"Johnson!" "Yes, sir!" " Honeycutt!" " Here!" " Melvin!" " Here." "Oh, man." "Is that what I think it is?" "All right, you cheese dicks, welcome to the Nam." "Follow me!" "I'll be dipped in shit!" "New meat!" "You dudes gonna love the Nam." "For fucking ever." "365 and a wake-up." "Oh, Lord!" "Xin loi, buddy." "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." "I, Shackle, Lima, Whiskey, Alpha, Whiskey, Foxtrot." "Warren, move Sanderson out on flank." " Say, Huffmeister!" " Yo!" " You got a smoke?" "No, I'm out of those!" "Xin loi, man." "Bravo Two-Six." "What's the delay up on point?" "You having compass trouble again, Wolfe?" "Come higher." "Shit." " Get up." " Get up." "Get a move on, boy." "Boy, what you waiting for?" "Ain't gonna bite you." "That's a good gook." "Good and dead." "Cherry." "Yo!" "Cherry!" "Two-five-two actual." "Move it out." "Six says we're jamming them up back there." "Over." "Tell that dipshit to get unfucked." "This is Two-Five, be advised." "We're moving out shortly." "Out." "What the hell's the matter with you, Taylor?" "You are one simple son of a bitch." "I'm sorry, Sergeant." "Get that other cherry up here." "Gardner." " And the Doc." " Gardner!" "Doc!" "Up!" "Gardner and the Doc, to the front!" "To the front!" "Gardner, up." "Gardner, get your ass up the hill, you fat fuck!" "Hurry up, bubble-butt!" "Pos rep follows." "I, Shackle, Lima, Whiskey," "Alpha, Whiskey, Foxtrot," "Foxtrot, Echo, Whiskey, Shackle." "You all right?" "Ants." "I got ants all over my neck." "You got some fucking red ants." "Bites are killers." "Black ants are the worst." "Hurry up, lard-ass." " Better lose some weight." " Better hustle up, bacon." "I'm so tired!" "Just a little." "Don't drink too much." "Look, I don't want you drinking any more." "All right?" "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?" "Okay." "Thanks, Sarge." " All right, you okay?" " 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." "Resupply helo is inbound at this time." "Over." "Come on, you people!" "Get ready." "Get that ammo off now!" "Move it!" "It ain't D-E-R-E, it's D-E-A-R." "And Sarah ain't got no two "R"s, 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!" "Man, why don't you let me have that turkey loaf for this pork shit, man?" "Just today." "I can't eat this shit, Harold!" "What you been smoking, Junior?" "I hope you don't get that laundry gig." "I hope Manny get it." "'Cause your ass need to hump, hump, and hump." "Hey, white boy, what you waiting for?" "That hole ain't gonna dig itself." "Come on, boy." "Get your dick skin on that thing!" "Dig!" "We 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 think I've ever done is go on point." "Three times this week." "I don't even know what I'm doing." "A gook could be standing three feet in front of me, and I wouldn't know it." "I'm so tired." "We get up at 5:00 a. m., hump all day, camp around 4:00 or 5:00, dig a foxhole, eat." "Then put out an all-night ambush or a three-man listening post in the jungle." "It's scary, 'cause nobody tells me how to do anything 'cause I'm new." "Nobody cares about the new guys." "They don't even want to know your name." "The unwritten rule is a new guy's life isn't worth as much 'cause he hasn't put his time in yet." "And 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 get to stay in the perimeter at night, and then you pull a three-hour guard shift." "So, 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 made a big mistake coming here." "We've got beaucoup movement." "The third battalion just got hit 15 klicks 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 need Tex and Junior from your squad." "Roger that." "Okay, move out in two-zero mikes." "I thought it was O'Neill's turn tonight." "No,no,no,no,no,no." "Tubbs and Morehouse are short." "Fu Sheng's going on an RR tomorrow, and you want to send them out on an ambush?" "You got the fresh meat, buddy." "They don't know shit, Barnes, and chances are we're gonna run into something." "Think about it." "That's just great, Bob, and what do you want me to do?" "Send one of my guys out to get zapped so some lame-ass just in from the world can get his beauty sleep?" "No." "Hey, O'Neill, take a break." "You don't have to be a prick every day of your life, you know." "Elias, get your men ready." "Guy's in three years, he thinks he's Jesus fucking Christ or something." "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." "Man, it's gonna piss on us all night." "Gonna put a serious case of crotch rot on that your ugly face of yours, Junior." "Goddamn, man." "You break your ass for the white man." "No justice, right?" "What's O'Neill got, a nose up the lieutenant's ass already?" "How come we always get fucking ambush?" "'Cause it's politics, man, politics." "Hey, Chris, did I show you a picture of Lucy Jean?" "No, you didn't." "She's the one for me, all right, that Lucy Jean." " And she's waiting for me, too." " Yeah, she's 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." "God damn it, Elias, don't mess with my pig." "I ain't getting greased on this bush tonight, 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, okay?" " Okay." " Just sit tight, and we'll get to you." " All right." "Yo!" "Saddle up!" "Lock and load!" "Of course, Mom and Dad didn't want me to come here." "They wanted me to be just 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 mean, I've always been sheltered and special." "I just want to 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, all right." "With guys nobody really cares about." "They come from the end of the line, most of them, small towns you never heard of." "Pulaski, Tennessee." "Brandon, Mississippi." "Pork Bend, Utah." "Wampum, Pennsylvania." "Two years high school's about it." "Maybe if they're lucky, a job waiting for them back in a factory" "But most of them 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?" "They're the bottom of the barrel, and they know it." "Maybe that's why they call themselves grunts, 'cause 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." "You sure you know how to work the claymores, dude?" "Yeah." "I'm sure." "Flick the safety off and bang on that sucker three times." "Three times." "I got it." "And don't catch any "Z"s on me, buddy, or I'll sling your sorry ass." " You hear me?" " Okay." "Maybe I 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!" "Okay?" "Here, take this." "Blow the fucking claymorel" "Take the safety off!" "Goddamn it." " Drop it!" " Take the safety off, boy!" "Feed me, Junior!" "Get over here and feed me!" "Bravo Two, Bravo Two, we..." "My fucking arm!" "My fucking arm!" " Jesus fucking Christ!" "My arm!" " Easy, Tex!" "Easy, boy!" "I'm getting you medicine." "Doc, over here." "Gardner's hit!" " Be right there!" " Oh, shit." "I'm hit!" "Doc, he's hit, too." "Taylor's hit!" " Taylor's hit!" " Oh, shit." "Doc." "How bad is it, Doc?" "That dumb fuck didn't blow his claymorel" "Just relax, man, it's a scratch." "Hold this on here." "Don't lie to me, Doc!" "How bad is it?" "He let them walk right up on us." "He was sleeping on his goddamn shift!" "No, I did not." "Big Harold, you keep an eye on him." "You don't let him go into shock." "Shut up!" "Shut up and take the pain!" "Take the pain!" "Redleg, Redleg, Bravo Six." "I have NDPs at this time." "Over." "Hey, little guy, you're gonna be okay." "Okay?" "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 give me that morbid bullshit." "We're about to get out of here." "They gonna give you three hot meals a day, white sheets." "Them pretty white nurses, they gonna give you blowjobs if you pay them enough." "I heard all about them white bitches." "Don't baby-talk him, man!" "The cocksucker fell asleep." "He let them walk right up on us and he don't do shit!" "Just shut up, Junior." "You relax, okay, man?" "Okay." "It's not so bad, dying." "How long is..." "How long is..." "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 son of a bitch I catch copping "Z"s 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?" " Okay, got light duty." "Three days' worth." " No shit!" " Yeah." " Well, too bad we in base camp anyway." " What you got, beers?" " Yeah." "Just stole me some from the Top's supply." "Yeah?" "Shit, he been stealing it from us anyway." "Hey, Taylor!" "What, are you back?" "Yeah, it looks like it." "Hey, King, where'd you get those beers, boy?" "I found it." " Oh, you found it." "You going on report, son, now." "Yeah, both of you come with me." "I got a little job for you." "Good morning, Vietnam." "Motherfucker!" "This is the bright sound in the a. m." "Motherfucker!" "I'm too short for this shit, man." "They always fucking with us!" "No letup." "Politics, man." "Fucking politics." "That O'Neill, he's got his nose so far up Top's ass, he's gotta be Pinocchio." "Thirty-nine 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." "Ninety-two left to go." "April 17, heroes, man." "Home to California." "I'll 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 you got left?" " Three hundred and what?" " Thirty-two." "Three hundred and thirty-two days." "Xin loi, my boy!" "I can't even remember when I was 332, man." "You gotta, like, count backwards or something." "You know, like, you got 40 days in." "I mean, think positive, dude." "Hey, Taylor." "How in the fuck you get here anyway?" " Why, you look educated." " I volunteered for it." "You did what?" "I volunteered." "I dropped out of college, and told them I wanted the infantry, combat, and Vietnam." "You volunteered for this shit, man?" "You believe that?" "You's a crazy fucker, giving up college." "It 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?" "Oh, I see." "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, if you be cool, I introduce you around to some of the heads." "What are the heads?" "Later, man." "What's up, brother?" "Your highness has arrived." "Hey, what's happening?" "Man, I thought you was hanging 10 in Cambodia." "Come on, man." "How's it going?" "What you doing in the underworld, Taylor?" "Well, this here ain't Taylor." "Taylor been shot." "This man here is Chris." "He been resurrected." "You lame, Taylor?" " Am I what?" " Are you lame or something?" "Go ahead, old man." "Smoke it." "Give it here." "This shit's in the wind, troop." "Hey, man, what's happening, brother?" "Why you..." "You're gonna do that pot, you better do it right." "You're weird, man." "You're a child, Lerner." "Rhah 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." "Man, where the hell is everybody, man?" "They're getting high, that's what." "Bunch of hopheads." "They think they're something special, man." "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 rapping about how they losing they ho, saying how they ain't got no bread for beer." "Fuck that honky shit." "Ought to give me some Motown jams, dig it?" "Man, what are you talking shit for, man?" " Hey, Junior, you ever smoke any shit?" " That's right, dude." "You see, y'all be trying to keep the black man down and string him out on that shit." "But the time be coming, my man, when the black man throw that yoke off." "Simple." "Free your mind, your ass will follow." "Yeah, I can dig it, man." "You smoke that shit, everything kind of gets weird." "You know what I mean?" "You hear that story about the gooks putting chemicals in the grass, so we don't fight, so we become pacifists?" "Hey, but don't you worry, Bunny, 'cause you's a killer anyway, man." "Yeah, but I still like a piece of pussy once in a while." "Ain't nothing like a piece of pussy except maybe the Indy 500." "Only way you get some pussy, man, is a bitch dies and wills it to you, and then, maybe." "How's it going, Bunny?" "L.T., check it out." "You 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." "...around this flyboy's neck on the floor of the hot, hothouse, okay?" "Now wait a minute." "This guy is easily three, four times my size." " Come on, man." " No." "No." "'Cause I got him in the O'Neill death grip." "He didn't know whether to shit or go blind, for Christ's sake." " Hey, what do you say there, L.T.?" " How you doing there, Red?" "Not good." "Not good." "This cocksucker's got every card in the deck." "Full house." "Look like you're doing all right there, Sergeant." "Yeah, and I ain't even cheating yet." "Hey, Lieutenant, some Kentucky windage?" "Thanks, Sandy." "Play, Lieutenant?" "No." "Wouldn't want to get raped by you guys." "Why's that, Lieutenant?" "What you saving up to be, Jewish?" "Jewish." "I gotta run." "I'll catch you men later." "Enjoy yourselves tonight." "News is up in five..." "Well, that is one sorry-ass motherfucker." "What do you say there, Bob?" "A guy like that make it?" "Yes or no?" "I have to tell you, that's precisely what I saw." "I mean, sometimes I just look at a guy, and I know." "This fella's not gonna make it." "Just no fucking way." "Yeah!" " I'm going now." "Come on, now!" "I want some, now." "'Cause 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'll see my smile looks out of place" "If you look closer, it's easy to trace" "The tracks of my tears..." "Yeah!" "Oh, yeah!" "I 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 a lot of bombs, then we walk through the jungle like ghosts in a landscape." "Bunker" "Where?" "Bravo Two, Bravo Two-Five." "We got beaucoup bunkers up here." "Over." "Two-five-two, roger." "Bunkers at point." "Two actuals on the way." "Bravo Six, Bravo Six, Bravo Two." "Be advised." "There is a bunker complex up front." "Turning right on our way down." "Over." "See you next week." "Bravo Two." "This is Alpha." "Be advised." "We're at the tunnels..." " I got swiped three times in my first week." " ... and one man down at this time." "Over." "Taylor, get your ass up on that flank about 50 meters." "Washington, you cover this side." " Yes, sir." " Get off your ass, Harold." "Bummer." "Christ." "Look at that, will you?" "The teapot's still boiling." "Man, they were just here." "Man, this is spooky, Sandy." "Let's get out of here." "Watch it." "Watch it!" "Look what we got, Sal." "We got maps." "We got S-2 stuff." "Man, this is gook stuff!" "Let's get out of here!" "No, Sal." "This is important." "This is important." "Let's leave." "Let's go." "Booby trap!" "Get down!" "Medic!" "Holy..." "God damn it." "We got..." "We got two men down, sir." "There was an explosion." "This..." "We need help, sir." "ASAP." "Move your ass out of here!" "Let's go." "One round would get all you guys out." "Rodriguez, move it!" "Junior, let's go!" " Lieutenant." " What?" "Tell Six we need engineers." "This pos is crawling with traps." "They're on their way." "Now listen." "The NVA out of here have been spotted in the village half a klick down the river." " Now Six says we gotta get there ASAP." " Okay." "Also, leave four of your men here and a medic, okay?" " All right." " Move it out." "Pull the flanks in!" "Let's move!" " Hey, where's Manny?" " Manny!" "Yo, Manny!" " Hey, Washington." "Manny!" "Hey, Manny!" "Manny!" "Washington!" "Yo, Manny." "Manny, where you at?" "We had to get to the village before dark." "So we left Elias with some men to keep looking and to wait for the engineers." "But it was King who found him, about 1,000 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 have 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 and Ebenhock, let's go." "Get that stupid look off your face!" "Hey, piggy, piggy." "Hey, pig" "Don't leave a hooch." "Spread out on the right!" "Okay, watch your back!" "Let's go!" "What do you got here, huh?" "Let's go!" "Move it!" "Go!" "Get over there." "Move it!" "Come on!" "Let's go!" "Let's go, Junior." "Bring them in." "We have some people down here." "Get out of there, you fuckheads!" "Move!" "Come on!" "Put them in the pig pen." "Give me your Willy Pete." "Shut up!" "Get back!" "Fire in the hole!" "Shut up!" "I said shut up!" "Shut up!" "Get them out of here." "Fuck." "We got one." "Get the fuck out of the hole!" "Move!" "Get the fuck out of there." "Let's go!" "Come on, motherfucker!" "Be cool." "Be cool." "They're scared, man." "They're scared." "They're scared, huh?" "What about me, man?" "What about me?" "I'm sick of this fucking shit." "Come on, motherfucker, move!" "Watch this, fucker!" "Fuckers don't want us here, man." "Who the fuck do you think they're fighting for, huh?" "Yeah, one more!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Well, well." "What have we here?" "One, two, three, four MAG 58 Czechoslovakian machine guns." "We got two, four..." "Barnes, they got enough rice here to feed a whole fucking regiment." "Sergeant Warren, you bring that honcho over here." "Tubbs, get over here." "Junior, burn it." "What the fuck's the matter with you?" "I wasn't gonna hurt you." "Look like I was gonna fucking hurt you?" "Why didn't you listen to me, huh?" "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 him, man." "Do him!" "What are you smiling at, huh?" "You want something to smile at, huh?" "You want something to smile at, motherfucker?" "Dance, motherfucker!" "Do him, man!" "Do him!" "Dance, motherfucker!" "Dance!" "Dance!" "Dance!" "One-legged motherfucker!" "Come on, man." "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 you?" "You're just crying your little hearts out about Sandy and Sal and Manny." "Forget about it, Bunny, huh?" "Let's go." "What do you say?" "Holy shit!" "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." "She'd probably cut my balls off if she had the chance." "Bunny, we leave now." "Nobody saw a fucking thing!" " You understand me, Taylor?" " Fucking woman, man." "Not a fucking thing." "Come on, man, let's fucking do her, man." "Let's do this whole fucking village!" "Look at the scars on this gook honcho, Sarge." "Get out of here, Tubbs." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." "Where'd he get these wounds?" " Says he was hit in a bombing raid." " He's a dink for sure." "Ask him why those weapons are here." "Says they had no choice." "Says the NVA killed the old honcho when he said no." "Now he says all the rice is theirs." "Oh, bullshit, Lerner." "Who the hell was the gook we nailed on the riverbank?" "He doesn't know." "He says that the NVA ain't been around in a couple of months." "Look, maybe he was a scout or something, Sarge." "Yeah, sure, a scout." "What about the fucking rice and the weapons?" "Who are they for?" "That cocksucker knows what I'm saying!" "He understands." "Don't you, pop?" " Goddamn right he does." " You bet." "Damn it!" "He's lying through his teeth." "Come on!" "Waste the fucker, then see who talks." "The boy doesn't fucking know anything." "He swears he doesn't know anything." "He hates the NVA, but they come when they want," " and they just take the..." " What's the bitch saying?" "I don't know." "She's going on about Why'd we kill the pigs, they're farmers, they got to make a living." "All that kind of shit." "Jesus!" "Enough!" "Shut the fuck up!" "Enough." "You tell him he starts talking, or I'm gonna waste more of them." "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, Sarge!" "What the fuck are we waiting for?" "Let's do them, all right?" "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 out of this, Elias." "This ain't your show." "You ain't a firing squad, you piece of shit." " Get him!" " Get up, Barnes!" "Elias!" "No, no, no!" "Chief!" "Chief, tear his fucking head off!" "Get him!" "Get him!" "Tear him apart!" "Come on, Elias!" "Send him to hell!" "Send him to hell, Elias!" "Come on, boys, break it up now!" "Break it up!" "Break it up!" "Come on, Elias, chill!" "You're dead, Elias!" "I swear to fucking God, you're dead!" "You're going to do time!" "This shit won't wash, you fucking puke!" "Break it up!" "Shut up!" "Break it up!" "Listen up!" "The captain says to torch this place!" "You hear that?" "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 the fuck 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!" "You heard the Lieutenant!" "Move it out!" "Taylor, let's go, for Christ's sake!" "Move it out!" "Police up the weapons and let's go!" "Come on, Harold." "It's cool." "Fire in the hole!" "Fire in the hole!" "Hey, come on." "Fucker." "You fucker, get out of here!" "Get the fuck off!" "Don't do it!" "Don't do it!" "You fucker!" "What is this, huh?" "What are you, a homosexual, Taylor?" "What the fuck is your problem, Taylor?" "She's a fucking dink." "She's a fucking human being, man!" " Fuck you!" " Go fuck a cherry, Taylor." "Fucking animal!" "All of you, you're fucking animals!" "Fucking lame fuck!" "You don't belong in the Nam, man." "This ain't your place at all." "You don't fucking get it, do you, man?" "You just don't fucking get it." "It's okay." "Get out of there!" "Fuck you, too, man." "Come on, guys." "Police up your dicks and let's get out of here." " I didn't see anything, sir." " I did." "That dink was reported to me as NVA by Sergeant Barnes, sir." "My report, sir, will include Lieutenant Wolfe as being witness to the shooting." "All right, Elias." " Staff Sergeant Barnes?" " Sir!" "I want a full report from you on this when we get back to the CP." "You got it, Dai-'Uy, and I can throw in plenty of eyewitnesses if you want, sir." "Not now, god damn it!" "Not now." "We'll get into this when we get back to the base camp." "And 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 ceasefire." "Staff Sergeant Barnes, Sergeant Elias, you hear me?" " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Now, we're going back into that NVA bunker complex tomorrow." "This time from the East." "You people get some rest and be back up here at the CP at 1900 for a briefing." " Yes, sir." " 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, you got in Barnes' way." "And that Bunny, that motherfucker's crazy." "I mean, he scares me, man." "He just scares me." "Look, 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 them." "Now, he's taken us this far, right?" "He'll take us the rest of the way." "I don't know." "I mean, a Christian don't go around a village, cutting off heads and shit." "This shit is really getting out of hand, man." "It's going way out of control." "It 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, Sergeant." "Elias won't be able to prove a thing." " I mean, he's a troublemaker, but..." " 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." "Come on, let's go." " Sarge." " Thanks, Bun." "How'd it go there, Bob?" "Yeah." "Atta way, 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 ought to frag his ass." "So, what do you think there, Bob?" "Gonna be an investigation or what?" "Bob?" "O'Neill, man, you worry too much." "Sarge will 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 them." "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 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." "A 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." "Hell, I got to paint myself white just to get me one of them fucking jobs." "It's all right." "I got my request in for a circumcision." "I'm gonna get my big ass out of this fucker." "You gonna become a rabbi?" "What you gonna do with that little flap, boy?" "Leech." "All right!" "Move it out!" "Don't drink that, asshole." "You're gonna get malaria." "Yeah, I hope so." "Let's go." "Doc!" "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 just fucking waiting for us here!" " Who's on point?" " Lerner and Warren!" "Taylor, where you going?" "Dig!" "Dig!" "Down!" "God damn it, you assholes!" "Get some firepower up there!" "Right!" "Watch out!" "Rockets!" "Where the fuck's Lerner?" "He's over there, by the log!" "Fire mission." "Grid. 6-4-9-4-0-2." "Direction. 6-1-0..." "Adjust fire, over." "Lieutenant, they're gonna get in tight under the arty!" "I spotted a cut over there." "Let me get some men and roll up that flank." "I can work right up on them." "Get me Barnes." "Look, Elias, I don't know." "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 doing back here?" "Listen to me, Barnes, there's holes back here." "Third platoon's coming up here." "We're here." "Dinks get men in these holes, they got us caught in a crossfire." "We'll shoot each other to shit." "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!" "Then you got them." "Take off." "You keep pouring off that cover fire." "I don't wanna be stuck out there with my ass hanging in the breeze." "You don't tell me how to run my war, Elias!" "Now, you go crying and rat fucking the brigade on your own time!" "But out here, you belong to me!" "Now move!" "You're an asshole, Barnes!" "Sergeant, get that asshole O'Neill up here." "Two Charlie, this is Two!" "Be advised..." "Stay down!" "Stay down!" " Ammo!" " Ammo!" "Be right back!" "Sarge!" "Short round!" "Medic!" " God!" " Medic!" "Satchel charge!" "Doc!" " Doc, help me out!" " Yeah." "Jesus!" " You okay?" " Don't leave me, man." " All right." " Don't leave me." "Hey, Gator, you're gonna be okay, man." "Don't leave me, man." "You'll be okay." " Here you go, man." "Hang in there." " Drop your rucks." " Just hang in there." "Taylor, you're coming with us." "Please, don't go." " You're gonna be okay." " Come on!" "Doc!" "Take care of him, man." "Redleg, Redleg, Ripper Bravo Two actual." "Adjustment follows." "Grid." "You ignorant asshole!" "What the fuck coordinates you giving?" "You wasted a lot of people up there with your fucked-up fire mission!" "You know that?" "You know that?" "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 them gets through, we are truly fucked." "Where the hell are you going?" "Down by the river, about 100 meters, in case they try to flank us." "Third platoon's coming up to our rear, so watch for them." "Hey." "Can I go with you?" "No." "I move faster alone." "Come here." "Let's let arty do a little bit of the work here." "We 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 cutoff." "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 dick!" "Crawford!" "Oh, man!" " Kiss my ass." "I never thought I'd get hit." " It's a lung, babe." "You got two of them fuckers." "Where's Elias?" "Sarge, there's a bunch of gooks came through there." "We got three of them fuckers." "Hey, didn't you hear the arty shift?" "We're pulling back." "Now, get your wounded man and get the fuck back to the church." "Get going" " But Elias is still out there, Sarge." " Taylor, I'll get him!" "You get Crawford in now, before I article 15 both your asses." "Move!" "Move it." "All right, men." "He's coming." "Hold him down." "Medic, where the fuck are you?" "Drag him there." "It's gonna be all right in a minute, brother." "Taylor, where you going?" "Elias is dead." "Fall back with the platoon." " Get going." " He's dead?" "Yeah." "Yeah, he's back there about 100 meters." " You saw him?" "Where?" " He's dead." "And there's gooks all over the goddamn place." "Get moving." "Let's go." "Move it!" "Move it!" "Okay, let's go!" "You okay, Harold?" "You're on the next one." "You're okay, bud." "Fuck!" " They got Elias!" " What?" "Back down!" "Back down there!" "Snake one-niner, fly four, there's still one on the deck down there." "Bring in the gunships, over." "Hold your armor!" "Guns!" "Guns!" "Pull off!" "Pull off!" "We're trying to come around 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." "Proof's in the eyes, man." "When you know, you know." "You were there, Rhah, and 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." "Come on." "Fuck the Military Justice!" "Are you joking me?" "Whose story you think they're gonna believe?" "O'Neill's?" "Bunny's?" "Wolfe's?" "Bullshit!" "Shit, man, you try that and Barnes will shove it right back up your ass with a candle on it." "Well, then what do you suggest we do, huh?" "I suggest you all watch your own asses, because Barnes gonna be coming down on all of them." "You just gonna forget about Elias and all the good times we done had right in here?" "Shit." "You're trying to cure the headache by cutting off the head." "Elias didn't ask you to fight his battles for him." "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," "'cause he done left his pains down here." "You're wrong, man." "Any way you cut it, Barnes is a fucking murderer." "Right on." "Taylor, I remember when you first came in here telling me how much 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 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 can kill Barnes is Barnes." "Talking about killing?" "Y'all experts?" "Y'all know about killing?" "I'd like to hear about it, potheads." "Why do you smoke 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." "Now, 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 in any of you." "Not one." "Y'all love Elias." "Oh, you wanna kick ass." "Yeah." "Well, here I am, all by my lonesome," "and ain't nobody gonna know." "Six of you boys against me." "Kill me." "I shit on all of you." "You motherfucker!" "Give it to him!" "Whoop his ass." "Come on." "Yes, man." " Come on, man!" "Go." " Get him!" " Oh, fuck, come on." " Get him, Chris." "Come on." "Come on, boy!" "Come on!" "Easy, Barnes." "Don't do it, man." "You'll go dinky down in LBJ, man." "Ten years for killing an enlisted man." "Ten years, you'll climb 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 2,000 meters from Cambodia into a battalion perimeter." "It felt like we were returning to the scene of a crime." "Alpha Company had been hit hard the day before by a sizable force, and Charlie Company had been probed that night." "There were other battalions in the valley." "We weren't the only ones." "But we knew we were gonna be the bait to lure them out." "Somewhere out there was the entire 141st NVA regiment." "Caught those motherfuckers trying to pull some shit on Charlie Company last night." "They found maps on them, man." "Got a friend at battalion, says they had every fucking foxhole here 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 right now." "Cambodia?" "Man, you kidding me." "You wanted to see me, sir?" "Yeah, Ramucci." "Looks like you got Elias' squad now." "Squad, sir?" "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 right there and there." "You're tying it off with Barnes up here, King down there." "Yeah." "Begging your pardon, sir." "My two holes are far enough apart you can run a regiment through them and never see them." "I have five live bodies left, sir." "Look, I don't wanna hear your problems, Ramucci." "You'll get new men any day." "Meantime, you make do like everybody else." "Okay?" " I didn't ask for this job." " I don't want to hear it." " Oh, you don't wanna hear it?" " Yeah, that's right." "I don't wanna hear it, 'cause to tell the truth, I don't give a shit, okay?" " I just don't give a flying fuck any more." " Right." "I'm glad I ain't going with them." "Somewhere out there is the beast and he hungry tonight." "What a fucking 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?" "You 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..." "Did you 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 world will turn." "How many days you short?" "Nah, it's not just me." "It's the way the whole thing works." "People like Elias get wasted." "People like Barnes just 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 out of here, and it's all gravy." "Every day, the rest of your life, gravy." "Oh, shit, superlifer." "Hey, King, collect up your shit." "Your orders just come through." "Now look, man." "Don't fuck with me." "What do you need, a written invitation, for Christ's sake?" "Cocksucker!" "Oh, wow!" "The lifers have made a mistake." "They cut me some slack, Taylor." "Look, you get your freight to Rodriguez." "You got 10 minutes to make the last fucking chopper out of here, man, 'cause if you're not on it, I'm gonna be." "Taylor, Francis is coming up." "That's great, King." "I'm happy for you, man." " You take it on home for me, okay?" " Yeah." "You got my address." "You know where you can get a hold of me anytime, right?" "I gotta beat it, man." "I don't want to miss that chopper." " You okay?" " Yeah, I'm okay." "Remember now, take it easy." "Don't think too much." "Don't you be no fool." "Remember, ain't no such thing as a coward out here." "Don't mean nothing." "My man." "I'll walk you out, man." "Take it easy, King." "I'm gonna take it any way I can get it, brother." "I hear you." "Later." "I'm pretty fucked up, Sarge!" "Oh, man!" "Don't touch that." "I got to get on a chopper, man." "So what's the problem?" "Says he can't walk." "Shit." "Martin, get your boots on." "And the next time I catch you spraying skeeter repellent on your fucking feet," "I'm gonna court-martial your nigger ass." "Well, then court-martial me, motherfucker!" "Bust my ass." "Send me to fucking Long Binh!" "You do your fucking worst!" "You white folks have got your last klick out of Junior!" " O'Neill, get me that centipede." " Sergeant?" "Yeah, that long, hairy, red and black bastard" "I found in the ammo crate." "I'm gonna put it in this boy's crotch, see if he can walk." "I remember now." "Hey." "Now hold up, man!" "You just hold up and wait, all right?" "Fuck it!" "I'll walk!" "I'll fucking walk, man!" "Fucking pussy, man." "Hey, Sarge, I got to 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' RR." "It's coming up in three days, here." "I was thinking about going to Hawaii, maybe see Patsy." "Hey, Bob, come on, I never asked you for a fucking thing over here." "You know, I was thinking maybe..." "Well, to be honest with you," "I was hoping you'd put me on that chopper with King out of here." "What do you say, chief-a-rooney?" "I can't do that for you, Red." "We need every swinging dick in the field, and you know that." "Hey, Bob, come on." "You can talk to me, for Christ's sake." "All I'm asking for is three fucking days, here." "I am talking to you, Red, and I'm telling you "no."" "So get back in your foxhole." "Bob, I got a bad feeling on this one, all right?" "I mean, I got a bad feeling." "I don't think I'm gonna make it out of here." "You understand what I'm saying to you?" "Everybody got to die sometime, Red." "Oh, shit." "Goodbye, motherfuckers!" "Where's that 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." "But 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." "And if that happens, you won't know about it anyway." "So what the fuck, man." "Shit, I got to 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 Three, Bravo Six, send me a grid." "Send me a grid." "Over." "Can't, sir." "Pinned down." "They're in the fucking trees." "Okay, Three Alpha, now calm down, son." "I'll get you a fire mission ASAP." "Smoke will be first." "Lieutenant's dead." "Radioman looks dead, sir." "I don't know where the map is, Captain!" "They're all around us, sir, hundreds of them!" "I can hear them talking gook." "Okay, Three Alpha." "Now spot that smoke, and tell me where to shift." "Just calm down, son." "Hang in there." "We'll get you out." "Just 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, Doc!" "Taylor, Francis." "Over here, man." "What the fuck's going on?" "Rodriguez's hole just got nailed, man!" "Gooks, man." "We got gooks in the fucking perimeter." "Oh, shit!" "That's it." "They got through Alpha Company." "Anything behind you don't identify itself, fucking blow it away, okay?" "Fuck!" "Two, air strike's coming in." "They're gonna be laying snake and nape." "Don't get out of your fucking hole." "Stay right here, man." "Fuck." "They're probing us." "They're gonna be going up and down this line all night trying to get through." "All right." "Stay here." "Stay cool." "I'll be right back." "Whiskey, Foxtrot, Foxtrot, Echo, Whiskey." "Over." "Who is it?" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "It's the ambush." "Over here, man." "Hurry." "Fuck it up." "Shit." "Quiet." "They're all over the place." "Hundreds of them, moving this way!" "They wiped us out, man!" "We didn't have a chance!" " Where's the CP?" "Back there." "You guys, get out of here!" "They're right on my ass!" "They ain't stopping for shit!" "Hey, Taylor, man, let's didi." "You go." "There!" "No." "Hold it." "Hold it." "Out of the hole!" "Fast!" "Get out of the fucking hole!" "They're gonna blow it!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Francis, move your fucking ass!" "They're gonna fucking..." " Follow me." " Wait." "Die, you motherfuckers!" "Get back!" "It's fucking beautiful!" " Let's fucking do it!" " Where are you going?" " All right!" " Now 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!" "All right." "Get me Bravo." "Right away." "Charlie Company reports hand-to-hand on perimeter, sir." "Three holes are down." "They need help." "Okay." "Get two squads from Alpha down there right away." "Go." "Go." "Where's that goddamn air strike?" "Hey, scumbag, where the fuck you going?" "Eagle Six..." "Son of a bitch." "Can't you get anybody?" "Damn it!" "Negative contact!" "Can't raise Barnes." "Two Bravo, Two Charlie, nothing." "Get me Six!" "Bravo Six!" "Bravo Six!" "Oh, God!" "Get him in!" "They're coming through all over!" "I can't do anything!" "Where's Barnes?" "Shit, he's dead!" "I think they're all dead." "Doc, he's dead." "Six, LT, Six." "Captain." "Captain, we've been overrun." "We're pulling back!" "Over." "God damn it, Lieutenant." "Where are you gonna pull back to?" "They're all over the perimeter." "Now you be advised." "You will hold in place, and you will fight." "That means you, Lieutenant." "Bravo Six out." "Be advised." "We've 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 them in their holes down there." "Hang tough, Bravo Six." "We're coming cocked for treetops." "Barnes!" "Barnes!" "No!" "Get me a medic." "Go on, boy!" "Do it." "We got men wounded and live gooks at 3 o'clock." "Look down here." "Check them out." "Come on, Elmo." "Move your flea-bitten ass!" "Hey, you okay?" "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." "Yeah." "That must have 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, that you?" " Hey, Francis." " Hey, man, how you doing?" " I'm okay." "How you doing?" "Fine, man." "Just fine." "Hey, dig it." "We two timers, man." "We're gonna get out of here, boy." "I'm gonna see you in the hospital." "We gonna get high, high." "Yes, sir." "Sergeant O'Neill." " How you doing?" " Well, I'm just fine, sir." "Well, that's good." "'Cause you got second platoon." "Yes, sir." " You 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 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."