"We were in a store and a guy in that store told us to put our uniforms on." "what the hell are you talking about?" "The USA is in a war with Japan." "We couldn't believe it." "our country was attacked." "It's different." "It wasn't like Korea or Vietnam." "We were attacked." "it was a feeling that... we're just dumb country people but where I come from a lot of us volunteered." "Who would like to volunteer for the Tank Corps?" "Who would like to volunteer for the Air Force?" "Who would like to volunteer for the Navy?" or whatever." "they said:" "Who would like to volunteer for the Airborne?" "What the hell's the Airborne?" "Nobody ever heard of it." "small town." "And three fellows in that town that were 4F..." "A different time." "I did things." "I didn't do them for medals." "I didn't do them for accolades." "I did 'em because it's what had to be done." "would you jump out of airplanes?" "you got all your army equipment... to fight the enemy." "Go to hell." "Nobody put up their hands." "I don't know what it was brought it up but the guy giving the speech was saying:" "But you get paid $50 a month more." "that made it a hundred bucks." "I want a whiff of chicken pie." "let's get this gear stowed." "Fox Company...we go in five." "In the name of the Father... draw small arms." "Lieutenant?" "Easy Company!" "Listen up!" "Gather up around me." "gentlemen." "Let's go!" "the Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog." "High winds on the drop zone." "No jump tonight." "The invasion has been postponed." "We're on a 24-hour stand-down." "Son of a bitch." "take charge." "this is quite a surprise." "Not particularly." "It so happens I rather expected it." "000 for the Cause" "For whose cause?" "If you're so interested in serving a cause why don't you join the Army?" "I think it's clearing up." "You think it's clearing up?" "No." "I think it's clearing up." "How are your men?" "They'll be fine." "5:00 in New York." "4:00 in Chicago." "huh?" "Yeah." "Happy hour." "A couple of drinks." "Maybe an early dinner before the theater." "A civilized place for civilized men." "Nix." "and give up all this?" "I'll take you there." "Yeah." "We'll see." "you know who's from there?" "him." "712 days of that son of a bitch and here we are." "You people are at the position of attention." "have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a paratrooper?" "sir." "Then explain the creases at the bottom." "sir." "Volunteering for the Parachute Infantry is one thing but you've got a long way to prove you belong here." "Your weekend pass is revoked." "George." "Dirt in the rear side aperture." "Pass revoked." "Sergeant Lipton?" "sir." "Long enough to notice this." "Revoked." "Sir." "Name?" "Donald G." "isn't it?" "sir." "Private Bullshit." "Revoked." "Name?" "sir." "Liebgott." "You want to kill Germans?" "sir." "Not with this." "I wouldn't take this rusty piece of shit to war." "And I will not take you to war in your condition." "thanks to these men and their infractions every man in the company who had a weekend pass has lost it." "we're running Currahee." "fall out." "We have two minutes." "Fall out!" "I ain't going up that hill." "what are you thinking of blousing your pants?" "okay?" "He gigged everyone." "You should know better." "Don't give him no excuses." "Excuses?" "look at these trousers get down and tell me if there's a crease?" "Let's go on the road in PT formation." "move!" "Perconte." "why are you not in your PT gear?" "Private." "Easy Company." "don't worry." "We'll take your dames to the movies." "they need some female company." "Where do we run?" "Currahee." "What does "Currahee" mean?" "We stand alone." "how far down?" "three miles down." "And what company is this?" "Easy Company." "And what do we do?" "Stand alone." "Do not help that man!" "Do not help that man!" "We do not stop." "You've got 30 minutes to get to the top of this mountain if you want to serve in the Paratroopers." "Silver!" "You can make it up there." "Come on." "let's go." "Guarnere." "come on." "Private Wynn." "We are coming on 23 minutes." "That may be good enough for the rest of the 506 but that is not good enough for Easy Company." "come on." "I'm going to say something." "To who?" "Lieutenant Winters." "What is it?" "sir?" "Permission granted." "sir." "That we do." "How come we're the only company... full pack in the pitch dark?" "Private Randleman?" "sir." "Private Randleman." "He just hates you." "sir." "He hates him back." "Muck." "I want canteens out of belts with the caps unscrewed." "canteens out and open." "they will pour the contents onto the ground." "you will upend your canteen." "Lieutenant." "Pour them." "Who is this?" "Christenson." "Why is there no water in your canteen?" "didn't you?" "sir." "Was this man ordered to not drink from his canteen during the Friday night march?" "sir." "you have disobeyed a direct order." "You will fill your canteen and repeat all 12 miles of the march immediately." "sir." "Fall out!" "What in the name of God are you doing with my company?" "You're late and you allow troopers to disobey direct orders?" "sir." "Lieutenant." "This is not Dog Company." "This is not Fox Company." "This is Easy Company." "this will be the first and finest company in this regiment." "I want the names of six men." "Their infractions and your disciplinary recommendations on my desk by 0130." "Is that clear?" "sir?" "Find some." "what'd you do?" "Picked six men and gave them latrine duty." "The lucky six?" "Perconte." "Muck and Guarnere." "Why them?" "It was their turn." "Sobel's a genius." "I had a headmaster just like him in prep school." "I know the type." "Lewis." "Beethoven's a genius." "You know a man in this company who wouldn't double-time Currahee with a full pack just to piss in that guy's morning coffee?" "let's go." "Stand in the door." "000." "Private Gordon." "Are you trying to get killed?" "sir." "Stand in the door." "Shit." "To the wall." "Over as a team." "against the wall." "what the hell is this?" "boy." "Goddamn it!" "Private Gordon?" "sir." "Private Gordon?" "sir." "and I will be watching you." "What are you waiting for?" "Easy Company has the finest performance record in the entire 2nd Battalion." "I believe every bit of that is thanks to you." "Captain Sobel." "sir." "Isn't that Lieutenant Winters leading Easy Company in PT?" "sir." "He's a damned good man." "I was planning on giving him a set of these today." "Why don't you do it?" "He'd be proud to get them from you." "contraband." "contraband." "This man had 200 prophylactic kits in his footlocker." "How in the name of God was he going to have the strength to fight the war?" "How is it Private Tipper has spare time for so much correspondence?" "are personal letters to be considered contraband?" "Lieutenant." "They have no personal property." "What is this?" "Anybody?" "sir." "Lieutenant Nixon thinks this is a can of peaches." "Lieutenant." "Your weekend pass is cancelled." "This is United States Army property... from my mess facility and I will not tolerate thievery in my unit." "Whose footlocker is this?" "sir." "Get rid of him." "All weekend passes are cancelled." "Officers included." "Carry on." "Lieutenant Winters." "Colonel Sink has seen fit to promote you." "you'll serve as my executive officer." "Congratulations." "sir." "as a test of your organizational skills and command potential I am designating you mess officer for 14 days." "Report to the mess kitchen at 0515 hours." "Company breakfast to be served at 0600." "sir." "there's rain forecast tomorrow so the company will have a light afternoon of lecture and classroom instruction." "I think a special meal before their afternoon off would be a welcome change of pace." "Would you agree?" "sir." "I like spaghetti." "more coming." "These guys are packing it away." "This stuff is orange." "Spaghetti ain't supposed to be orange." "This ain't spaghetti." "This is army noodles with ketchup." "You ain't got to eat it." "as a fellow Italian you know that calling this spaghetti is a mortal sin." "I'm eating here." "get out of here." "get up!" "Lectures are cancelled." "Easy Company is running up Currahee." "move!" "three miles down." "Silver!" "let's go." "Private Hoobler!" "You should pack up both your ears and go home." "Looks like Gordon's done." "Gordon." "You finished?" "You do not deserve to get your wings." "you look tired." "There's an ambulance waiting for you at the bottom of the hill." "It can all be over right now." "no more Currahee." "No more Captain Sobel." "We pull upon the risers We fall upon the grass" "We never land upon our feet We always hit our ass" "Christ almighty Who the hell are we?" "goddamn!" "We're Airborne Infantry" "We pull upon the risers We fall upon the grass" "We never land upon our feet We always hit our ass" "Christ almighty Who the hell are we?" "goddamn!" "We're Airborne Infantry" "do we feel like we're ready to be army paratroopers?" "Sergeant." "I hope so." "This'll be the first of five exits from a C-47 aircraft scheduled for today." "Get ready!" "Stand up!" "Hook up!" "Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump you'll be certified army paratroopers." "Check equipment!" "Sound off for equipment check!" "Nine okay." "Eight okay." "Seven okay." "Six okay." "Five okay." "Four okay." "Three okay." "Two okay." "One okay." "There'll be a lot of men dropping from the sky today." "under deployed canopies." "Stand in the door!" "Lieutenant." "go!" "000 feet AGL in sticks of 12 jumpers per aircraft." "All you have to do is remember what you were taught... gravity will take care of the rest." "go!" "go!" "go!" "Damn it." "rest assured any refusals in the aircraft or at the door... you will be out of the Airborne." "Four okay." "Three okay." "Two okay." "One okay." "Stand in the door." "Go!" "000... 000!" "Silver!" "if you had any class or style like me somebody might mistake you for somebody." "You mean like your fucking sergeant?" "I'm just kidding." "Martin." "there will be no leaning in my company." "Are those dusty jump wings?" "How do you expect to slay the Huns with dust on your jump wings?" "just give me a drink." "Joe." "There you go." "three miles down." "Ten-hut!" "paratroopers." "Easy Company." "sir." "Parachute Infantry is a brand-new concept in American military history." "the 506 is going to forge that brand-new concept into victory." "sir." "I want you to know that I'm damned proud of each and every one of you." "you deserve this party." "Sergeant Grant." "Sir." "I want you to have fun and remember our motto:" "Currahee!" "Currahee!" "Petty." "Map." "Come on." "Christ." "We're in the wrong position." "We're in the wrong position." "sir." "let the enemy team come into our killing zone." "They're right out there somewhere." "Let's just get them." "we have perfect cover here." "deploy your troops." "move out." "What?" "Tactical column." "along with 95 percent of your company." "Your outfit?" "506th." "Leave three wounded men on the ground and report back to the assembly area." "Goddamn it." "you." "what are you going to do?" "just keep training the men." "Am I interrupting?" "no." "Lieutenant Lewis Nixon." "just in from the 82nd." "Congratulations on the promotion." "if you want to call it that." "You'll learn him pretty quickly." "no sense of humor." "Just like your chums up at battalion staff." "What's up?" "I'm hearing a lot of rumblings." "Sobel?" "Just talking about that." "he gets a little jumpy in the field?" "He gets jumpy and then you get killed." "That's nice." "I think it should just be amongst ourselves." "Absolutely." "ready?" "sir." "Then get them in formation." "We're moving out." "sir." "Cobb." "You got to admit it." "He's got no chance." "Either the Krauts will get him or one of us." "Sobel?" "He screwed up one maneuver." "I'm always fumbling with grenades." "you know?" "now they must have put him in charge for a reason." "right?" "Going my way?" "Wherever the train takes me." "Where do you suppose that might be?" "I haven't got a clue." "take a guess." "Atlantic?" "I'm not the intelligence officer." "I'd have to kill you." "don't tell me." "New York City." "Troopship." "England." "my friend." "Fortress Europa." "Since when do I drink?" "I wouldn't offer it to you." "Nix?" "What are you going to do when you get into combat?" "I have every confidence in my scrounging abilities." "And I have a case of VAT 69 hidden in your footlocker." "Really?" "yeah." "'Morning." "This could turn into a real nice trip." "Dear sir or madam:" "Soon your son will drop from the sky to engage and defeat the enemy." "Your frequent letters of love and encouragement will arm him with a fighting heart." "but will win glory for himself... and his country ever grateful for his service in its hour of need." "Captain Commanding." "some lucky bastard's headed for the South Pacific." "what I'd give." "He's going to get billeted on some tropical island." "Keep talking." "Sitting under a palm tree with six naked native girls helping him cut up coconuts so he can hand-feed them to the flamingos." "Flamingos are mean." "They bite." "So do the naked native girls." "With any luck." "I'm glad I'm going to Europe." "Hitler gets one of these right across the windpipe." "Roosevelt changes Thanksgiving to Joe Toye Day... 000 a year for the rest of my fucking life." "What if we don't get to Europe?" "What if they send us to North Africa?" "My brother's in North Africa." "He says it's hot." "it's hot in Africa?" "Shut up." "it don't matter where we go." "the only person you can trust is yourself and the fellow next to you." "as long as he's a paratrooper." "yeah?" "And what if that paratrooper turns out to be Sobel?" "I'm moving on down the line." "like Heyliger or Winters." "he's a good man." "But when the bullets start flying I don't know if I want a Quaker doing my fighting for me." "How do you know he's a Quaker?" "He ain't Catholic." "Neither is Sobel." "That prick's a son of Abraham." "He's what?" "He's a Jew." "I'm a Jew." "Congratulations." "Get your nose out of my face." "What's all that about?" "Gonorrhea called Sobel a Jew." "Liebgott took offense 'cause he's a Jew too." "that's smart." "Attack!" "you want to kill him!" "parry left." "Thrust!" "Take cover." "Okay." "we talked about magnetic declination... right subtract" rule." "Today we're putting it into practice." "There are two basic types of fighting positions." "The first is the prepared position." "The advantages of a prepared position are that it gives you cover and concealment." "Commence fire!" "We'll then maneuver right in through these trees." "moves over here." "He's then going to close with and kill or capture that German." "Sobel's late." "Why is there a fence here?" "There should be no fence here." "Give me the map." "Luz." "get them..." "Take cover behind those trees." "You heard the word." "Let's go over there." "There should be no..." "There should be no fence here." "sir." "Really?" "That's not the point." "Where the goddamn..." "Where the goddamn hell are we?" "Perconte?" "Yeah." "he's lost." "Fucking Christ." "Can you do Major Horton?" "son?" "Maybe the good major can goose this schmuck." "Get us moving?" "No way." "Yes." "You got to." "just this once." "Three-five-six-eight-three-three." "Isn't that the intersection?" "it's here." "You're a full grid off." "Goddamn it." "Captain Sobel?" "Who said that?" "Who broke silence?" "sir." "Major Horton?" "What is he..." "Did he join us?" "sir." "Mr. Sobel?" "sir." "God!" "A barbed wire fence." "that dog just ain't going to hunt!" "you cut that fence and get this goddamn platoon on the move!" "sir!" "Where are my goddamn wire cutters?" "We have to move." "without Captain Sobel and 1st Platoon?" "It's a T-intersection." "We improvise." "Double envelopment laid on a base of fire to cut the road in all directions." "Hook right with first squad." "Tell Guarnere to move left with second." "sir." "Deary me." "Bloody hell." "Yanks." "You've captured me." "Silver!" "Would that be the enemy?" "yes." "2nd Platoon." "We took the objective." "Who is the idiot who cut that man's fence?" "sir." "By whom?" "sir." "sir." "sir." "Major Horton ordered you to cut the fence?" "he did." "Major Horton is on leave in London." "Get those cows out of here." "Lieutenant Winters." "sir." "Lieutenant." "for crying out loud." "This spells court-martial." "Wide open!" "Yes." "I do not understand." "Your orders to me were to inspect the latrines at 1000 hours." "From 0930 to 0955 I was censoring the enlisted men's mail by order of Colonel Strayer." "At 1000 hours I followed your orders to the minute." "I changed that time to 0945." "sir." "I telephoned." "I'm quartered with a family that has no telephone." "And sent a runner." "Captain." "when given a task to perform by a ranking officer you should have delegated your task of latrine inspection to another officer." "You failed to do so." "Were I to let such a failure of duty by my own X O go unpunished what kind of message is that to the men?" "sir." "And I disagree." "Lieutenant." "Punishment for your offenses will be denial of a 48-hour pass for 60 days." "Stand before me at attention." "Or you may initiate a letter of appeal and request a trial by court-martial." "Dick." "take the punishment." "sir?" "sir." "I request trial by court-martial." "We lost Winters to battalion mess." "You're shitting me." "No." "while they try to figure out the procedures for his court-martial." "Nix better find a loophole and get him out." "And if he don't?" "Winters scrambles eggs while the rest of us make the big jump with Sobel." "Not me." "right?" "We've got to do something." "Yeah." "All right." "Good." "But we'd all better be clear on the consequences." "I don't care about the consequences." "We could be lined up against a wall and shot." "I'm ready to face that." "too." "I will not follow that man into combat." "Me neither." "All right." "Then let's do it." "I hereby no longer wish to serve as a non-commissioned officer in Easy Company." "boys." "Good luck." "I ought to have you all shot!" "This is nothing less than an act of mutiny while we prepare for the goddamn invasion of Europe." "Sergeant Harris." "Sir." "collect your gear." "You are hereby transferred out of my regiment." "Sir." "Get out." "Sergeant Ranney." "Sir." "I'm only busting you to private." "All of you NCOs have disgraced the 101st Airborne." "Consider yourself lucky that we are on the eve of the largest action in the history of warfare which leaves me no choice but to spare your lives." "get out of my office and get out of my sight." "Get." "atta-boy." "sir." "Most of the men would never do this but I believe just a few of the sergeants may have felt their loyalty lay more to the platoon than to the company." "And these few sergeants convinced all of the other NCOs in your company to turn in their stripes?" "sir." "the rest are good men." "I can work with them." "This business with the Winters' court-martial has been an unpleasant distraction." "sir." "However your command of Easy Company has been exemplary." "sir." "except for the actions of a few of your non-coms I believe you've fielded one of the finest companies of soldiers I've ever seen." "sir." "Division has established a parachute training school at Chilton Foliat." "The idea is for non-infantry types who were vital to the coming invasion... to take jump training there." "I can't think of anyone more qualified to command such a school than you are." "Sir?" "I'm reassigning you to Chilton Foliat." "I'm losing Easy Company?" "The war effort needs you elsewhere." "sir?" "Granted." "Is..." "Who will be replacing me?" "Lieutenant Meehan from Baker Company is senior." "Herbert." "Don't let us down now." "sir." "Carry on." "listen up." "I want the first squad and A-side tents right up there." "second row..." "Holy shit." "it's all right." "We're tommies not bleeding boche." "Is all this real?" "yeah." "somebody's tailor's knocked up." "so you can get your mince pies on this Jerry clobber if you know what I mean." "Not really." "you got a Luger?" "I'm dying to get a real Luger." "go on then." "yeah?" "she sure is a doozy." "ain't it?" "What?" "Petty." "mate." "You're having a bath if you think you're half-inching that." "yeah." "good luck." "mate." "Hoobs?" "These men have been through the toughest training the Army has to offer." "Under the worst possible circumstances." "And they volunteered for it." "I was just shooting craps with them." "It's not like..." "You know why they volunteered?" "the man next to them would be the best." "Not some draftee who's going to get him killed." "Are you ticked because they like me?" "Because I'm spending time to get to know my soldiers?" "two years?" "I've been here for six days." "Bob." "So what?" "Soldiers do that." "I don't deserve a reprimand for it." "What if you'd won?" "What?" "What if you'd won?" "Never put yourself in a position where you can take from these men." "Lieutenant Meehan?" "Enter." "I had a compass." "Close the flap." "Then we turn left." "Yeah." "Bearing zero-four-two." "12 minutes." "Then another left?" "Call it three-five-eight for 10 and a half minutes." "right over Ramsbury." "Ramsbury." "Every single time." "Linear distance on the grid of about..." "Okay." "Ramsbury." "Upottery." "So..." "It's Normandy." "St. Marie du Mont." "Causeway Number One." "Causeway Number Two." "The ultimate field problem." "The estuary of the Douve River divides two beachheads... here." "Seaborne Infantry will hit these beaches in force at a date and time to be specified." "D-day." "is to take the town of Carentan... continuous beachhead." "...linking Omaha and Utah into one continuous beachhead." "Each trooper will learn this operation by heart and know his and every other outfits' mission to the detail." "Meehan?" "Dukeman." "are we dropping tonight?" "we'll let you know." "and reconnaissance photos until you can draw a map of the area by memory." "we will drop behind this Atlantic wall five hours before the 4th Infantry lands at Utah." "And between our assembly area and the battalion's objective..." "St. Marie du Mont." "Easy Company will destroy that garrison." "candy... and matches." "gas mask." "canteen two cartons of smokes." "gamma grenade... and a pair of nasty skivvies." "What's your point?" "This weighs as much as I do." "my M-1." "Where are you keeping your brass knuckles?" "I could use some brass knuckles." "anything for me?" "No." "Sergeant Martin." "For Talbert." "Heavy!" "condoms?" "probably." "What you got?" "Dear Floyd:" "Give them hell." "It's from the chief of the Kokomo Police." "Right." "You've got to love cops." "listen up." "If you did not sign your GI life insurance policy you go on over and see Sergeant Evans at the headquarters company tent." "000." "Gerry?" "Lip?" "boy." "Has Guarnere said anything about his brother?" "No." "I got a problem." "casualty lists and like that." "Yeah?" "Guarnere's brother in Italy?" "Henry?" "Killed in Monte Cassino." "I'm sure he doesn't know." "Damn." "What'd you think I should do?" "I'd tell him." "Couple of hours before we jump?" "I don't know." "Why are they springing these things on us now?" "It's just an extra 80 pounds strapped to your leg." "Does anybody have any idea how the hell this thing works?" "Colonel Sink." "Colonel Sink." "Soldiers of the regiment." "Tonight is the night of nights." "as you read this you are en route to the great adventure for which you have trained for over two years." "that's why they gave us ice cream." "listen up!" "Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog." "No jump tonight." "The invasion has been postponed." "We're on a 24-hour stand-down." "this is quite a surprise." "Not particularly." "It so happens I rather expected it." "000 for the Cause." "For whose cause?" "If you're so interested in serving a cause why don't you join the Army?" "please." "4F." "You look 1A to me." "You don't look so bad yourself." "Dearest Johnny"?" "should you be giving blood?" "I woke up." "I got the wrong goddamn jacket." "I was struck by lightning." "Nobody dancing." "It doesn't matter." "Bill Guarnere's brother... lads." "tommies." "mate." "Try and get these leg straps through." "Johnny?" "Got something you might be looking for." "Took your jacket by mistake." "I'm sorry." "You read it?" "Where the fuck is Monte Cassino?" "I don't know." "Italy somewhere." "Bill." "I'm sorry for my ma." "He was..." "Let's get this over with." "Bill?" "I'll meet up with you over there." "Doc Roe is handing these out for air sickness." "30 minutes in the air." "Lieutenant." "listen up." "Good luck." "God bless you." "I'll see you in the assembly area." "then I think all we should have to do..." "Lieb." "That airsick pill is making me loopy."