"Oh, sorry." "Vera?" "Bob Leckie." "I'm your neighbor from across the street." "I know who you are, Bob." "I thought I was going shopping, but then I passed Saint Mary's and thought I'd pray instead." "I joined the Marines." "Thought I'd do my bit." "Fifth in line." "Well, if I don't see you before you go... take care of yourself." "Um, wait, Vera, let me get that for you." "Oh, thank you." "Maybe I'll write you." "All right." "Basilone!" "Over here." "Excuse me, folks." " I miss anything?" " Nah." "The movie hasn't started yet." "Don't tell me I missed this thing." " Chesty's come and gone." " Yeah, just missed him." "Come on, did I fuck this up or what?" " Oh, yeah." " Man:" "Attention on deck!" "Carry on." "Fuck you." "The uniform that you wear and the globe-and-anchor emblem that you have earned will make the difference between the freedom of the world and its enslavement." "December 7th was quite a day in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii." "On the same day, December 8th on the other side of the International Dateline, in places called Guam, Wake, the Malay Peninsula," "Hong Kong and the Philippine Islands were also attacked by the army, air force and navy of the empire of Japan." "The Japanese are in the process of taking half of the world." "And they mean to keep it with death from the air, land and sea." "But here is what the Japs are not expecting:" "the United States Marine Corps." "Now never mind Europe- the Nazis, Mussolini." "Hitler is not gonna be ourjob, not until they can't whip him without us." "The Pacific will be our theater of war." "The Marines will do battle with the Japs on tiny specks of turf that we have never heard of." "You noncommissioned officers, you are the sinew and the muscle of the corps." "The orders come from the brass and you get it done." "And whenever this war is over, when we have swept upon the main islands of Japan and destroyed every scrap of that empire, the strategy will have been that of others." "The victory will have been won by you- you, the NCOs, with the chevrons on your sleeves and the instincts in your guts and the blood on your boots." "Those of you who are lucky enough to get home for Christmas, hold your loved ones dearly and join them in prayers for peace on earth and goodwill toward all men." "And then report back here ready to sail across God's vast ocean where we will meet our enemy and kill them all." "Merry Christmas." "Happy 1942." "Man:" "Squad, atten-hut!" "Carry on." "I got it, Ma." "Man:" "Angelo?" "Angelo?" " Hey!" " Where you fellas been?" "We had to walk from the station and we took the wrong street." "Yeah, Manny had the wrong street." "You believe that?" "Get in here." "Come on, come on." "Salute!" "Come here." "Hey, everybody!" " This is JP and Manny!" " All:" "Hey!" "Hey, everybody." "How you doin'?" "Nice to see you." "Good to see you." "Thank you, sir." "JP." "Your wife is so beautiful!" "I wish my sons could marry someone this beautiful." " Eh!" " Ma!" "Manny:" "You sound like my mama." "She could not understand how I could get through high school" " without that wedding date set." " I could." "All right." "Everybody listen up, please." "JP Morgan," "Manny Rodriguez, welcome to our home." "We're happy you could join us tonight." "Soon two of my brothers are leaving to serve their country." "And George, we're losing sleep wondering what Marine Corps boot camp is gonna do to you." "My brother John, you've been there rough and ready for years." "You were in the Philippines and came back to join the Marines because you wanted to be the best and first in." "When all this is over, let's say a year from tonight, we'll sit down at this table again for a welcome-home feast." "To all of you, just get the job done and come home to us." " Salute." " All:" "Salute." "Oh!" "Those cannoli for the guests!" " He won't catch him." " Yeah, you know it." "Depot announcer:" "Bus to Rochester leaves in 20 minutes." "Please have your tickets ready." "Thanks for the ride, Dad." "Must be a branch or something stuck under the wheel." "It's pulling to one side." "Ech!" "Thanks for the ride." "Oh yeah, sure." "You hardly packed a thing." "Final call for the 6:45 to Newark." "Marine's outfit includes everything from bayonets to socks." "I just wish I could have brought my typewriter." "Can't see why you need that." "Oh, I thought I might fight by day and write by night, Dad." "Can't see a thing." "Oh, I hope I don't need a new axle." "No way I'll get one." "Yeah." "There's a war on." "Everybody's got to make sacrifices." "Your mother said I was a fool not to buy a Ford." "Hope she's not right." "Bus 45 and 73, direct service to New York City, loading at depots 5 and 7." "Well, that's it, Dad." "I gotta go." "Goodbye, son." "Son" "Eugene, I" " I'm sorry." "Murmur's still there." "The boy's disappointed, Mary Frank." "I'm his mother." "Churchill over radio:" "... at Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Islands, in the Philippines, in Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, they must now know the stakes are mortal." "When we look at the resources of the United States and the British Empire compared to those of Japan, when we we have so long valiantly withstood invasion." "Gene, supper's ready." "Deacon, you stay!" "You're 18, Eugene." "You don't need your father's permission." "I can't go against him, Sid." "When do you leave?" "I'm on the 6:00 AM train to Atlanta." "Uh, here." "Got you something." ""Barrack-Room Ballads" by Rudyard Kipling." "Thank you, Gene, but I didn't" "It's just if you need something to read on the train or... when you ship out." "I wish we were going together." "Yeah, well, you take care of yourself, greaser." "Oh." "You don't have to worry about me." "Get it while it's hot." "Get your plates out." "Get your plates out." "Today's the day, Marines!" "This is it." "Today's the day!" "Get moving." "Don't wait for a seat." "A lot of Marines to feed!" "Move move move!" "Release it up!" "The quicker we eat, the quicker we get topside, the quicker we get ashore." "Come on, Marines." "Let's go go go!" "Oranges coming through." "Hey, come on, guys!" "I worked hard for these oranges!" " Dessert!" " Oh, hey!" "Make sure you save one of those for me." "I just want off this goddamn rust bucket!" "I can't hear myself think." "At least they give you a good meal before your send-off." "Yeah, like the electric chair." " But you, Runner?" " Yes?" "You have won a trip to a tropical paradise." "Oh, "Guadal Kenel"..." ""Guada... "" "I still can't pronounce it." "Yeah, well, whatever it's called, you guys are lucky I'm here 'cause I'm planning to take out an entire Jap regiment all by myself!" "How you plan on doing that, Sergeant York?" "Line 'em up, mow 'em down." "Real turkey shoot!" "I got a feeling it's gonna be a little more complicated than that." "No, it's gonna be a turkey shoot." "Can someone remind me why we're here again?" "We're here to keep the Japs out of Australia." " No, we're here to keep the Japs" " Something about shipping lanes." "No, guys, guys, guys, guys." "Professor Leckie, enlighten us." "Wanna know why we're here?" "Mm-hmm." ""Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws and asks no omen but his country's cause. "" "Man:" "Drink up!" "Last chance for fresh water!" " Give me back my smokes." " Leckie, you gotta stop this." "Let's go, boys." "Everybody on deck." "Let's move!" "Topside right now!" "Wrap it up now." "Get your gear." "Everybody topside for a pre-landing briefing." "Forget all the horseshit you've heard about the Japs." "They had their turn." "Now it's our turn." "The treacherous bastards may have started this war, but I promise you we will finish it!" "All:" "Yeah!" "Slant-eyed monkeys want to use that shit island and its airfield to kill us!" "We'll yank the surviving Japs out of their shit-filled holes by their yellow balls." "They'll go round-eyed when the first American plane lands on their airfield!" "Heads down in the boats!" "Hit the beach." "Keep moving till you rendezvous point some primary objectives." "When you see the Japs, kill 'em all!" "All:" "Yeah!" " Go!" " Let's go get 'em!" "Move it, move it!" "Hands on the vertical, feet on the horizontal." "Make it tight!" "Come on!" "Hand on the vertical down there!" "I could really use a stiff one right now." "Go get 'em, navy!" "Hoof it up to the beach!" "Spread out!" "Man:" "All right, let's go!" "Now!" "Go go go!" "Hit shore, hit shore!" "Man:" "What took you so long?" "Welcome to Guadalcanal." "Man:" "Move it up the beach, Marines." "Ah, now I've got you, you son of a bitch." "Hey, now what do I do?" "I think the islanders use a machete or a rock." "Try using your head, Chuckler." "It's big and rocklike." "Hey, Johnny Reb." "Man:" "For what it's worth, corporal Dobson says the Japs might have poisoned the coconuts." "They poisoned a billion coconuts?" "Oh, shit!" "My hand!" " Excuse me." " Son of a bitch!" "What happened?" "Hey, Doc!" "Intelligence has it the Japs moved back into the jungle." "Clean the sand out of your weapons." "We move in three minutes." "Let's go find some Japs." "Oh!" "Gibson, you okay?" "Fuck." "I'm fine." "You all right?" "Thanks." "Goddamn bastards." "Keep it moving." "Man:" "Take cover!" " Go go!" " Man:" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "Man:" "Son of a bitch." "He went to take a piss." "Somebody opened up." "Did he say the password?" "I don't know." "Let's start walking." "We're moving to the top of the ridge." "We're moving!" "Jameson:" "Corrigan, Stone, get over here." "We've been chasing geese, boys." "That's the 5th Marines on the airfield." "Guess we took the airfield." "Well, let's go home." "LPs at 300yds, no fires, two-hour watches." "Let's assume the Japs are watching right now, preparing to come at us." "Assume?" "They are." "Let the little yellow bastards come." " Jesus Christ." " Unbelievable." "Lord, can you imagine being on one of those ships?" "Looks like the 4th of July." "Guys?" "30 cal ammo." "Thank you, thank you." " Hope it was a fucking Jap ship." " It was- it's gotta be." "That's admiral Turner blowing the whole Jap fleet to the bottom of the channel." "I love your optimism." "Oh, we're killin' 'em." "Son of a bitch." "Where's the navy?" "Gone." "We lost four cruisers." "Turner took everyone left and headed for open sea." "We're it for now." "The Elliot's with Turner?" "Zero crashed into her midship." "They couldn't control the fire so they scuttled her." "Bon voyage." "Yeah, well, she went down with half the battalion's ammo, most of our grub and medical supplies and all our ass-wipe." "Let's dig in, Marines!" "Start digging' in." " Here." " Hey, Phillips." "Want some?" "It's Jap wine left behind." "It's made out of donkey piss but it's not bad." "The Jap navy is right over the horizon, Phillips." "If not now, then when?" "If you can't fight 'em drunk, don't fight 'em at all." "There you go." "Man:" "Smoking lamps out!" "Pass it down!" " Smoking lamps out." " Smoking lamps out!" "Smoking lamps out." "Smoking lamps out!" " What what?" " Stay low!" "Stay low!" "They're just trying to spot our position so hold your fire." "Hold your fire." "They're just trying to spot our position." "Hold your fire." "Keep your head down!" "They're just trying to spot our position." "Hold your fire." "Corrigan:" "Jesus Christ." "There are thousands of them." "Man:" "The whole damn Japanese Empire." "You four over here." "Coconut plantation used a cove about 10 miles up." "They're probably headed there." "Don't get too comfortable in your holes." "Set in along here." "Watch the opposite bank." "Let's go- put the hole right here." "Man:" "That's good." "Keep it coming." "Keep going." "Corrigan:" ""A" company made contact three miles east." "Destroy any letters you have with any dates... or addresses." "Man:" "We got movement!" "We got movement!" "Hey, look look look!" "Get back to your positions!" " Man:" "Hanging!" " Fire!" "Fire!" "They're flanking us!" "Stand back!" "Oh, we gotta move!" "We gotta move!" "We gotta move over to the left flank!" "Stand back!" "Come on!" "Come on, just a few more yards!" "60, follow me!" "Move into the forward position!" "Skipper!" "Skipper, are you okay?" "God damn it." "He's lost it." "Come on!" "Keep moving, keep moving!" "Get up here!" " Oh, get up!" " Move!" "Left, hold up!" "Get in there!" "There!" "We gotta move!" "We gotta move!" " We gotta keep moving!" " Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Okay, let's go!" "Let's go!" "Block them right, God damn it!" "Block them right." "Get those bastards runnin'!" "All right, ready?" "Go go go!" "Clear!" "Ahhh!" "Man:" "Ammo resupplies at the collection point." "Smitty, resupply down the line." "Hey, ammo." "Look at 'em all." "I mean, we- we- we chewed 'em up." "They just kept on coming." "A real turkey shoot." "Lucky." "Corpsman, we got a live one here." "Stick a pin in him, Doc." " Shit!" " Fucking yellow monkeys!" "Shit." "Man:" "Let's have some fun with that son of a bitch!" " Ahh!" " Get that fucker!" " Whoo!" " Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" "Where's your Tojo now?" "Run, fucker!" "Marine:" "Hey, what'd you do that for?" "Man:" "Gather any papers for S-2." "Jesus, the smell." "They got Rivers," "Morley, Abbott," "Marton, McDougal." "Stanley's blinded." "Captain Jameson's been relieved." "I better get started on the letters to their families." " Want a smoke?" " Thanks." " Oh, and Jeurgins?" " Sir?" "That's a good job moving around last night." " Sir." " Got you promoted to corporal." "Well, we've lost Lew." ""Yes, ma'am, I am a corporal. "" "Oh, shit, these must be the bastards who took Guam." "I'll be damned." "Robert's voice:" ""Dear Vera, it seems a lifetime since we met outside Saint Mary's." "This great undertaking for God and country has landed us in a tropical paradise somewhere in what Jack London refers to as 'those terrible Solomons. '" "It is a Garden of Eden." "The jungle holds both beauty and terror in its depths, most terrible of which is man." "We have met the enemy and have learned nothing more about him." "I have, however, learned some things about myself." "There are things men can do to one another that are sobering to the soul." "It is one thing to reconcile these things with God, but another to square it with yourself. "" "How long you been sitting on this one?" "A week." "Wanted to get it really ripe for you." "How kind." "Next time don't let it wait so long." "Man:" "This is what they call Guadalcanal." "Runner:" "Finally, our reinforcements." " 'Morning, boys." " Shit, it's Chesty Puller." "Look at the 7th, all dressed up for Sunday school." "Hey, you guys forget to set the alarm?" " Yeah, where you been?" " Up with the sun in Samoa" " screwing your girlfriend." "Oh!" "Hoosier:" "I have a girlfriend?" "Lucky me." "Filthy, just like you are." "Hey, Colonel Puller, where you headin'?" "Tokyo." "Care to join us?" "I don't know." "It's a ways, sir." "Write us when you get there." " I will!" " You guys step aside." " The real Marines are here now." " And have been here for some time." "All:" "Yeah!" " 7th Marines!" " Welcome to the war, fellas." "You seen those guys?" "They look like they been through the wringer." "That's one way of putting it." ""Best wishes, Father." "Your mother would like to know if you want us to send you your dress-blue uniform. "" "Must think we get a lot of fancy-dress balls around here." "Hey, if we have one, can I be your date?" "You are ugly." "I want Hoosier." "Take a number." "Hey, Johnny Reb, it's your turn." "This one here is from a buddy of mine back in Mobile." ""Dear Sid, I hope this gets to you before your birthday." "You wouldn't recognize home now." "Thousands of workers are pouring into the shipyards." "The Gulf is blacked out now because of the U-boats." "Your sister and I went-"" " Sister?" " All:" "Aww!" ""Your sister and I went down to see the wreckage of a ship they sunk." "She's worried about you, of course, but I told her a greaser like yourself is too crafty for the Japs." "Truth is, you're the lucky one, Sid." "You'll never have that nagging thought that you let your family, your friends, and your country down." "Because that's what I'm afraid of. "" "Gear up!" "Gun patrol, on your feet." " Let's go." " Men:" "All right, that's it." "Hey, finish it." ""So I'll leave you knowing that like the poem says," "'You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. '" "Your humble and obedient servant, Eugene Sledge. "" "So your friend wants to be a Marine?" "Yeah, but his father won't let him." "He's got a heart murmur." "Ah, a murmuring heart." "Hey, when's your birthday, Sid?" "It was a couple weeks ago." "How old are you?" "18." "Happy birthday."