"Oh, man!" "Is that what I think it is?" "All right, you cheese-dicks, welcome to the Nam." "Follow me." "Dipped in shit!" "New meat!" " You dudes gonna love the Nam!" " For fucking ever!" "365 and a wake-up!" " Oh, Lord!" " Sin loi, buddy." "SEPTEMBER 1967- BRAVO COMPANY, 25TH INFANTRY" "SOMEWHERE NEAR THE CAMBODIAN BORDER" "Get him up here." "Sky Six, Ripper Six, radio check." "Over." "Watch it below!" "Morehouse, drop back to slack!" "Who's on tail end?" "Charlie?" "Eagle, Eagle, Ripper Six." "Pos rep follows..." "Warren, you get out on flank." " Say, Hoffmeister!" " Yo?" " Got a smoke?" " No, man, I don't!" "Sin loi, man." "Bravo Two-Six, what's the delay up on point?" "You having compass trouble again?" "Come on, you..." "Shit!" "Get a move on, boy!" "Hey, boy, what ya waiting for?" "He ain't gonna bite you." "That's a good gook." "Good and dead." "Yo!" "Tony!" "252 actual." "Move it out." "Six says we're jamming 'em up back there." "Tell that dipshit to get fucked!" "Bravo, it's Two-Five." "Be advised, we're moving out shortly." "Out." "What the hell's the matter with you, Taylor?" " You are one simple sonofabitch!" " I'm sorry, Sergeant." "Get that other cherry up here - Gardner." "And the doc." "Gardner!" "Doc!" "Up!" "Gardner, Doc, to the front!" " Gardner, up!" " Gardner, up!" "Gardner, get your ass up the hill, you fat fuck!" "Hurry up, bubble-butt!" "You all right?" "Ants." "I got ants all over my neck." "You got some red ants." "Reds are killers." "Black ants are the worst." "Hurry up, lard-ass!" "Just a little." "Don't drink too much." "I don't want you drinking any more." "I don't want you cramping up." "You're humping too much stuff, troop." "You don't need half this shit." "I'll haul it for you, but next time you check with me first, all right?" "OK." "Thanks, Sarge." "Are you OK?" "Yeah." "Two-Two, this is Six." "I understand you have a bird inbound at your pos at this time." "Bravo Six, Bravo Six, be advised, re-supply helo is inbound at this time." "Over." "Let's go, you people!" "Get that ammo off now!" "Let's move it!" "It ain't D-E-R-E, it's D-E-A-R, and "Sarah" ain't got no two Rs, King." "Damn, you dumb!" "It don't make no difference." "She know what I mean." "She don't read too good nohow!" "Look at this shit!" "Pork again!" "Let me have that turkey loaf for this pork shit." "I can't eat this shit!" "What you been smoking, Junior?" "I hope you don't get that laundry gig." "I hope Manny get it, cos your ass need to hump, hump and hump!" "Hey, white boy... what you waiting for?" "That hole ain't gonna dig itself." "Come on, get your dick-skin on that thing!" "Dig!" "You ain't got all day!" "Dig!" "Dig!" "Somebody once wrote:" ""Hell is the impossibility of reason. "" "That's what this place feels like - hell." "I hate it already and it's only been a week." "Some goddamn week, Grandma." "The hardest thing I've ever done is go on point." "Three times this week." "I don't know what I'm doing." "A gook could be three feet in front of me and I wouldn't know it." "I'm so tired." "We get up at 5am, hump all day, camp around four or five, dig a foxhole, eat, then put out an all-night ambush or a three-man listening post." "It's scary cos nobody tells me how to do anything, cos I'm new." "Nobody cares about new guys." "They don't even wanna know your name." "A new guy's life isn't worth as much cos he hasn't put his time in yet." "They say if you're gonna get killed in the Nam, it's better to get it in the first few weeks." "The logic being you don't suffer that much." "If you're lucky, you stay in the perimeter at night." "Then you pull a three-hour guard shift." "Maybe you sleep three, four hours a night..." "But you don't really sleep." "I don't think I can keep this up for a year, Grandma." "I think I've made a big mistake coming here." "We got boo-coo movement." "Third Battalion just got hit 15 kliks north of here." "Charlie had claymores strung up in the trees, blew a whole fucking platoon to pieces." "Bad shit." "Yeah." "They got two lieutenants and a captain." "Jesus!" "All right, Sergeant, who do you want on ambush?" "Elias... you take your squad out." "Warren, you stay in, but I'll need Tex and Junior from your squad." " Roger that." " OK, move out in two-zero mikes." " I thought it was O'Neill's turn." " No!" "Tubbs and Morehouse are short." "Fu Sheng's on an R and R tomorrow, and you wanna send them out on an ambush?" "You got the fresh meat, buddy." "They don't know shit, and chances are we're gonna run into something." "That's just great, Bob." "What do you want me to do?" "Send one of my guys to get zapped, so some lame-ass can get his beauty sleep?" " Nah!" " Hey, O'Neill..." "Take a break!" "You don't have to be a prick every day of your life!" "Elias, get your men ready." "He's in three years and thinks he's Jesus fucking Christ!" "O'Neill, your short-timers stay in, but you go out." "I need veterans out there." "Sergeant Barnes." "Sergeant." "I think, in front of the men, it's necessary for me to give the orders." "Yes, sir." "Shit, looks like it's gonna rain." "It's gonna piss on us all night." "I'm gonna put a serious case of crotch-rot on that ugly face of yours, Junior." "Goddamn, man!" "You break your ass for the white man!" "No justice around here!" "What's O'Neill got?" "A nose up the lieutenant's ass already?" "How come we always get fucking ambush?" "Cos it's politics, man, politics." "Hey, Chris, I show you a picture of Lucy Jean?" "No, you didn't." "She's the one for me all right, that Lucy Jean." " She's waiting for me." " Real pretty." "You're a lucky guy, Gardner." " Hey, you got a picture of your girl?" " No." "I guess that leaves some unlucky girl back at home, don't it?" "Tuck this in." "Shitcan this." "Don't need this." "Turn around." "Come on." "Tex, you got Junior and Taylor here on your position." "Goddamn it, Elias, don't mess with my pig!" "I ain't getting greased, so you keep this sorry cheese-dick off my ass!" "You got Taylor." "Gardner, you're with me." "Look, case anything happens to you, you get lost or separated, don't yell out, OK?" " OK." " Just sit tight and we'll get to you." " All right." " Yo!" "Saddle up!" "Lock and load!" "# I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee" "# And I'm going to Louisiana # my true love for to see" "# Oh, Susanna" "# Don't you cry for me" "# For I come from Alabama with my banjo..." "Mom and Dad didn't want me to come here." "They wanted me to be like them:" "Respectable, hard-working, a little house, a family." "They drove me crazy with their goddamn world, Grandma." "You know Mom." "I guess I've always been sheltered and special." "I just wanna be anonymous like everybody else, do my share for my country." "Live up to what Grandpa did in the first war, and Dad did in the second." "Well, here I am, anonymous, with guys nobody really cares about." "Most come from the end of the line, small towns you never heard of." "Pulaski, Tennessee." "Brandon, Mississippi." "Pork Bend, Utah." "Wampum, Pennsylvania." "Two years' high school's about it." "If they're lucky, a job waiting for them back in a factory." "Most have got nothing." "They're poor." "They're the unwanted." "Yet they're fighting for our society and our freedom." "It's weird, isn't it?" "At the bottom of the barrel, and they know it." "Maybe that's why they call themselves "grunts", cos a grunt can take it, can take anything." "They're the best I've ever seen, Grandma." "The heart and soul." "Hey, Taylor..." "Hey... cheese-dick, you're up." " What?" " You're up." "Sure you know how to work the claymores, dude?" "I'm sure." "Flick the safety off and bang on that sucker three times." "Three times." "I got it." "Don't catch any Zs on me, buddy, or I'll sling your sorry ass." "You hear me?" "OK." "Maybe I've finally found it way down here in the mud." "Maybe from down here I can start up again." "Be something I can be proud of without having to fake it, be a fake human being." "Maybe I can see something I don't yet see, or learn something I don't yet know." "I miss you." "I miss you very much." "Tell Mom I miss her, too." "Chris." "Junior." "Junior..." "Hey." " All right, motherfucker!" " It's your shift, man..." "OK?" "Here, take this." "Blow the fucking claymore!" "Take the safety off, goddamn it!" "Take the safety off!" "Feed me, Junior!" "Get over here and feed me!" "My fucking arm!" " Jesus fucking Christ!" " Easy, Tex!" "Easy, boy!" "I can't even see!" " Doc, over here!" "Gardner's hit!" " Right there!" "Oh, shit..." "I'm hit!" "Taylor's hit!" "Oh, shit!" " How bad is it?" " Dumb fuck didn't blow his claymore!" "Relax, man, it's a scratch." "Hold this on here." "Don't lie to me, Doc." "How bad is it?" "He let 'em walk right up on us!" "He was sleeping on his shift!" "No, I did not." "Big Harold, keep an eye on him." "Don't let him go into shock." "Shut up!" "Shut up and take the pain!" "Take the pain!" "Hey, little guy... you're gonna be OK." "OK?" "Don't worry." "Big Harold, do you know if... if you're gonna die?" "Do you feel like everything's just gonna be fine?" "Don't gimme that morbid bullshit!" "You're about to get outta here." "They're gonna give you three hot meals a day..." "White sheets..." "Them pretty white nurses'll give you blow jobs if you pay 'em enough!" " I heard about them white bitches!" " Don't babytalk him!" "The cocksucker fell asleep!" "He let 'em walk up on us, didn't do shit!" "Just shut up, Junior." "You relax, OK, man?" "OK..." "It's not so bad..." "Dying..." "How long..." "How long..." "Come on, bird's on the way, man." "Hang in there." "You're gonna make it!" "Come on, Gardner, hang in there." "You're gonna make it!" "Come on!" "Don't quit!" "Come on, Gardner, help me!" "Don't give up!" "Y'all take a good look at this lump of shit." "Remember what it looks like." "You fuck up in a firefight and I goddamn guarantee you a trip out of the bush, in a body bag!" "Out here, assholes, you keep your shit wired tight at all times!" "And that goes for you, shit-for-brains!" "You don't sleep on no fucking ambush!" "And the next sonofabitch I catch copping Zs in the bush," "I'm personally gonna take an interest in seeing him suffer." "I shit you not." "Doc... tag him and bag him!" "I didn't fall asleep, Sergeant." " It was Junior..." " Shut your face, chicken-shit!" "You in big trouble, boy!" "Excuses are like assholes, Taylor - everybody got one." "Knock it off!" "We got two men need attention here." "Police up your extra ammo and frags." "Don't leave nothing for the dinks." "Junior," "Tony, carry Gardner." "The man would be alive if he had a few more days to learn something." "Hey, Taylor, what's in the breeze?" "OK." "Got light duty." "Three days' worth." "No shit!" "Too bad we're in base camp, anyway." " What you got?" "Beers?" " Yeah." "Stole me some from the Top's supply." "Shit, he been stealing it from us." "Taylor!" " Are you back?" " Yeah, it looks like it." "King, where did you get those beers, boy?" " I found it." " You found it?" " You're going on report, son." " Both of you, come with me." "I got a little job for you." "Goo-o-o-o-o-ood morning, Vietnam!" "Motherfucker!" "Motherfucker!" "I'm too short for this shit, man!" "They're always fucking with us..." "no let-up!" "Politics, man." "Fucking politics." "That O'Neill, he's got his nose so far up Top's ass, he's gotta be Pinocchio!" "39 and a wake-up, a pause for the cause, and I'm a gone motherfucker!" " Back to the world!" " I hear you, man." " Broke 100 the other day." " No shit!" "92 left to go." "April 17." "DEROS, man." "Home to California." "I'm gonna be sitting outside, checking out the babes on the beach." "The surfing's gonna be good!" "March, man, in Tennessee." "Sniff the pines... sniff that cross-mounted pussy down by the river!" "Hot damn!" "Hey, Taylor, how long have you got left?" "300 and what?" "32." "332 days." "Sin loi, my boy!" "I can't even remember when I was 332, man!" "You gotta, like, count backwards." "You know, you got 40 days in." "I mean, think positive, dude." "Hey, Taylor, how the fuck you get here, anyway?" " You look educated." " I volunteered." " You did what?" " I volunteered." "I... dropped out of college, told 'em I wanted the infantry, combat, Vietnam." "You volunteered for this shit, man?" "Can you believe that?" "You's a crazy fucker... giving up college." "Didn't make much sense." "I wasn't learning anything." "I figured, why should just the poor kids go off to war and the rich kids always get away with it?" " What we got here is a crusader." " Sounds like it." "Shit!" "You gotta be rich in the first place to think like that." "Everybody know the poor always being fucked over by the rich." "Always have, always will." "I tell you what - you be cool, I introduce you round to some of the heads." "What are the heads?" "Later, man!" "What's up, brother?" "Your Highness has arrived!" "Hey, what's happening?" "I thought you was hanging ten in Cambodia!" " Hey, man, how ya doing?" " How ya doing, man?" "All right!" "What you doing in the underworld, Taylor?" "This ain't Taylor." "Taylor been shot." "This man here is Chris." "He been resurrected." "Go ahead, Taylor." " What?" " Are you lame or something?" "Go ahead, old man." "Smoke it." "Here!" "Your shit's in the wind, troop!" "Hey, man, what's happening?" "If you do that baa, you'd better do it right." "You're weird, man." "You're a child, Lerner." "I don't waste time on you." " First time?" " Yeah." "Then the worm has definitely turned for you, man." "Feel good?" "Yeah, it feels good." "I got no pain in my neck now." "Feeling good's good enough." "Put your mouth on this." "Where the hell is everybody, man?" "They getting high, that's what." "Bunch of hopheads." "They think they're something special!" "Listen to that." "That's a bad jam." "Redneck noise, dude, that's all it is." "Make about as much sense as you do." "All them chucks be rappin' about how they losing their ho, saying how they ain't got no bread for beer." "Fuck that honky shit!" "Gimme some Motown jams - dig it?" "What are you talking shit for, man?" " Junior, you ever smoke any shit?" " That's right, dude!" "Y'all be trying to keep the black man down and string him out on that shit." "The time be's coming, my man, when the black man throw that yoke off." "Simple - free your mind, your ass will follow." "I can dig it, man." "You smoke that shit, everything kinda gets weird." "You hear that story about the gooks putting chemicals in the grass?" "So we don't fight, so we become pacifists." "Don't you worry, Bunny." "You's a killer anyway, man." "I still like a piece of pussy once in a while." "Ain't nothing like a piece of pussy, 'cept maybe the Indy 500." "Only way you'd get some pussy is if a bitch dies and wills it to you and then... maybe!" "How's it going, Bunny?" "LT, check it out." "Like that?" "Terrific." "I'll send it home." "Hey, Junior." " Lieutenant." " Hello, sir." "Hey, Rodriguez, that's quite a shrine you got there." "Thank you, sir." "You... need anything?" "No, sir." "This guy's easily three, four times my size." "I got him in the O'Neill death grip." "He don't know whether to shit or go blind!" " Whaddaya say, LT?" " How ya doing, Red?" "Not good." "This cocksucker's got every card in the deck." " Full house." " Look like you're doing all right!" "Yeah, and I ain't even cheating yet." "Hey, Lieutenant, some Kentucky windage?" "Thanks, Sandy." "Play, Lieutenant?" "Nah." "Wouldn't wanna get raped by you guys." "Why's that, Lieutenant?" "What are you saving up to be?" "Jewish?" "Jewish!" "I gotta run." "I'II, uh, catch you men later." "Enjoy yourselves tonight." "Well, that is one sorry-ass motherfucker." "What do you say there, Bob?" "Guy like that make it?" "Yes or no?" "I have to tell you, that's precisely what I saw." "Sometimes I just look at a guy and I know this fella's not gonna make it." "Just no fucking way." "Get it going now!" "# People say I'm the life of the party" "# Cos I tell a joke or two" "# Although I might be laughing" "# Loud and hearty" "# Deep inside I'm blue" "# So take a good look at my face" "# You see the smile" "# Looks out of place" "# If you look closer, it's easy to trace" "# The tracks of my tears" "Yeah!" "# I need you # Need you!" "# Need you # Need you!" "New Year's Day, 1968." "Just another day." "Staying alive." "There's been a lot of movement near the Cambodian border." "Regiments of NVA moving across." "A lot of little firefights, ambushes." "We drop bombs, then we walk through the jungle like ghosts in a landscape." "Bunker." "Where?" "Roger." "Bunkers at point." "Two actuals on the way." "Bravo Six, Bravo Two." "Be advised there is a bunker complex up front." "We're on the way down." "Over." "See you next week!" "Taylor, get your ass up on that flank - about 50 metres." "Washington, you cover this side." " Yes, sir." " Get off your ass, Harold." "Bummer!" "Christ, look at that, will ya?" "The teapot's still boiling!" "They were just here!" "Man, this is spooky, Sander." "Let's get outta here." "Watch it... watch it!" "Look what we got, Sal." "We got maps, we got..." "S..." "Man, this is gook stuff!" "Let's get outta here!" "No, Sal, this is important, this is important." "Come on, let's leave!" "Let's go!" "Booby trap!" "Get down!" "Medic!" "Holy jeez!" "Goddamn it!" "We got..." "We got two men down, sir." "There was an explosion." "Listen, we need help, sir, ASAP." "Move your ass outta here!" "One round could get all you guys!" "Rodriguez, move it!" "Junior, let's go!" "Lieutenant... tell Six we need engineers." "This pos is crawling with traps." "On their way." "The NVA have been spotted in the village half a klik down the river." " Six says we gotta get there ASAP." " OK." "Also, leave four of your men here, and a medic, OK?" "Move it out." "Pull the flanks in!" "Let's move!" " Hey, where's Manny?" " Manny?" " Hey, Washington!" " Manny?" " Manny?" " Washington!" "Manny, where you at?" "We had to get to the village before dark, so we left Elias with some men to keep looking." "But it was King who found him, about a thousand yards downriver, not far from the village." "It was the end of the mystery." "The motherfuckers!" "The village which had stood for maybe 1,000 years didn't know we were coming that day." "If they had, they would've run." "Barnes was at the eye of our rage and, through him, our Captain Ahab." "He would set things right again." "That day we loved him." "There he goes, Sarge!" " Check him out." " Yeah, you got it, Sarge." "Tubbs, Ebenhock, let's go!" "Get that stupid look off your face!" "Hey, piggy, piggy!" "Hey, pig!" "Bunny, clear the hooches now!" "Spread out on the right!" "OK, watch your back!" "Let's go!" "Let's move 'em out!" "Let's go!" "Move it!" "Go!" " Move it!" " Come on, let's go!" "Let's go, Junior!" "Bring 'em in!" "Get those people down here!" "Get outta there, you fuckheads!" "Move!" "Come on!" " Put 'em in the pig pen!" " Kill these!" "Give me your willie pete!" "Shut up!" "Get back!" "Fire in the hole!" "Get 'em outta here!" "Oh, fuck!" "We got one!" "Get the fuck outta the hole!" "Get the fuck outta there!" "Come on, motherfucker!" "Be cool." "They're scared, man." "They're scared?" "What about me, man?" "I'm sick of this fucking shit!" "Come on, motherfucker!" "Move!" "Watch this fucker!" "Who the fuck do you think they're fighting for?" "Got one more!" "Well, well." "What have we here?" "We got one, two, three, four mag 58 Czechoslovakian machine guns." "Barnes, they got enough rice here to feed a whole fucking regiment." "Sergeant Warren, you bring that honcho over here." "Tubbs, get outta there." "Junior, burn it." "What the fuck's the matter?" "I wasn't gonna hurt you." "Look like I was gonna fucking hurt you?" "Why didn't you listen to me?" "Why?" "Why didn't you fucking listen to me?" "Fucking stupid?" "You stupid asshole!" "Get the fuck up here!" "Come here, motherfucker!" "What are you smiling at?" "Why the fuck didn't you listen to me?" "Do 'em, man!" "What are you smiling at?" "You want something to smile at?" "Motherfucker!" "Dance, motherfucker!" "Dance, one-legger!" "Dance!" "Dance!" "One-legged motherfucker!" "Hey, man, come on." "Let's go, man." "Fucking pussy, man!" "He's laughing at you!" "That's the way the gook laughs." "Yeah, sure you are!" "You're real sorry, ain't ya?" "You're just crying your little hearts out about Sandy and Sal, and Manny!" "Forget about it, Bunny, huh?" "Let's go." "Whaddaya say?" "Holy shit!" "Did you see that fucking head come apart, man?" "I never seen brains like that before, man!" "I bet you the old bitch runs the whole fucking show, man!" "She probably cut Manny's throat." "Probably cut my balls off if she could." "We leave now, and nobody saw a fucking thing!" "You understand me, Taylor?" "Come on, man, let's fucking do her!" "Let's do this whole fucking village!" "Look at the scars on this gook honcho, Sarge." "Get out of here, Tubbs." "Where'd he get these wounds?" " Says he was hit in a bombing raid." " He's a dink for sure!" "Ask him why these weapons were here." "They had no choice." "The NVA killed the old honcho when he said no." " All the rice is theirs." " Bullshit, Lerner!" "Who the hell was the gook we nailed on the riverbank?" "He doesn't know." "He says NVA ain't been around in a couple of months." " Maybe it was a scout or something." " Yeah, sure, a scout!" "What about the fucking rice and the weapons?" "Who are they for?" "That cocksucker knows what I'm saying, don't you, pop?" "Goddamn right he does!" " He's lying through his teeth!" " Waste the fucker!" "Where the hell's the VC?" "He swears he doesn't know anything." "He hates the NVA, but..." "What's the bitch saying?" "She's going on about why we killed the pigs." " They gotta make a living." "All that shit." " Jesus!" "Shut up!" "Shut the fuck up!" "You tell him, he starts talking or I'm gonna waste more of 'em!" "Tell him, Lerner!" "Hey, Sarge!" "Let us in on this, all right?" "Let's go for it!" "Let's do the whole fucking village!" "Come on!" "What the fuck are we waiting for?" " Let's do 'em!" " Outta my way!" "This is his daughter, right?" "Right?" "You lie!" "No, you lie!" "You VC!" "Barnes!" "Barnes!" "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" "Stay outta this, Elias." "This ain't your show." "You ain't a firing squad, you piece of shit!" " Get him, Barnes!" " Come on, Barnes!" "Come on, Barnes!" "Get him!" "Tear his fucking head off!" "Break it up!" "Break it up!" "Goddamn!" "You're dead, Elias!" "I swear to fucking God, you're dead!" "You!" "You're gonna do time in LBJ!" "This shit won't wash, you fucking puke!" "Break it up!" "Shut up!" "Break it up!" "Listen up!" "Captain says to torch this place!" "Torch this place!" "Blow the weapons in place!" "Round up all suspected VC and shake it up!" " We ain't got much light left!" " Lieutenant..." " Why didn't you do something?" " What are you talking about?" "You know what the fuck I'm talking about!" "No, I don't." "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Elias!" "All right, move it out!" "Let's go!" "Taylor, let's go, for Christ's sake!" "Move it out!" "Police up the weapons, and let's go!" "Fire in the hole!" "Fire in the hole!" "Hey, come on!" "Morehouse!" "You fucker!" "Get outta here!" "Get the fuck off!" "Don't do it!" "Don't do it!" "You fucker!" "What is this?" " What, you a homosexual, Taylor?" " Taylor, she's a fucking dink!" "She's a fucking human being, man!" " Fuck you!" " You're a fucking cherry, Taylor!" "Fucking animal!" "All of you, you're fucking animals!" "Fucking lame fuck!" "You don't belong in Nam, man!" "Ain't your place at all!" "You don't fucking get it, do you, man?" "You just don't fucking get it." "It's OK." "Get outta there!" "Fuck you, man." "Police up your dicks and let's get outta here." " I didn't see anything, sir." " I did." "That dink was reported to me as NVA by Sergeant Barnes, sir." "My report will include Lieutenant Wolfe as being witness to the shooting." "All right, Elias." "Staff Sergeant Barnes." "Sir!" "I want a full report on this when we get back to the CP." "You got it, and I can throw in plenty of eyewitnesses if you want, sir." "Not now, goddamn it, not now!" "We'll get into this when we get back to camp." "I can promise you something." "If I find out there was an illegal killing, there will be a court martial." "Right now I need every man in the field." "And you two will cease fire." "Staff Sergeant Barnes, Sergeant Elias..." " You hear me?" " Yes, sir." "We're back in that NVA bunker complex tomorrow." "This time from the east." "You people get some rest and be back here at the CP at 1900 for a briefing." "Yes, sir." "Come on, man." "You think these chucks give a fuck about you and me?" "It could just as well have been you, Harold, if you got in Barnes' way." "And that Bunny?" "That motherfucker's crazy!" "I mean, he scares me, man." "He just scares me." "You bloods are getting too hung up on all this shit." "These gooks are a lot smarter than you think." "You know, Barnes knows his shit, man." "They was NVA, every last one of 'em." "He's taken us this far, right?" "He'll take us the rest of the way." "A Christian don't go around a village cutting off heads and shit." "This shit is really getting outta hand, man." "Way outta control." "Seems to me that you don't seem to know the difference, the way you shoot up that shit all the time." "I don't know, brothers, but I'm hurting real bad inside." "Don't worry about it." "Elias won't be able to prove a thing." " He's a troublemaker." " Elias is a water-walker." "Like them politicians in Washington trying to fight this war with one hand tied around their balls." "Ain't no need or time for a courtroom out here." " Sarge." " Thanks, Bun." "How'd it go there, Bob?" "Yeah, that-away, Sarge." "Fucking Elias, man." "He's a fucking rat, that's what he is." "He's gonna get everybody in this platoon in deep shit." "Somebody oughta frag his ass." "So whaddaya think, Bob?" "Gonna be an investigation or what?" "Bob?" "O'Neill, man, you worry too much." "Sarge'll take care of it." "It's a beautiful night." "Yeah." "I love this place at night." "The stars..." "There's no right or wrong in 'em." "They're just there." "That's a nice way of putting it." "Barnes has got it in for you, doesn't he?" "Barnes believes in what he's doing." "And you?" "Do you believe?" "In '65... yeah." "Now, no." "What happened today is just the beginning." "We're gonna lose this war." "Come on!" "You really think so?" "Us?" "We've been kicking other people's asses for so long," "I figure it's time we got ours kicked." "Day by day, I struggle to maintain not only my strength, but my sanity." "It's all a blur." "I have no energy to write." "I don't know what's right and what's wrong any more." "The morale of the men is low." "There's civil war in the platoon." "Half the men with Elias, half with Barnes." "There's a lot of suspicion and hate." "I can't believe we're fighting each other when we should be fighting them." "Counting days, and the six inches in front of my face." "Not much else." "Hope things are well, Grandma." "Tell Mom and Dad I..." "Well... just tell them." "Chris." "Hey, big boy, I know you thought you had that laundry gig all laid out." "I gotta paint myself white just to get me one of them fucking jobs!" "I got my request in for a circumcision!" "I'm gonna get my big ass outta here!" "You gonna become a rabbi?" "Leech." "All right!" "Move it out!" "Don't drink that, asshole." "You're gonna get malaria." "Yeah, I hope so!" "Let's go!" "Doc!" "Get up here!" "Lerner's hit!" "Sergeant Warren's hit!" "What the fuck's going on?" "They got RPGs, man!" "It's an ambush!" "They were fucking waiting for us!" " Who's on point?" " Lerner and Warren!" "Taylor, where are you going?" "Goddamn it, you assholes!" "Get some firepower up there!" "Watch out!" "Rockets!" " Where the fuck's Lerner?" " He's over there!" "By the log!" "Fire mission!" "Grid 649402." "Direction, 610..." "Adjust fire!" "Over!" "Lieutenant, they're gonna get in tight under the arty!" "Let me get some men and roll up that flank." "I can work right up on them!" "Get me Barnes!" "Elias, we got four down up there!" "What do you want me to do?" "Where the fuck is Red Platoon?" "Tell those assholes to get up here!" " Elias, what the fuck are you!" " Listen, Barnes, there's holes here." "Third Platoon's coming up here." "We're here." "Dinks get men in these holes, they got us caught in the crossfire." "Sounds pretty far out to me, Elias." "I've seen it happen - la Drang in '66." "They cut us to fucking pieces!" "I need three men!" " OK, you got 'em." "Take off." " Keep pouring off that cover fire." "I don't want to be stuck out there with my ass hanging in the breeze!" "You don't tell me how to run my war, Elias!" "You go crying and rat-fucking to brigade on your own time!" "Out here you belong to me!" "Now, move!" "You're an asshole, Barnes!" "Sir, get that asshole O'Neill up here!" "Two Charlie, this is two!" "Be advised!" "Stay down!" " Ammo!" " Ammo!" "Sarge!" "Short round!" "Medic!" "Satchel charge!" "Doc!" "Doc, help me out!" "You OK?" " Don't leave me, man." " All right." " Hey, Gator... you'll be OK, man." " Don't leave me, man." "Gator, hang tough." "You'll be OK." "Drop your rucks." "Taylor, you're coming with us." "Please don't go!" "Don't!" "You're gonna be OK." " Come on!" " Doc!" "Take care of him, man." "Redleg!" "Redleg!" "Ripper Bravo Two actual!" "Adjustment follows!" "You ignorant asshole!" "What the fuck coordinates are you giving?" "You wasted a lot of people up there with your fucked-up fire mission!" "You know that?" "You know that?" "Ah, shit!" "Redleg!" "Redleg!" "Ripper Bravo Two!" "Check your fire!" "Check your fire!" "They're coming." "Stagger yourself across this line." "Shoot anything that moves." " They'll be coming from over there." " Gotcha." "Any one of 'em gets through, we're truly fucked." "Where the hell are you going?" "Down by the river, about 100 metres, in case they try to flank us." "Third Platoon's coming up to our rear, so watch for 'em." "Can I go with you?" "No." "I move faster alone." "Come here." "Let's let arty do a little bit of the work here." "You tell everybody to pull back to the church." "We link up with Third Platoon." "You got that?" "What about Elias?" "If we pull back, he'll be cut off." "You just haul ass, too, Lieutenant!" "I'll get him." " I got two of them fuckers, man!" " I got one!" "Ho Chi Minh sucks dead dicks!" "Crawford!" "Oh, man!" "Kiss my ass, man!" "I never thought I'd get hit!" "It's a lung, babe." "You got two of them fuckers." "Sarge, a bunch of gooks came through there." "We got three of the fuckers!" "Did you hear the arty shift?" "We're pulling back." "Get the fuck back to church." " Elias is still out there, Sarge!" " Taylor, I'll get him!" "You get Crawford in." "Now!" "Before you Article 15 both your asses!" "Move!" "Move it!" "We still got ya." " Come on, brother." " Medic, where the fuck are you?" "You're gonna be all right in a minute, brother." "Taylor, where are you going?" "Elias is dead." "Fall back with the platoon." " Get going." " He's dead?" "Yeah." "He's back there about 100 metres." "You saw him?" "Where?" "He's dead!" "There's gooks all over the goddamn place!" "Get moving!" "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" "Move it!" "Let's go!" "Move it, move it!" "OK, let's go!" "You OK, Harold?" "You're on the next one." "You're OK, bud." "Oh, fuck!" "They've got Elias!" "What?" "Back down!" "Back down there!" "Snake One-Nine, Fly Four." "There's still one of the men down there." "Hold your armour!" "Guns, guns, pull up, pull up!" "We're trying to cover it on my side." "He killed him." "I know that he killed him." "I saw his eyes when he came back in." "How do you know the dinks didn't get him?" "You got no proof, man." "The proof's in the eyes, man." "You were there." "I know what you were thinking." "I say we frag that fucker tonight!" "I go with that." "An eye for an eye." "I say let military justice do the job on him." "Fuck the military justice!" "Are you joking me?" "Who do you think they'll believe?" "O'Neill?" "Bunny?" "Wolfe?" "Bullshit!" "Shit, man, you try that," "Barnes'll shove it up your ass with a candle on it!" "What do you suggest we do, huh?" "I suggest you all watch your own asses!" "Barnes is gonna be coming down on all of 'em!" "You gonna forget about Elias and all the good times we done had in here?" "You're trying to cure the headache by cutting off the head." "Elias didn't ask you to fight his battles for him." "And if there's a heaven - and, God, I hope there is " "I know he's sitting up there drunk as a fucking monkey, and smoking shit, cos he done left his pains down here." "You're wrong, man!" "Any way you cut it, Barnes is a fucking murderer!" "Taylor..." "I remember when you first came in here, telling me how you admired the bastard!" " I was wrong." " Wrong?" "You ain't never been right..." "about nothing!" "And dig this, you assholes, and dig it good!" "Barnes has been shot seven times, and he ain't dead!" "Does that mean anything to you, huh?" "Barnes ain't meant to die!" "The only thing that could kill Barnes... is Barnes." "Talking about killing?" "You all experts?" "You all know about killing?" "I'd like to hear about it, potheads." "You smoking this shit so as to escape from reality?" "Me, I don't need this shit." "I am reality." "There's the way it ought to be, and there's the way it is." "Elias was full of shit." "Elias was a crusader." "I got no fight with any man who does what he's told, but when he don't..." "the machine breaks down." "And when the machine breaks down we break down." "And I ain't gonna allow that from any of you." "Not one." "You all love Elias." "You wanna kick ass." "Well, here I am, all by my lonesome." "And there ain't nobody gonna know." "Six of you boys against me." "Kill me." "I shit on all of you!" "You motherfucker!" " Come on, man, get him!" " Oh, fuck!" "Get him, Chris!" "Easy, Barnes." "Don't do it, man." "You'll go dinky dow in LBJ." "Ten years for killing an enlisted man." "Ten years climbing the fucking walls, man!" "Don't do it!" "Death?" "What do you all know about death?" "They sent us back into the valley the next day, about 2000 metres from Cambodia, into a battalion perimeter." "It felt like we were returning to the scene of a crime." "Alpha Company had been hit hard by a sizeable force and Charlie Company had been probed that night." "There were other battalions in the valley, but we knew we were gonna be the bait to lure them out." "Somewhere out there was the entire 141 st NVA Regiment." "Caught those motherfuckers trying to pull some shit on Charlie Company." "They found maps on 'em, man." "A friend at Battalion says they had every fucking foxhole fixed on it." "Distances... tree lines... our claymores..." " Everything." " This is bad, man." "I got bad vibes here." "I also heard we're in fucking Cambodia now." "Cambodia?" "Man, you kidding me!" "You wanted to see me, sir?" "Yeah, Ramucci." "Looks like you got Elias's squad now." "I didn't know we were still referring to this platoon in terms of squads." "All right, look..." "I want you to take those two holes there and there." "You're tying it off with Barnes up here, King down there." "Begging your pardon, sir." "My two holes are far enough apart you could run a regiment through and never see 'em." "I got five live bodies left, sir." "I don't wanna hear your problems." "You'll get new men any day." " Make do like everybody else." " I didn't ask for this job." " I don't wanna hear it." " You don't wanna hear it?" "That's right." "I don't wanna hear it cos, to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit, OK?" "I don't give a flying fuck any more." "Right." "I'm glad I ain't going with 'em." "Somewhere out there's the beast, and he hungry tonight." "What a fuckin' bummer!" "Ten days and a wake-up and I'm still dealing with this shit." "What's the matter with you, man?" "How come you ain't writing nobody?" "What about your folks?" "That grandma you was telling me about?" "Girl?" "Got a mother and father, don't you?" "There must be somebody." "Nah, there's nobody." "You been smoking too much of this shit, troop." "Gotta control that - bring a man down." "I remember when you first come out here to the bush." "You was green as a..." "Ever get caught in a mistake that you just can't get out of, King?" "There's a way out of anything, man." "Just keep your pecker hard and your powder dry and the worm will turn." "How many days are you short?" "Nah, it's not just me." "It's the way the whole thing works." "People like Elias get wasted." "People like Barnes go on making up the rules any way they want." "So what do we do?" "Sit in the middle and suck on it." "We just don't add up to dry shit, King." "Whoever said we did, man?" "All you got to do is make it outta here and it's all gravy." "Every day, the rest of your life - gravy!" "Oh, shit." "Superlifer." "King, collect up your shit." "Your order's just come through." " Don't fuck with me." " What, you need a written invitation?" "Cocksucker!" "Oh, wow!" "The lifers have made a mistake!" "They cut me some slack, Taylor!" "Get your pig to Rodriguez." "You got ten minutes to make the last chopper out." "If you're not on it..." "I'm gonna be." "Taylor, Francis is coming up." "Great, King." "I'm happy for you, man." "You take it on home for me, OK?" "You got my address." "You know where to get hold of me." "I gotta di-di, man." "I don't wanna miss that chopper." " You OK?" " Yeah, I'm OK." "Remember now, take it easy." "Don't think too much, and don't you be no fool." "Ain't no such thing as a coward out here." "It don't mean nothing." "My man!" "I'll walk you out, man." "Take it easy, King." "I'll take it any way I can get it, brother!" "Later!" "I'm pretty fucked up, Sarge." "No, man, don't touch this!" "I gotta get on that chopper, man!" " So what's the problem?" " Says he can't walk." "Shit!" "Martin... get your boots on." "Next time I catch you spraying 'skeeter repellant on your fucking feet," "I'm gonna court-martial your nigger ass." "Then court-martial me, motherfucker!" "Bust my ass!" "Send me to fucking Long Binh!" "Do your fucking worst!" "You white folks have got your last klik outta Junior!" "O'Neill, get me that centipede." " Sergeant?" " Yeah." "That..." "long, hairy, red and black bastard I found in the ammo crate." "I'll put it in his crotch, see if he can walk." "I remember now." "Hold up, man!" "You just hold up!" "Wait, all right?" "Fuck it, I'll walk!" "I'll fucking walk, man!" "Fucking pussy!" "Sarge, I gotta have him in my hole?" "Yeah." "Bob?" "I'd like to speak to you a minute." "I can't take it no more!" " I'd like to speak to you." "Bob..." " Yeah, what is it?" "Bob, I got Elias's R and R. It's coming up in three days." "I was thinking about going to Hawaii to see Patsy." "Bob, I never asked you for a fucking thing." "To be honest, I hoped you'd put me on that chopper with King." " Whaddaya say, chief-a-rooney?" " I can't do that for you, Red." "We need every swinging dick in the field." "You know that." "Talk to me!" "All I'm asking you for is three fucking days here!" "I am talking to you, Red, and I'm telling you no." " Get back in your foxhole!" " Bob..." "I got a bad feeling on this one, all right?" "I got a bad feeling." "I don't think I'm gonna make it outta here." "Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" "Everybody gotta die sometime, Red." "Oh... shit!" "Goodbye, motherfuckers!" "There goes a fucking ambush." "They ain't even waiting till later." "It's fucking coming now, man." "Right fucking now." "You know, Junior, some of the things we done, man," "I don't feel like we done something wrong." "Sometimes, man," "I get this bad feeling." "I told the padre the truth, man." "I like it here." "You get to do what you want." "Nobody fucks with you." "The only worry you got is dying." "If that happens, you won't know about it anyway." "So what the fuck, man?" "Shit!" "I gotta be in this hole with you, man?" "I just know I shouldn't have come." "Don't you worry, Junior." "You're hanging with Audie Murphy here, my man!" "Bravo Three, Bravo Six." "Send me a grid." "Over." "I can't, sir!" "We're pinned down!" "They're in the fucking trees!" "Calm down, son." "I'll get you a fire mission ASAP." "Smoke'll be first." "Lieutenant's dead, radio man's dead." "I don't know where the map is." "They're all around us - hundreds!" "I can hear 'em talking gook." "OK, now spot that smoke and tell me where to shift." "Calm down, son." "We'll get you out." "Tell me where the rounds hit." "Over." "Three Alpha Six, how about those rounds, son?" "Can you adjust fire?" "Over." "Three Alpha Six, if you can't talk, son, just key your handset twice." "Over." "Shit!" "Trip flare" " Rodriguez's hole!" "RPG!" "Doc!" " Taylor!" "Francis!" " Over here, man!" "What the fuck's going on?" "Rodriguez's hole just got nailed, man!" "Here it is, man." "We got gooks in the fucking perimeter!" "Shit, that's it!" "Anything behind you don't identify itself, fucking blow it away, OK?" "Fuck!" "Two!" "Air strikes coming in - they'll be laying snake and nape." "Don't get outta your fucking holes." "Stay right here, man." "Fuck!" "They're probing." "They'll search this line all night trying to get through." "All right, stay here, stay cool." "I'll be right back." "Who is it?" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "It's the ambush!" "Over here, man, hurry!" " Oh, shit!" " Water!" "They're all over the place!" "Hundreds of 'em - moving this way!" "They wiped us out, man!" "We didn't have a chance!" "Where's the CP?" " Back there!" " You guys get outta here!" "They're right on my ass!" "They ain't stopping for shit!" "Taylor, man, let's di-di." "You go." "There!" "No, hold it, hold it!" "Out of the hole!" "Fast!" "Get outta the fucking hole!" "They're gonna blow it!" "Let's go, let's go!" "Francis, move your fucking ass!" "They're gonna..." "Follow me." "What is it?" "Die, you motherfuckers!" "It's fucking beautiful!" "Come on, motherfuckers!" "Come on!" "You can do better than that!" "They just keep coming, man!" "Fuck this shit!" "Get back here, you gutless shit!" " Get me Bravo!" " Charlie Company reports hand-to-hand." "Three holes down." "They need help." "OK, get two squads from Alpha down there!" "Go!" "Where's that goddamn air strike?" "Hey, you people!" "Where the fuck are you going?" "Sir!" " Can't you get anybody?" "!" " Negative contact!" "I can't raise Barnes!" " Nothing!" " Get me Six!" " Bravo Six, Bravo Six!" " It's Doc!" " Get him in!" " Come on!" "They're coming through our line!" "I can't do anything!" " Where's Barnes?" " Dead!" "I think they're all dead!" " Give it up, Doc!" "He's dead!" " Six, LT!" "Six!" "Captain, we've been overrun!" "We're pulling back!" "Over!" "Goddamn it!" "Where are you gonna pull back to?" "They're all over the perimeter!" "You be advised, you will hold in place and you will fight!" "That means you, Lieutenant!" "Bravo Six out." "Be advised, we got zips in the wire down here." "Roger your last, Bravo Six." "Can't run it any closer." "We're hot to trot and packing snake and nape, but we're bingo on fuel." "For the record, it's my call!" "Dump everything you've got left on my pos!" "I say again, expend all remaining in my perimeter!" "It's a lovely fucking war." "Bravo Six out." "Roger your last, Bravo Six." "We copy." "It's your call." "Get 'em in their holes down there." "Hang tough, Bravo Six." "We are coming cocked for treetops." "Barnes!" "Barnes!" "No!" "Get me a medic." "Go on, boy!" "Do it." "Look out, Mad Dog!" "We got live gooks at three o'clock!" "What's down here?" "Let's go!" "Come on, Elmo!" "Move your flea-bitten ass!" "Hey... you OK?" "You all right?" "Can you walk?" "Huh?" "Hey, Doc!" "We need a medic up here!" " Come on, Elmo." " Come on, Doc!" "We got wounded here!" "Hey, that must've been some fucking fight." "You alone here, man?" "Yeah." "The bunch of fucking faggots, they all left me!" "122 wounded and still counting." "Estimate 500 Victor Charlie KIA." "122 and still counting." "Over." "Hey, Taylor!" " Hey, Francis." " Hey, man, how you doing?" "I'm OK." "How are you doing?" "Just fine, man!" "Hey, dig it!" "We two-timers, man." "We gonna get outta here, boy!" "I'm gonna see you in the hospital." "We gonna get high, high!" "Yes, sir!" "Sergeant O'Neill!" " How are you doing?" " Just fine, sir." "That's good, cos you got second platoon." "Yes, sir." " Ready?" " You bet." "I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves, and the enemy... was in us." "The war is over for me now, but it will always be there, for the rest of my days, as I'm sure Elias will be, fighting with Barnes for what Rhah called possession of my soul." "There are times since" "I've felt like the child born of those two fathers." "But be that as it may, those of us who did make it have an obligation to build again, to teach to others what we know, and to try with what's left of our lives to find a goodness, and meaning, to this life."