"Nice shot, Ham." "I drew it a little to the left." "It's 15 feet from the goddamn hole." "I miscalculated the wind by a couple knots." "Give me a break." "Well, you know, it's all a matter of degrees." "Difference between the big money and not making the cut is razor-thin." "Well, I wasn't thinking about qualifying for the Masters, you know." "Kind of had my sights set on the NBA." "Well, your hook shot's working, Scotty." "Nice shot." "What do you think I'm doing wrong here?" "I think you're standing too close to the ball." "Yeah, pretty bad, huh?" "After you hit it." "Yeah?" "They want you at Ops right away, sir." "Russian tanks, 8-inch guns, and APCs." "Seventh Air Force intelligence has been indicating the possibility of a North Vietnamese VC offensive." "Now these photos confirm it." "NVA troops moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, south of the DMZ near Quang Tri." "Now they'll combine with Charlie and try to hit us hard, probably in several places at once." "Glad you could make it, Colonel." "Sorry, sir." "Strategic Air Command is putting everything it's got in the air two days from now, and is just gonna clobber the hell out of them." "If we don't stop their movement, or at least slow it down to a trickle, our ground troops are going to take heavy casualties." "Now, our job remains the same." "Fly alongside the bombers, throw down your electronic smoke screens, jam the missile radars." "Sir?" "Why don't we put our surveillance aircraft up there first, sir?" "Have them fly the same route the big boys are gonna fly on their scheduled run." "Missile reaction can be recorded, launch sites plotted." "Send the fighter jocks in there, just knock the hell out of them." "I really appreciate you volunteering us for this flight, Ham." "I didn't think you had your sights set on being a full bird." "I got my sights set on a condo on the seventh fairway at Tucson National." "Six months from now, that's where the old lady and me will be." "That sounds awfully exciting." "You think that's exciting?" "You should see the deck furniture." "Mark, start your music." "I've got a solid growl." "SAM on scope." "I confirm a launch." "I got him." "Damn it, I didn't think they had SAMs this far south." "Well, that's why we're here." "Go back and give them the bad news." "I've got another one." "SAM on scope, two salvo three." "I'm changing frequencies." "I got one." "Hold steady." "Got two." "Got one visual." "Break left!" "Break left!" "It's tracking us!" "We're hit!" "We're hit!" "We're hit!" "Going down!" "Fuck, we're going down!" "We're burning up!" "Son of a bitch!" "Victor 1." "Hit by SAM." "Mayday, mayday!" "I've lost it." "Crew eject!" "Crew eject!" "I can't get out!" "Get out of here, Scott!" "Victor 1, I'm hit in the tail!" "Punch out, Ham." "Punch out!" "Come on, Scotty, let's get out!" "Right behind you!" "Come on!" "Mayday, mayday!" "Punch out, Scotty!" "Somebody punch out!" "Recon pilots in quadrant Lima Charlie Six, mayday transmitted by Red Scout EB-66." "Look for smoke and chutes." "Repeat, look for smoke and chutes." "Roger." "02-FA C. 02, come in." "This is FAC-02." "Call sign, Birddog." "Identify yourself." "Bat 21." "I'm the parachute above you, 1 o'clock." "Have you in sight." "Turn off your beeper, Bat 21, or Charlie will get to you before the Jolly Greens." "Will advise." "Happy landings." "Roger." "Bat 21, get out of that paddy." "Hoochers to the south." "Head north to the tree line." "Repeat, head north to the tree line." "Repeat, tree line north." "Roger that?" "Negative." "I want to wait for the choppers." "Negative." "Let's get the basic relationship down here." "I'm the lifeguard, you're the drowning man." "If you relax, I can bring you to shore." "If you fight me, then I'll have to slap you around." "Now, get your ass in gear, mister." "Bat 21, Charlie firing mortars from the south." "Advise the tree line." "Repeat, advise the tree line." "Birddog, this is Bat 21." "I can't go any further." "Good vantage from this position." "Copy, Bat 21." "What about the others, anybody else make it out?" "None reported." "We're still looking." "Just stay calm." "I'll try." "Don't worry, Bat 21." "We'll get you out." "But it's not gonna happen today." "All choppers busy evacing fire base at Quang Tri." "Company of grunts overrun by Charlie." "Jolly Greens will pick you up in the morning." "Say again your last transmission." "Repeat, Jolly Greens will pick you up in the morning." "There will be no pickup today." "Copy, Bat 21?" "I copy, Birddog." "Okay, listen, Bat 21." "I'm running low on juice, have to return to base." "Birddog, thanks for your help." "That's what I'm here for." "Birddog, are you gonna be back?" "That's the plan." "Birddog signing off." "Keep your head down." "See you later." "Bat 21 out." "How was your flight, sir?" "Same old shit." "Bad movies and terrible food." "Don't you..." "Don't you think you're pushing it a little, Captain?" "You've almost doubled the base record." "Doubled the base record?" "Gee." "I'll pin a medal on my chest." "Could you check my right aileron?" "It's sticking a bit, okay?" "Yeah, I gotta replace it, sir." "How long will that take?" "Well, I can borrow one from 453." "Man, that's Anderson's ship." "The way he flies, Captain, he'll never miss it, sir." "I like your initiative, Sergeant." "Keep it up." "Well, we've pulled our share of pilots out of there, but never a 53-year-old Lieutenant Colonel." "53-year-old Lieutenant Colonel?" "That's right." "Navigator on that EB." "Well, they just gave me crew codes and no names and ranks." "Well, I am told that Hambleton is one of our top people." "He's an electronics countermeasure expert." "I am told that the communists will have a dossier on him that thick." "So, in the morning, when we get our birds back, we're gonna go in and get him." "Seventh Air Force does not want Charlie getting their hands on him." "We'll get him tomorrow then, sir." "In the meantime, I want you to go back out there tonight." "He's not going anywhere, Colonel." "I know, because I'm gonna make damn certain he's secure." "Then why don't you send Anderson?" "Didn't he just get his pilot's license?" "You better watch it, Captain." "Look, sir, I'm tired, I'm two weeks short, and that area's pretty hot." "And I don't want to get shot down on some public relations mission, okay?" "All right, then I'll make it easy for you, Captain." "It's an order, and you damn well will carry it out, is that clear?" "Yes, sir." "Thank you for the ride, sir." "Okay, 50 plaster." "Oh, come on." "Come on, chicken shits." "Chicken shits." "I'm out." "No way." "Okay." "Hey, Clarky, pull up a chair before these pigeons are totally penniless." "Another time." "I gotta go back up again tonight." "Going back up again?" "Damn, you're putting in the hours." "Yeah, tell Walker." "I gotta start carrying my sleeping bag with me." "Okay." "I got two pair." "Three sixes." "Jesus!" "I got two pairs of sevens, and your other six." "Damn." "I thought you newspaper boys would be a bit sharper than that." "What rag do you write for again?" "New York Times." "Oh, yeah." "I picked one up once." "You read, Ross?" "He probably stole it from some derelict in the park who was using it as a blanket." "I gave him a nickel." "That's true." "That's true." "I couldn't find the comics, so I returned it." "You get your money back?" "Yeah, I ended up finishing a pint of radiator fluid with the guy." "It was about then I figured it was time to enlist." "And here I am, the best goddamn evac pilot in Nam." "Tell it, Ross." "Flying those choppers every day scrambles up your brains." "You get facts confused." "Ross here thinks that it takes some skill to keep one of those eggbeaters up in the air." "Typical FAC pilot, he labors under the misapprehension that he's the most Sierra Hotel cowboy in the Air Force." "Real truth is, he flies a fucking VW Microbus with wings." "Well, this VW pilot flies 10 feet off the deck, draws fire from SAMS, down to 8-year-olds with slingshots with pebbles." "A confirmation on that." "A lot of times, I've seen Clarky return here..." "You want one?" "With leaves in his teeth." "Of course..." "Two." "...us black folks ain't got no depth perception, so we gotta fly what we gets." "They won't let us fly fast airplanes." "You gotta be particular in this man's Air Force." "Now, right here, you are looking at a perfect flyboy profile." "The kind of guy you can trust when the shit hits the fan." "Yeah, right." "He's hit the fan, man." "He's right." "He's got that." "See you later, Clarky." "Later, Clarky." "Don't wait up for me, okay?" "Take care." "Birddog, Bat 21." "Is that you?" "Roger, Bat 21." "It's me." "I need a visual reference so I can stay in range." "Wait one." "Got you, Bat 21." "Positive contact." "I appreciate you dropping by, Birddog." "That's what I'm here for." "Charlie walked by my hole about an hour ago." "How many?" "10 or 12." "Seems to be quiet now." "Just stay calm." "You'll be out of there in the morning." "Birddog, could you do me a personal favor?" "Shoot." "Get in touch with my wife." "I was supposed to call her tonight." "She'll be scared to death." "Her name is Gwen." "I know, I pulled your personal file." "I got her address and number." "But I think you should let it ride for a day." "She may not be too excited about where you decided to spend the night." "Yeah, we'll do it your way." "I'm glad somebody's thinking clearly." "How long you been flying Oscar Deuces?" "Too long." "Due to rotate soon." "You know, I'm probably the oldest captain in the Air Force." "How old are you?" "Would you believe 35 in June?" "That's not very old." "Shit, sometimes it is." "Are you married, Birddog?" "Yeah." "Got a wife and kid back home." "I've been thinking about my old lady a lot since I've been down here." "Funny how that works." "She keeps bugging me that my mind is someplace else when I'm with her." "Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean." "Any news on the other crew members?" "No, no other chutes were spotted." "We're still searching for the wreckage." "The jungle is hot." "Has anyone contacted Scott's wife?" "Yeah, that's been taken care of." "I feel like a real jerk." "I'm the big expert on this deal and I get us shot down." "Don't beat yourself up, Bat 21." "It happens." "You okay for the night, Bat 21?" "Yeah, no problem." "Thanks for checking in." "Then I'm RTB." "Tuck yourself in." "Carpool will pick you up at first light." "This is Birddog signing off, Bat 21." "Birddog, Birddog, this is Bat 21." "Are you in the vicinity?" "Roger, Bat 21." "Just about to give you a wake-up call." "Birddog, take a look at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, rush-hour traffic." "Could be a problem for our Jolly Greens." "Roger, Bat 21." "Stand by." "Let's put some hits on these guys." "I got a good visual." "I'll call them." "You sure?" "You're pretty close to the action." "You might get nicked." "I can see the crossroads from here." "About half a klick south of the rice paddy." "Mark it." "You pulling rank on me, Bat 21?" "I'll take my chances." "You got it." "Here you go." "Enjoy the show." "Birddog to Crabtree, I marked my targets, what are you hauling?" "Roger, Birddog, this is Crabtree, coming in from the south with a full load of snake and nape." "Roger, Crabtree." "You see my smoke?" "Affirmative, Birddog." "Waste the area." "But, remember, we have a friendly in the vicinity." "Try not to ruin his day with a stray frag." "Don't worry, Birddog, we can thread a needle if we have to." "Thread a needle, my ass." "Shit." "Birddog, on your next pass, move just east of the intersection." "You've got camouflaged tanks." "Roger, Bat 21." "Crabtree, tanks just east of intersection." "Missed on first pass." "That's a roger, Birddog." "We're Winchester, Birddog, please assess damage." "Additional targets still appear active." "Copy, Crabtree." "Return to base, will advise." "Bat 21, from Birddog." "Bat 21." "Bat 21, from Birddog." "Do you copy, Bat 21?" "Go, Birddog." "You intact?" "Affirmative." "Nice quarterbacking." "Maybe we ought to leave you in for the second half." "Negative." "I've seen enough." "I guess it's different on the ground." "It's too damn close." "Bat 21, your pickup may be delayed." "The area is still too hot." "Negative, negative." "It's gotta be today, God damn it!" "I repeat, area is still too hot." "It's a war zone, God damn it." "What do you expect?" "Relax, Bat 21." "We'll get you out at first light." "Jesus Christ!" "Just stay calm." "Birddog will deliver." "Negative, Birddog." "Bat 21 has a plan." "I worked it out last night." "Birddog would like to RTB, refuel, and confer before you move." "Negative, Birddog." "Not enough time." "Bat 21." "Bat 21." "Birddog would like to confer before you move." "Negative, Bat's on the move." "Heading for the Swanee." "Swanee?" "Repeat, heading for the Swanee, like in the song." ""Swanee, Swanee." "How I love you." "How I love you."" "Yeah, yeah, I know the song." ""Swanee, how I love you."" "Uh-huh." "I think I broke the code, Bat 21." "I still do not advise." "Route takes you through too many unfriendlies." "Birddog has no way to track you." "I worked out a front nine to avoid the hazards." "Copy this, add zero to yardage." "Holes three, six, and eight at Shaw." "South 1 and 17 at MacDill." "Coming in on 2, 12, 14, and 18 at Hickam." "How do you copy?" "Copy, but I still don't know what the hell you're talking about." "Contact Colonel Douglass at Korat Air Base for instructions." "I'm not sure this is a good idea, Bat 21." "Bat 21 is teeing off from the blue markers now, out." "Bat 21, from Birddog." "Bat 21." "Bat 21, from Birddog." "Bat..." "Oh, shit!" "You wanna tell me about it?" "Amateur's moving on me." "Where's he going?" "I don't know." "He gave me some kind of goddamn code after I decided it was too hot to pick him up." "Yeah, I heard you brought in the flyboys." "Mmm-mmm." "That was his idea." "That's some kind of tough bastard." "Shit." "I mean, he must realize they aren't always that accurate." "No shit." "I've seen frags drop 30 feet in front of my windscreen." "Wait, wait, wait." "Where you going?" "Sit down and finish your beer." "Sit down." "Man, I gotta go up again." "I gotta find him." "Geez, you're spending more time in the air than on mother earth." "You look like hell." "Well, I need the overtime." "Jesus, you are going for a DFFC, aren't you?" "A Distinguished Fucking Flying Cross." "Man, I must have vapor-locked or something." ""FAC pilot saves Colonel."" "You're gearing up for the ceremony." "A full dress parade, a nice shiny medal to show the folks back home, and a newfound respect in the military community." "Shit." "Clarky, stick around." "Come on." "We'll take a chopper up, we'll shoot a few cows, we'll have a barbeque." "What do you say?" "No, sir." "Not tonight, yeah?" "Don't you think you've got a little obsessive behavior going here?" "Obsessive behavior?" "I mean, me, obsessive behavior?" "Man, I recall some of the crazy lunatic shit that you've done in your machine." "Yeah, well, maybe I like hauling those sorry dudes out of the bush." "Maybe I like to see their big sloppy smiles when I drag them into the chopper." "Because you just know they thought they were going to spend the rest of the war dodging Punji sticks, snakes, and gooks, and I hand them a Camel and a candy bar, and they smile like when they got laid for the first time." "You know, I'm not into this death and destruction bullshit, either, or flying fucking medals." "You know, all I want to do is bring the old man back." "Okay." "Go on, get him through the night." "I'll haul his ass out in the morning." "Okay, Birddog?" "No, no, no." "Look." "Friend." "Friend." "Friend." "Pa." "I'm sorry." "No, no, no." "Number 14 at Hickam." "Right, Hickam." "Yeah, the par four across the water." "That's the one." "Hold the phone a minute." "Captain." "Number 14 at Hickam, 390 yards." "Draw it in." "Don't forget to add the zero." "Come in, Clark." "Colonel, that puts our puzzle together." "Now, let's hope the damn thing works." "Right." "Yeah, I will keep you abreast of everything." "Right, I will, and thank you." "What have we got, sir?" "Well, I got a lot to tell you about your boy." "It seems like Hambleton was flying a Pave Penny mission for a major bombing strike, Captain." "Came up with the idea himself, and then he volunteers to go." "Right man for the job and all that." "Sounds likely to me he must have written the damn manuals." "And Charlie would like to get their hands on him." "Open him up and shit." "It doesn't get any better." "The strike was scheduled for 0700 hours tomorrow." "Their objective, to carpet-bomb this crossroad where Hambleton is and everything around it for eight kilometers." "That's what he was talking about." "Exactly." "He won't make it." "They're gonna blast the whole goddamn area." "I'm fucking blowing my brains out trying to get this motherfucker home and they're talking about carpet-bombing." "God damn it, Captain." "No, no, wait a minute." "Now, I'm not gonna..." "Shut up, God damn it!" "I bought us 24 hours." "That's the best I could do." "I had to put my ass on the line to get that." "I told Seventh Air we'd get him out of there." "That's exactly what we're gonna do." "Nice work, Colonel." "Well, let's don't start jumping up and down, throwing babies in the air yet, Captain." "Better wait and see if Hambleton's code works." "You got any ideas?" "Douglass knew what Hambleton was talking about right away." "I mean, they're both golf fanatics." "They play three times a week." "Hambleton's got a four handicap." "Now, with all that in mind, come here, I wanna show you something." "Thank you, Howard." "Now, stay with me, Captain." "This gets pretty wild." "Hambleton wants to get here to the river, to the Swanee, right?" "Well, how's he gonna do that?" "I mean, he's not about to just tear ass out through there and lose contact with you." "Hell, he's dead meat." "On the other hand, he can't get on the radio and tell you where he's going," "Charlie's got VHF, too." "So he gives you an imaginary nine holes of golf." "When you lay those nine holes over our map, Captain, that's what they look like." "Now we can track him." "Now we know where he is." "We know exactly where he comes out at the end because he didn't pick those holes at random." "They come off three Air Force golf courses he's played 100 times." "Knows them like the back of his hand." "Now, let's take these three, they come off Shaw Air Force Base." "First hole, 410-yard, par four dogleg." "We add that zero Hambleton's talking about, it reads 4,100 yards, and the first green puts him right there." "Next green, here and here." "These two holes come off the front and back of MacDill." "These four finishing holes here, according to Douglass, are the holes Hambleton birdied the last time he played Hickam to shoot a one-under-par 71." "Pretty good score, huh?" "Clever son of a bitch." "You play golf, Captain?" "No, sir." "Golf wasn't big in my neighborhood." "All right." "Well, all these holes are on these cards, and this is a glossary of golf terminology." "Now, you're gonna communicate with Hambleton using these terms, because Charlie won't know what in the hell you're talking about until it's too late anyway." "So get busy." "Learn this." "It's the key to Hambleton's code." ""Doglegs." "Doglegs..."" "Does Anderson know you borrowed his prop?" "No, sir." "I'd love to be there when he tries to take off." "He's gonna need a hell of a long runway, Captain." "Yeah." "Look, at the risk of being out of line, sir, I think you look a bit overextended." "Now, in the best interests of the mission and your personal safety," "I've put together this tape." "Some serious sounds, Captain." "They're guaranteed to keep you alert." "Quite a man, Rumbaugh." "You just have a good flight, all right, sir?" "All right." "Fuck!" "Son of a bitch!" "God!" "Wake up, wake up, wake up." "Fuck!" "God..." "Yes, thank you, Rumbaugh." "Shit." "Bat 21, this is Birddog." "Come in, come in." "Where the hell are you?" "Birddog, this is Bat 21." "I read you loud and clear." "Copy, Bat 21." "It's good to hear from you." "I thought I lost you." "It's good to hear your voice, Birddog." "I'm at the third fairway." "I'm trying to get a fix on your position." "You broke the code?" "I'm working on it." "This is not an easy game to play." "What is your" "lie?" "Birddog, I'm 150 yards northwest of the third green." "I'll give you a signal." "Wait one." "Got you marked." "Any problems?" "I ran into an unfriendly a while back." "I had to do some backtracking." "You all right?" "The landing gear is a little damaged, but it's still serviceable." "Sorry to hear about that." "Listen, Birddog." "You gotta get me out of here." "Affirmative." "I'm here to tell you the good news." "We bought 24 hours, copy that?" "You bet I copy." "You must have friends in high places who want to see your face again." "That's nice to know." "Bat 21, stay put and don't transmit." "I have business to take care of." "This is Birddog." "This is Birddog." "Anyone on station at Pleiku?" "Copy, Cupcake." "If it's not too much trouble, I'd enjoy your company at coordinates" "Zulu Zulu Five Lima Hotel Seven." "Cupcake on the way." "Copy, Cupcake." "Back to you, Bat 21." "This is Birddog." "Birddog," "I killed a man today." "Roger that." "He wasn't even a soldier." "He just kept coming." "I couldn't stop him." "I understand." "I didn't want to do it." "I never had to do anything like that before in my life." "I've been sitting in an airplane at 30,000 feet with a cup of coffee in front of me." "Look here, Bat 21." "I've never met you, but you don't sound like a killer." "I'm sure you couldn't stop it from happening." "Now, the important thing is to put it behind you." "What the hell's going on, Birddog?" "There's too many unfriendly foursomes in your vicinity." "Fireworks, courtesy of WolfPack." "Jesus Christ." "Does it ever stop?" "Are you with me, Bat 21?" "Yeah, Birddog, I'm here." "All right." "I want you to listen real hard." "I know you're hurting, but we have to deal with getting you back to the clubhouse." "We're gonna pick you up at first light." "Damn, I'm ready." "I want you to play the fourth hole tonight." "The green will be our LZ." "It's a long goddamn hole." "Yeah, it's a few hazards, but the green is safe." "Think you can make it, Bat 21?" "Yeah, I should be able to play through." "Looking forward to buying you a drink." "I'll start the tab." "Roger that." "Birddog signing off." "I'll see you in the morning." "Bat 21, this is Birddog." "Come in." "Birddog, Bat 21, go ahead." "Are you still on course?" "Birddog, yeah, I'm on an easy chip shot from the green." "Except that there's a village right here in front of me." "Reconed yesterday." "Area's safe." "We'll take another look." "Okay, Birddog." "Shine up your medal, Clarky." "I'm bringing back your boy." "I'll personally alert Bat 21." "Bat 21, this is Birddog again." "Come in." "Yeah, Birddog." "I'm still here." "Not for long." "I'm sending in my best man." "Get your flares ready and don't pop the smoke until you hear from Jolly Greens, understand?" "Roger, Birddog." "Bat 21, this is Cobra Leader, do you copy?" "Go ahead." "We'll come over your position from the north." "Be ready to pop those flares." "I've been ready for two days." "Well, what you got, Big Sky?" "Going to send Birddog in to take a look." "Roger." "Talk to me, Birddog." "Looks quiet." "I'm going in for a closer look." "Here we go." "Be right back." "It don't look like anybody's home." "All right, Big Sky." "Go get him." "I'll cover your tail." "Jolly Green from Birddog." "You're looking good, looking good." "Coming in on your LZ." "Shit, we're taking hits!" "The village is hot!" "The village is hot!" "Birddog, there's at least two machine guns in the village." "I thought you said the goddamn LZ was secured!" "Get back in the trees, Bat 21." "Back in the trees!" "Stevie, open up!" "Get those mines ready." "We're gonna drop them right here in this paddy." "Keep away from Bat 21." "Drop those mines." "Son of a bitch!" "Big Sky, get the hell out of there." "I'm coming back." "Open up, Steven." "Get on those guns and give them hell." "Son of a bitch!" "He's hit!" "Take care of him." "Hendricks, get on the gun!" "Big Sky, abort mission." "Repeat, abort!" "Abort!" "Boys, they're not gonna stick a fork in me till I'm done." "We're gonna get that boy." "Abort mission, Big Sky." "Get the hell out of there, Ross." "Sorry, transmission is breaking up." "Repeat, abort!" "Sorry, transmission is breaking up." "That's bullshit!" "You heard me." "I said, abort!" "Fuck it." "Let's go in." "Come on, you..." "Ross, get out of there!" "Son of a bitch!" "He's hit!" "Birddog, he's hit!" "Shit!" "Shit, I'm losing it." "Big Sky, Big Ross, pull out!" "Shit, we're going down." "We're going down." "Mayday!" "Mayday!" "I can't see a goddamn thing, God damn it!" "We're going down." "Mayday!" "Start, motherfucker!" "Open up, for Christ's sake!" "For God's sake!" "Let's get out of here, Ross." "Fuck, they're coming for us!" "Fuck, the gun's jammed!" "Let's go, Ross!" "Come on!" "God damn it all!" "Those fucking gooks!" "Start!" "Shit!" "Start!" "Come on!" "Let's go, Ross!" "Shit!" "Come on, seriously, we gotta get out of here." "Come on, Ross, get this thing going!" "Come on, we gotta get out of here, God damn it!" "Come on!" "Take it up, man, we gotta go!" "Ross, come on!" "Damn it, he's down." "Come on!" "Ridley, God damn it, give me the gun!" "Shit!" "Give me the gun, Ridley." "Give me the goddamn..." "Steven, God damn it!" "Jesus Christ!" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Holy shit!" "I'm fucking hit, man." "Jesus Christ!" "Steve, stay alive." "Someone will be back." "Don't fucking leave us, Ross." "Steve, stay alive, God damn it!" "Don't leave us, Ross." "Don't worry, I'll be back." "All right." "Ross, don't leave us!" "Ross!" "Goddamn motherfuckers!" "Birddog, they've got two of our men." "I think the rest of the crew is dead." "Copy, Bat 21." "Stand by." "Cobra Leader, Charlie has two of my airmen." "Can you identify?" "Negative, Birddog." "Can't make out from here." "We're holding our fire." "They shot my damn hydraulics out!" "I'm not gonna be able to put this thing down here." "I'm going down for a closer look." "Not advisable, Birddog." "It will be a quick pass." "Confirm, two airmen." "One is the pilot." "You know what, Charlie, I don't follow your fucking drift." "I took Spanish in school." "Get your fucking slimy fucking hands off me!" "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" "I don't understand, Charlie." "I don't understand." "Birddog, they're trying to get him to tell where I am." "Copy, Bat 21." "Just stay low." "Bastard!" "Motherfucker!" "They just killed one of our men." "Was it the pilot, Bat 21?" "I don't think so." "It's me they want." "I'm gonna give myself up." "Keep your ass down, Bat 21." "Charlie doesn't bargain." "There's nothing you can do about it." "Now, retreat, double-time." "Back into the trees." "Come on, fellow, don't bullshit." "Come on, come on, you motherfucker." "Come on." "Come on." "They're walking him out into the mine field." "Oh, Jesus." "Come on." "Come on!" "Hey, come on." "God damn it!" "Motherfucker!" "You lowlife..." "I've got enough dead heroes for one day, Clark." "Get your ass out of there!" "Oh, fuck!" "You get Bat 21 back on the course!" "Then rendezvous with me at Helo One Eight Five!" "I'm gonna waste this whole goddamned area." "Foursquare leader, hustle your ass over here." "One klick north of Helo One Niner Six." "Gun emplacement in village." "Jolly Green down." "Crew is dead." "Look for the smoke." "People still in the village." "Charlie's using them for cover." "Stay off frequency, Bat 21." "Wait instructions from Birddog." "Birddog, Birddog, people are in the village." "Repeat, civilians, women and children in the village." "That's a confirmation." "Will advise." "Cobra Leader, this is Birddog." "Village is still not clear." "Civilians still in the area." "Stay off frequency." "Delay the strike." "Repeat, delay strike." "Bat 21, get back on course." "We'll connect with you at Swanee." "Fuck the goddamn Swanee!" "Delay the strike!" "That was my friend laying in the mud with his fucking head blown off!" "Now, get back on course!" "Now, do as I say!" "Back on course!" "People keep dying all around me." "I'm through killing." "I'm through God damn..." "You called for me, sir?" "We lost six people today, Clark." "Kids, all of them." "Just kids." "I couldn't guarantee we'd get him out of there if we had another week, damn it." "It's too hot." "So, the strike is a go." "0700 hours tomorrow." "They're gonna level the whole area." "All we can do is hope and pray to God Hambleton makes it to the river." "I..." "I called the Navy, and they're gonna send a patrol boat up there." "Where are you headed?" "I'm gonna help him make it to the river, sir." "Planes are grounded, Clark." "We are not to go back in there until the strike is over." "Our hands are tied." "Yes, sir." "Birddog, Bat 21." "Over." "Birddog, Bat 21." "How do you read?" "Over." "Birddog, this is Bat 21." "Come in." "I'm on the sixth hole, Birddog." "Do you copy?" "Birddog, this is Bat 21." "Come in, Birddog." "Thank you." "For me?" "Definitely not a good idea, sir." "It's a bad idea." "I trained in one of these things 15 years ago, so just refresh my memory." "You got three minutes." "Let's go, Rumbaugh." "All right." "Okay." "This is your rotor speed." "Keep it in the green." "This is your engine speed." "Keep it also in the green." "Red line, and you crash and burn." "All right, pedals." "Pedals work the same as your ship." "The stick does not." "It's cyclic." "Controls the angle of your blades, all right?" "I can't believe you're taking the old man's ship." "All right, power." "Power is controlled by your collective." "One thing you may have forgotten is when you increase power, you increase left pedal to compensate for increased torque." "Got it?" "Yeah." "It's coming back to me." "What about auto rotation?" "Why, you planning on not coming back, sir?" "Tell me anyway." "All right." "Your engine quits, you're falling out of the sky, now all you've got left is the energy stored in your blades, okay?" "Push the left..." "No, push the right, the right pedal to the floor, collective down." "Keep you rotor speed in the green." "Keep it at about 80 knots and about 100 feet off the deck." "You begin to flare, and then push it on down with the collective." "Now, you may start to spin, but that's cool, don't panic." "Key point being, he who hesitates..." "You don't want to hesitate, all right?" "All right." "Here's your checklist, your maps, all your golf shit." "All right." "Now, you got everything, right?" "You understand all this?" "Yeah." "All right." "Thanks for the lesson." "Just come back, all right?" "Yeah." "Pedals!" "Pedals!" "Collective!" "Shit!" "Up!" "Up!" "Up!" "Okay, all right." "Torque, torque, torque." "Get it up!" "You got it!" "You got it!" "Up!" "Who's that crazy son of a bitch?" "Is that Clark?" "I believe it is, sir." "All right, Captain, we're looking at a court-martial now." "Rotor speed up." "Proper friction." "When he gets back here, Sergeant, I'm throwing his ass in the stockade." "We don't have a stockade, sir." "I'll build one!" "Son of a bitch!" "Well..." "Good luck, Captain." "All right, all right, all right." "Here I come." "Chopper Pilot, this is Bat 21." "This is Chopper Pilot, above your signal on the ninth hole." "Is that you, Birddog?" "Yeah, it's me." "Now, let's get you out of here." "Fifty meters east to you there's a small field." "If I can get into it, I can make it happen." "Copy that, Bat 21?" "I'm on my way, Birddog." "Down!" "Let's go!" "Okay." "Hey!" "Hang on!" "I'm in." "All right." "I'm glad to see you, Birddog." "Have a seat, Bat 21." "You'd better check the charts." "I had a hell of a time navigating here." "Jesus!" "Shit!" "You're losing oil pressure." "Jesus." "There's the river!" "We gotta make it from here." "I'm gonna have to put this baby down, okay?" "There's a clearing at 9 o'clock." "Charlie's in the woods." "Let's go!" "It's the air strike." "It's right on time." "Jesus." "Come on!" "Go!" "Let's move!" "Oh, shit, Captain!" "Shit." "You know, I've been in the service most of my adult life." "It's the first time I ever saw any war." "I guess I was a little closer to the action." "I wanted to be a fighter pilot since I was a kid, but they wouldn't let me out of the O-2." "That's lucky for me." "You could've quit anytime." "Why did you keep coming back?" "Guess it's the stubborn side of me." "I started out just doing my job, no different from you." "I hate being told I can't do something." "I guess that's why I'm still a captain." "Besides," "I started feeling what you were going through." "Heard it in your voice." "We home free, Colonel?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Cut the "colonel" crap, okay, Birddog?" "It's Iceal Hambleton." ""Iceal"?" "It's Ham." "Clark, Bartholomew." ""Bartholomew"?" "Clark." "Okay." "This is U.S. Navy Niner-Six." "We have your boys aboard." "Injuries have been treated." "We'll rendezvous with you at base Victor 4." "This is Niner-Six, out." "Welcome home, Bat 21." "Why don't you and the Captain meet me at the 19th hole?" "The drinks are on me." "Cobra Leader, over and out."