white

hat

try this one on for size

congratulations chief thank you sir

[Music]

[Applause]

hey

chris that's a nice looking hat thanks

buck i still owe you one when i get back

on my feet i'm going to pull it down

over your ears oh take it easy pop pop

take me back to sick bay i just had a

relapse

he's having one already

as we sighted pearl harbor

one thought was uppermost in our wines

six thousand more miles to go

the possibility of enemy attack was

still imminent

we were kept on the alert day of night

home was only 1500 miles in a few days

away as we steamed through the panama

canal

every minute was bringing us closer and

closer to our loved ones our country

slowly our war-weary ship made its way

up the atlantic coast to new york harbor

the five days seemed endless

the statue of liberty had never looked

so young and beautiful as on that day

she stood for everything we'd fought for

everything we'd hoped for

and none of us would ever forget our

captain

whose courage had proved worthy of the

ship and worthy of our trust

what was left of our band would express

better than words

what was in all our hearts

[Music]

so

[Music]

you