"[♪♪♪]" "[MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO, MAN SINGING INDISTINCTLY]" "[WOMAN LAUGHING]" "MAN:" "Hey, we finally got some real music for a change." "This guy's the greatest!" "[WOMAN LAUGHS]" "♪ Check the rear-view mirror ♪" "♪ Everything Is getting nearer ♪" "[MAN SINGING ALONG, INDISTINCT]" "♪ I'm driving myself crazy I'm losing control ♪" "♪ Looks like I'm headed down A rough and rocky road ♪" "Hey, baby, yeah!" "♪ Heartbreak highway Fast lane to the blues ♪" "♪ Each turn I take Leads me back to you ♪" "Freedom day, you'll be the one and the all, baby." "That's right." "Go for what you know!" "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "[SINGING AND LAUGHING]" "♪ I can't see Through the lines ♪" "♪ Truck stop hopping, baby ♪" "♪ Last night took forever ♪" "♪ Can't sleep ♪" "♪ With the pain ♪" "♪ I still see you with me Every time I lay down ♪" "♪ That leaves A burning bridge ♪" "♪ To turn my life around ♪" "♪ Heartbreak highway Fast lane to the blues ♪" "WOMAN:" "Oh, look out!" "Get out of the way!" "Who was that jerk?" "Looks like Decker!" "Let's go get him." "[LAUGHING]" "♪ Do ♪" "Hey, halt, halt!" "Stop!" "Yeah, it's Decker again-- with a girl this time." "Go get him!" "Hey!" "Come on!" "♪ ..." "It's gotta be my heart ♪" "♪ Heartbreak highway Fast lane to the blues ♪" "♪ Each turn I take Leads me back to you ♪" "[SHUTS OFF RADIO]" "Hey, give me a break, will you, fellas?" "I've got to make morning formation." "Listen, chaplain thought it might need a brake job..." "Uh-huh." "I'm just road-testing the vehicle for him." "What's the matter, you've got no sense of humor, huh, guys?" "Hey, you hit the real jackpot, Decker." "Come on, now." "No, I do nothing!" "Get over here!" "Ow!" "Ow, you..." "Hey, wait a minute, she didn't do nothing." "She's on the base on my invitation." "Yeah, right now we've got you for theft of government property, impersonating an officer... and violation of pass restriction." "You're going to the stockade, Decker." "Ow, you're hurting me!" "Leave me alone!" "Oh, you're real bad." "I wonder how bad you'd be without a backup." "Check this dude out." "Enough, already." "Hey, let her go!" "Leave her alone, man!" "Leave her alone!" "All right, come on, you guys." "Get on outta here." "You ain't got anything better to do with your lives?" "Come on." "Decker." "You know that guy, sarge?" "Yeah, we used to be hip-pocket buddies a long time ago." "You used to be friends with this guy back in the world, sarge?" "Now, come on." "Now, didn't I tell you all to get out of here?" "What are you still doing here, huh?" "You bought it this time." "Do you know who I am, dipstick?" "It's your sergeant, boy." "I'm here to tell you to drop your fun, grab your gun, it's time to be a soldier, son." "Anderson." "What the hell are you doing here?" "I come to get your butt out of jail, young sergeant." "I knew there had to be somebody pulling some strings." "Let me look at you." "Three tours of duty, they didn't put any holes in you yet, huh?" "No, that's because I had myself a drill sergeant at AIT, taught me how to duck my head, move my butt." "Yeah, you weren't exactly college material, but I tried to overlook it." "That was a very foolish move you pulled with the chaplain's jeep this morning, you know that?" "Foolish move?" "Let me tell you what." "Rita Mae happens to be the best little pro in Chu Lai." "I was counting beans all weekend, and I had to see her." "What else was I going to do?" "Sign this." "What is it?" "You're in my outfit now-- the U.S. God-bless-them-all humping' infantry, boy." "Let's move 'em out." "There are some promising rookies in there, LT." "I know, I checked over all the 201 files myself." "Sergeant Aubrey Decker." "Did you go over his file?" "Now, see, I know that man personally." "I can vouch for him myself." "Yeah?" "What about this?" "February '66, court-martial, misconduct." "Drunk on duty." "That's good." "Insubordination." "Quartermaster battalion petroleum supply?" "Sergeant, this guy's been pumping gas for a year and a half." "Well, now, lieutenant, I'm not going to lie to you, now." "The man's made some mistakes, and he's rubbed some people the wrong way." "I don't know what you owe this guy, sergeant." "LT, I don't owe the man anything." "It's just I'm convinced now that he wants to put all this stuff behind him, and if I'm right, LT, if I'm right, we've glommed onto the best field leader in our corps." "He'll work under you?" "I'm convinced of it." "I want him to take Jensen's place as squad leader." "Will he follow orders?" "LT, I can handle the man." "I don't intend to jeopardize the safety of the platoon." "We're moving out tomorrow." "We've gotta be at full strength." "Yes." "Now go away." "SERGEANT:" "All right, come on, come on." "Let's go, go, go, go, go!" "Move, move, move." "Load 'em up!" "You heard the man." "Let's get the lead out!" "All right, you heard the briefing." "Once we're off the chopper, we're in Indian country the whole way." "No gunfire unless we're under attack." "No talking above a whisper." "I want light noise discipline strictly adhered to." "If I hear you breathing, you're wrong." "I don't even want to hear your damn boots squeak." "Any questions?" "Hey, what's so important about a damn radio station, anyhow?" "This ain't exactly Wolfman Jack we're going after, Baker." "Look, I missed briefing, all right?" "I must have dozed off." "What's going on?" "It's a communications center, dummy." "A what?" "It's like a radio relay site for the entire North Vietnamese command." "Well, if it's a communications center, why don't the Air Force just go in and blow it away?" "They already tried." "Yeah, and Charlie's still signaling." "Yeah, well maybe it's dug in or something." "You know, that guy's one in a million, sarge." "He's got the finest military mind in Orange County." "Don't be too hard on him, son." "How about you?" "If any of us had our brain pan straight, we'd all be a good 10,000 miles east of here." "Poke 'em if you've got 'em, guys." "[♪♪♪]" "All right, people, let's move it out." "Aubrey, your squad takes the lead." "Who's the regular point man?" "Matsuda." "I am, sarge." "Okay, you take every other shift till we get there." "Move out." "Move!" "[BIRDS CHIRPING]" "[♪♪♪]" "What in the hell did you do that for?" "[SIGHS]" "Johnson, you were just about skewered beef, huh?" "Thanks, sarge." "Anytime you see something rigged up high to make you look up, look down, fast." "Keep it moving, Johnson." "Keep it down, guys." "Well, Aubrey, it looks to me like you've still got what it takes." "I ain't got squat." "Oh, come on, Aubrey, what I just saw tells me that you" "What you saw was reflex." "I ain't got nothing." "I not only don't have it..." "I don't want it." "Geez, that would be an ugly way to die." "There ain't no pretty corpses, Baker, especially when a man's as big and homely as you." "SOLDIER:" "Who's got a cigarette over here?" "SOLDIER 2:" "Right here." "Hey, Johnson... how are you going to make it up to Decker for saving your life?" "It's gonna be tough, let me tell you." "What do you think about Decker?" "I don't know." "He seems okay..." "[LAUGHS]" "As long as we don't let him get behind the wheel of a Jeep." "There ain't no Jeeps out on this road." "You know, he's gotta be nuts." "Anybody with 18 years in has gotta be missing some trolley wire." "They say the guy was a big deal in Korea." "I heard he enlisted when he was 15." "Fifteen?" "Yeah, he lied about his age just to get in." "Well, I'll tell you what, he's gotta be a survivor." "How else could you live on Army food for that long?" "I heard that." "LIEUTENANT:" "All right, we're going to start climbing in about an hour." "I figure we'll set up our night perimeter right about there." "That puts about two hours behind schedule." "Decker, come here." "All right, Decker," "I want you to take Johnson and scout the trail." "Come here." "Now, there's been a lot of enemy activity reported right between this point here and this long rise." "You see that?" "So I want you to stay a hundred meters in front of the platoon." "I want you to travel exactly one hour." "We're gonna give you a two-minute head start." "You got that?" "All right, maintain absolute silence." "I don't want any unnecessary firing." "You got it." "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "All right, specialist, move out." "[WHISTLES]" "That's far enough." "We're only a minute ahead of the rest of them." "Relax, will you?" "We'll start up again in another minute." "Okay, sarge, what you got in mind?" "Nothing fancy." "I just don't believe in sticking my neck out for no reason." "Why should we?" "What do you mean?" "Why should we?" "Now, you know why." "The further forward we are, the more time the guys have to react in case we get ambushed." "Look, Johnson, you think we're going to win this war if we're ahead another 50 yards, huh?" "It don't make a damn bit of difference... so why bother?" "Relax." "[SIGHS]" "Let's go." "I knew that ridgeway was mismapped." "We've still got six or seven klicks to go." "Yeah, well let's just hope that border is marked right." "The communication center is supposed to be right on the Laotian border." "All right, now, LT, it's 1420." "That means we've been walking for about one hour straight." "Five minutes, pass it down." "Percell." "Sir." "I want you to move up, check on the forward position." "Yes, sir." "No, wait." "I'm gonna go with you." "I want to check on the train up ahead." "We'll both go, LT" "Tell you what, Percell." "You stay here." "You're in charge." "You get the men to take their five, and then you keep 'em quiet." "Let's go." "Yeah." "Ain't life grand?" "Why the hell aren't you further forward, sergeant?" "Is that all the ground you can cover with a two-minute head start?" "The platoon must have been moving too fast," "Lieutenant." "I guess you gained ground on us." "Anderson, there's no point in having scouts if they're only a few yards ahead of you." "Yes, sir." "I could do that with a stick." "Decker, Johnson... get on back down the hill to the platoon." "Yeah, I'll be further forward, where you men are supposed to be." "Well, we're in for a hell of a climb." "Yeah, you got that right." "Well, what is it with Decker?" "Has he got slow feet or cold feet?" "Hey, that man's not a coward, LT." "He's got a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts." "Yeah, well, maybe he's had a change of heart." "No, I don't think so." "Not him." "You know, you've got to be his biggest fan." "I wonder whether the real Decker can live up to all this hype." "Hey, LT, did you ever see" "Willie Mays play centerfield?" "No, seriously, did you?" "Sure." "All right, remember the catch he made against Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series?" "Huh?" "No." "Before your time." "Well, the point is, LT, when the chips are down, you want the man out there you know can do the job." "Oh, geez." "All right, what happened back there?" "I'm slowing down, Zeke." "Oh, crap, Decker, if you were headed into town to get a few short ones, you'd be leading the charge." "Spread out!" "These kids, they never learned the basics." "All right, we're going to be setting up night position about an hour into that tree line." "Good." "I could use the sleep." "No, you're going to be on advanced listening post." "Why?" "Punishment?" "No, it's not punishment." "It's just I need your experience." "If there's any enemy contact, we might have to go hand-to-hand combat." "We're going to have to maintain absolute silence." "Hey, it's 0400." "Maybe you ought to let up on that stuff, sarge." "Button it, Horn, the man said no talking." "Yeah, well, he'd be really upset if he knew you were drinking out here." "Hell with him." "Look, I gotta to catch some Zs." "You gonna be okay?" "Whiskey don't make me sleepy." "Makes me nasty." "All you fish-head eating, rice-guzzling dinks better watch out." "You're gonna have to deal with double-bad Aubrey Decker." "Relax, you're in good hands." "Okay, but if you need a break at all, you let me know, okay?" "I know where to find you." "[SINGING JOHNNY CASH'S "RING OF FIRE"]" "♪ Love is a burning thing ♪" "♪ And it makes a fiery ring ♪" "[DECKER SNORING]" "Oh, damn." "Sarge." "Sarge!" "This is supposed to be your watch, man." "Relax, will you?" "Give me a minute." "We've got to get out of here pretty soon." "Got to get those claymores in." "Just let me get an eye-opener." "[WHISPERS] Decker." "Sa" "[URINATING]" "[WHIMPER]" "[GUNSHOT]" "That's ours, LP." "What happened?" "NVA scout." "Where's Horn?" "He went after him." "Man, you're drunk." "Johnson, come on, now." "[MOANING]" "Oh, it hurts..." "Oh!" "Talk to him, Johnson." "Don't let him go into shock." "[SQUEAK]" "Come on, take it easy." "Take it easy." "What are you trying to do, get another medal?" "You hear me real good, soldier." "You are looking at a general court-martial." "When we get back, and if we get back," "I'm throwing the book at you, and that is a promise, you got it?" "Percell, get Matsuda up here!" "[HORN MOANS]" "What about the gook?" "He got away, but there is a blood trail." "Yeah, both sides of where we found him." "You think he'll make it back to warn his unit?" "I don't know, LT." "With all that racket, they've probably already been warned." "Okay, Horn, breathe slow." "Slow breathing, now." "You don't want to hyperventilate." "All right, come on, somebody put a ruck under his feet." "Let's go." "Come on." "Man, he's looking awfully pale." "He's gonna be just fine, Baker." "You know, you're real lucky, Horn, you've got a nice clean wound there." "[WHIMPERING]" "Hey, doc." "Got any of that morphine left over?" "You kidding me?" "He's saving it for himself." "It hurts like hell, doc." "I feel like I have a hole in my heart." "No, no, not even close." "Look, you're gonna make it." "Don't worry." "Okay?" "We've gotta get him medevaced outta here ASAP." "He's got internal bleeding." "There's nothing I can do." "All right, now, there's a possible LZ right down there over the tree line." "Now, I'm gonna give you two men." "Try to help carry him down there." "All right." "Horn" "Hey, little buddy." "How you doing?" "We'll get that hole patched up so the beer don't leak out." "We're gonna get you out just as soon as we can get a Huey in here." "I shouldn't have left my weapon back there." "Hey, Horn, come on now." "You done good, son." "You did better than I could do." "I knew if he got away we'd be in deep trouble" "Horn, you stop it now." "You done good..." "You done real good." "LT said no choppers or the gooks will know we're here." "They probably already know we are here." "Does that mean the mission's a no go?" "I don't know, Percell." "That's up to the LT." "Aubrey, I want to talk to you later, old buddy." "LT, we've got to make a decision about Horn." "How is he?" "Well, he might make it, if we get him outta here real soon." "I don't know." "If that scout died before he got back to his unit, we've still got the element of surprise." "I can't afford to give away our position with a dust-off." "On the other hand, if that scout didn't die, we are sitting ducks, LT." "Well, what are you suggesting, sergeant, that I scrub this mission?" "You know, we've got a job to do here." "We can't run every time we get into a little bit of trouble." "So I take it that's a go." "Yeah, that's a go." "Horn's gotta wait." "That means no breaking of radio silence." "That means no medevac choppers until we are through with this mission." "Yes, sir." "And I'll tell you something else, sergeant, if your buddy hadn't screwed up on LP, we wouldn't be in this predicament." "Now, hold on, LT, you don't know that for sure, now, do you?" "I mean, you haven't heard Decker's side of the story." "Oh, God, what do you owe this man?" "I owe the man friendship." "I owe the man loyalty." "You know what that is?" "Yeah, I know what that is." "That's something like trust, isn't it?" "Like when I trusted you when you told me to take on Decker." "And just like Horn trusts me and all these other men trust me to make decisions." "Well, I screwed up and made the wrong one, and now Horn's gonna pay for it." "I'll tell you something else." "From here on out," "Decker is relieved of his position of squad leader until we get back to battalion." "You sound convinced the man's guilty, LT." "I'm convinced the man was drunk on duty." "No question about that, is there?" "Is that you, Decker?" "Yeah." "How you doing?" "Oh, the shot knocked me out, I guess." "[LAUGHS]" "It feels like I've got this tiny little hot spot inside my gut." "You're a good soldier, Horn." "Sorry about what happened." "Oh, it wasn't your fault." "Yeah, it was." "It was my time." "I should have cut the gook myself." "We all let down sometimes." "Yeah, sometimes." "Forget it, sarge." "Horn, I've got some bad news for you now, son." "The mission's still on." "That means we can't call in the dust-off until we make contact with the NVA." "You understand that, don't you?" "Now, I want you to hold on." "It's only going to be for a couple of more hours." "We're still gonna move you down the hill now, and as soon as we can use the radio, we're gonna get you some help, all right?" "I hear you, sarge." "All right, buddy." "Friendly warning" "The LT is gonna smoke your tail." "Well, if I do good in the mission, maybe he'll drop the charges." "Forget it." "He's canned you." "You're not the squad leader anymore." "You're just along for the walk." "Ah, that's great." "What in the hell happened back there, Decker?" "Come on." "Were you drunk or what?" "I'll answer that if I have to... at the court martial." "So much for Decker." "Hey, he deserves it, man." "How can you stick with a guy who's out drinking on a mission?" "That's right." "You really think it was his fault Horn got stuck?" "Well, you're damn straight it's his fault." "Look, what's the difference, Percell?" "Either way, the guy was dead wrong, right?" "He made one mistake." "Maybe he's entitled." "The man's won medals." "He's a war hero." "Not in my war." "Are you sure you won't do the same, Ruiz?" "Not stoned, brother, or under the influence." "I was sound asleep when the man was on LP, thinking I was in steady hands." "You know, it's funny." "We all liked Decker yesterday." "Yeah." "That was yesterday." "Hey, Horn." "You be cool." "Now, don't go messing around with those sex-crazed nurses, okay?" "Yeah, and be sure they stitch you up first." "And bring us back some cold ones, yeah?" "Yeah, and a pepperoni pizza." "Hey, doc." "You going with him to the LZ?" "That's right." "You guys are gonna have to bleed on someone else for a change." "I see you came prepared, didn't you?" "That's my motto, always prepared." "What's all this drinking about, Decker?" "What's the matter with you?" "I never felt better in my whole life." "Well, you look it." "I went out on a limb for you, Decker." "Now, hey, that ain't about nothing, but the guys in my platoon went out on a limb too, and that is about something." "You're breaking my heart." "Maybe I ought to write 'em a "thank you" note, huh?" "They trusted you." "They depended on you, buddy, and you let 'em down, and that ain't gonna happen again." "Whoa!" "That's eight-year old whiskey." "Oh, man, you're a sorry excuse for a human being." "All right, Aubrey, now, what is it?" "If your nerves are shot, buddy" "If your nerves are shot, I can understand that." "That's not why I drink." "I'm not a coward." "All right, then you tell me why you do, and you give me a good reason." "I drink because when I drink I can understand the war, and I want to fight the war when I drink." "Give me this." "Give me a break, man." "Look at you." "You're a drunk, Decker." "There ain't no two ways about it." "Go to hell." "You know the really funny thing, Decker, is I wanted to be like you." "[GRUNTING]" "That shows how dumb you are." "You're damn right I'm dumb." "I've been dumb all of my life." "I'm so dumb I don't even mind, but when I was in basic training, old buddy," "I was dumb and scared and screwed up 19 different ways, and you straightened me out." "Stuff it!" "Oh, come on, Decker, the old Decker, and I'm talking about Sergeant First Class Decker, he would have spotted that NVA scout and slit his throat in a heartbeat." "Instead you let Horn, a green kid like Horn, do it for you, and now he's fighting for his life and the whole unit's up against it because of your screw-up." "You know that feeling you get when you've been kicked in the gut and you know something's wrong, something ain't right?" "Well, that's what happened to me my last tour of duty in the Delta." "We was chasing these Charlies down, and they just hit this village, and we had them." "It was payback time, and they snuck right across that Cambodian border, and we wanted to go after them." "Even the brass wanted to go after them, but the rules of the engagement said no." "The politicians wouldn't let us do it." "You can't fight a war with one arm tied behind your back, Zeke." "You can't win a war like that." "Oh, give me a break, Decker." "Tell that to somebody who don't know you so well." "You re-upped." "You reenlisted voluntarily." "Well, I didn't think I was gonna be here." "Hey, you take the pension, you take the chances." "It ain't the pension, it ain't the last 20 years." "Then why don't you tell me what it is?" "It ain't that simple, Zeke." "The Army's the only home I ever had." "It's the only thing that ever made any sense to me." "Now it's all changed." "The whole world's changing." "Darn right it's changed, but we're still regular Army, you and me, Decker, and that means one way or another, we get the job done, so here, you pack your trash," "and you fall in with the rest of the squad, but listen to me real close, son." "You stay out of the way." "This ain't your war anymore." "[BOAR GRUNTING]" "Give me the weapon, Decker." "What?" "Give me the weapon now." "Are you nuts?" "I don't want drunks with loaded weapons in my platoon." "You'll load it when I tell you, not before." "[♪♪♪]" "Something up ahead, sarge." "Yeah, this could be it." "Well, there's your radio mast." "Where's the rest of it?" "What about the transmitter and the generators they told us about?" "I don't see them, or any people either." "It looks like they had some advance warning, LT." "All right, get the men, spread 'em out." "Taylor, move in and check it out." "Percell, move in." "[♪♪♪]" "It's all right, there's nobody here." "Hey, what is this stuff?" "Don't touch nothing!" "A Russian component." "So there definitely was a radio installation here." "Yeah, but how long ago?" "Just a couple of hours." "See, the tracks are fresh, and that was a big enough vehicle to carry heavy equipment." "Yeah, they were mobile." "That's why the Air Force couldn't find them." "It looks like they blew the antennae, packed up their gear, and headed for the border." "Laos?" "Yup, and we can't go after them." "[GUNFIRE]" "[SCREAMING]" "Get down, get down!" "We've got to pull back!" "They've got us on both flanks!" "They'll cut us to ribbons!" "They'll cut us up one at a time if we stay here!" "Hey, get away from me!" "[ARGUING]" "We need a diversion!" "Give me Decker!" "No way!" "LT, Decker on the 60, he was the best!" "All right, go!" "When you see the smoke grenade, head south!" "We'll meet you back at the LZ at 1300." "Decker, back off, back off!" "Get away!" "Get this crazy guy away from me!" "He's trying to take the machine gun!" "Give it to him!" "What?" "!" "I said, give him the weapon now!" "Take the ammo belt!" "I don't believe you, man!" "Decker!" "We're gonna flank 'em on the left and then split up!" "You guys cover us." "Go!" "[MACHINE GUNFIRE]" "Nice going, Zeke." "All right, you stay on this flank right here, old buddy." "You bet." "Let's get it done." "Come on, you sissy Commies!" "Come on!" "They made it!" "Man, that Decker's something else, huh?" "[GRENADE EXPLODES]" "Ooh!" "You okay?" "[SCREAMS]" "Ah!" "Cover on the left!" "There's the signal!" "Everybody pull back!" "Move, move, move!" "Don't stop until I tell you!" "Move out!" "Let's go." "Ah!" "Hightail it, hightail it!" "Move, move, move, you suckers!" "Hang on!" "It's okay." "[VOICES SPEAKING VIETNAMESE]" "Oh, man." "Oh, man." "I need a drink." "Shut up, man." "Don't start that." "It ain't good, Zeke." "I said, shut up." "I'll only slow you down." "Listen, buddy," "I ain't got time for your Audie Murphy fantasies." "You've got 20 years to serve, you're gonna serve them." "Now, give me your hand." "There's Johnson!" "He's coming in, sir!" "Hold your fire!" "Any sign of them, bro?" "Nothing, not a trace." "I doubled back three times." "We've got to get going." "We're jeopardizing the wounded's lives." "Sir, they're gonna come in, I know it." "Just give them another minute." "Load the stretchers on the chopper." "Percell, load the men up." "Yes, sir." "All right, let's do it, let's go!" "Move, move, move!" "Load 'em up!" "[♪♪♪]" "Victor's okay." "He's stable." "We're loading up." "Let's go!" "Now!" "Move, move, move!" "Come on!" "Okay, let's go, we're moving out!" "Let's go!" "It's Zeke!" "He's coming in!" "It's Zeke!" "Doc!" "He's dead." "This man was a good soldier." "He's out of it now, though, all right?" "So let's just get him home, all right?" "I mean, come on, let's just get him on home." "Let's get him home." "[♪♪♪]" "[♪♪♪]"