"People, keep awake!" "There's booby traps around here." "Roger, Six." "We're entering the hamlet." "Seems secure." "Beginning search of hooches." "Out." "You dummy, don't go in there." "Take your squad around, right now, move!" "Sooee!" "Who's the gook?" "I don't know." "I think he's friendly." "You think?" "What the hell's he doing?" "Taylor, Johnson, come on!" "Let me give you a hand." "Aah!" "It's okay." "Gentlemen, what we found on the NVA indicates that if they don't wipe out this hamlet, they're going to turn it into an intelligence center for the whole valley." "If it isn't already." "It's not." "That guy Dep, who killed the North Vietnamese, is too damn feisty." "He's a real troublemaker." "He's a good shot." "He handled that M-1 like a champ." "Well, when those five NVA don't come back, 500 are going to come looking for them." "Why don't we just protect the hamlet, sir?" "Lieutenant, the Green Berets tried that in '66." "The whole camp got overrun." "They even strung up a few locals just so everybody would get the point." "What about this Dep?" "North Vietnamese took his boy away, made him a soldier." "He got killed in a fight with the CAV down in Bong Son last December." "Dep must love us." "Yeah, well, he hates the North Vietnamese more." "As far as I can tell, he hates just about everybody." "VC, even South Vietnamese government types." "He, uh..." "He almost killed some ARVN he caught poaching chickens." "Guy really wants to be left alone." "Now, there's a subversive attitude if I ever heard one." "Why don't we string him up at sunrise?" "Why don't you brief Lieutenant Goldman on the operation, major?" "As of tomorrow morning, the village of Ben Duc ceases to exist." "The people are moving 30 clicks down the valley to Nop Thanh." "Now, your platoon is the escort, lieutenant." "It should take you two days." "Nop Thanh is secure and the people there are ready to assimilate Ben Duc." "You got a problem, Sergeant?" "Sir, if we're going to move these people, why don't we fly them on a couple of chinooks?" "The aircraft are committed." "Big operation in the A Shau Valley tomorrow." "You should feel lucky you're not going, Sergeant." "Oh, yes, sir," "I feel very privileged to be part of this mission, to be target practice for the North Vietnamese." "The trail is cleared." "Gunships will do first light and last light recon." "You can get Arty and tac air if you need it." "We're gonna make this as safe as we can, but this is a war, Sergeant." "I reckon I'm aware of that, Major." "Well, then maybe you ought to check your attitude." "These decisions are made at top level for good reasons, reasons we don't have time to explain to every person involved." "Yes, sir." "I'll check my troops, sir." "I believe I am about to fall in love." "Hey, little lady." "My poncho liner's big enough for two, so if you get cold tonight, you be sure and let me know, okay?" "Yeah, Alberto Ruiz will protect you from those nasty VC." "Hey." "Hey." "Listen up, you guys." "I don't want you pawing these local girls." "Lighten up, LT." "We're just offering our services." "Yeah, we're trying to make the journey more pleasant for everyone, sir." "Yeah, yeah." "I want these people treated with the utmost respect." "Whatever you say, sir." "I've always had the utmost respect for the female form." "Looks like you got a little bit yourself, sir." "Yeah." "Look, these people have been through enough already, all right?" "Yeah." "Listen, Dep, you've got to go." "No." "Yes!" "Your government say you have to go!" "No choice!" "I am my government." "C'est moi." "My choice to stay." "This is my home." "But you'll be killed!" "And all of these people will be killed because of you." "No understand." "Well, what do you think?" "He no understand, sir." "Dude shouldn't have to leave his crib if he don't want to." "Johnson," "I couldn't have said it better myself, but as a matter of fact, if Dep does not leave this village, he will die." "I'm through discussing this bull with you." "You're going, and that's it, and if you won't go of your own free will," "I'll get a couple of these guys to tie you to a pole, and we'll carry you!" "These people don't know what the hell's good for them." "You!" "You, you!" "Get this guy's stuff out of his hooch, on the double." "Sir, us?" "Now!" "You mess with the kid, old man, and your butt'll be out there, fertilizing a rice paddy." "I don't want this sorry damn detail." "You get out!" "I do it myself!" "Get out!" "Man, what's that chump's problem?" "Maybe he doesn't like being turned out of his home, okay?" "You call that home?" "You can slap up some mud anywhere." "Hey, it's different for these people." "Mud's mud, Motown or South Vietnam." "That's not how they feel about it." "These peasants are really connected to the land." "It's almost physical." "Man, what kind of jive is that, huh?" "In their minds, they're one with where they live, and when they have to get thrown out, it's like losing a limb." "Yeah, I can dig that." "You feel that way about Mississippi mud?" "Sometimes." "Yeah, same with me and my Bronx tenement." "Leaving that just really tore me up." "You're crazy, Horn." "No, I'm not." "Look, what he's trying to explain is how this dude might get the jaws about getting kicked out in the wind like this." "Yeah." "Don't worry, mama-san." "There's nothing here I want." "Aw, Ruiz," "I think she wants to kiss you." "In a couple more months, I might be ready." "You VC, Mama-san?" "GI number one." "Yeah." "GI number one." "Yeah." "Be sure to torch the place before you leave." "Throw a couple of frags down the well." "Is this really necessary, sir?" "Would you rather leave them for the enemy?" "I'll bring you out some lunch tomorrow." "Well, I guess he knows what he's doing." "Obviously a man of vast experience in the field, and with the indigenous population." "Whoa, whoa." "I got it." "I got it." "We'll help you how we can, all right?" "Come on." "Come on." "All you people from California that friendly?" "No." "Just Southern California." "Anderson, let's do this!" "Don't leave anything for Charlie!" "Horn, Taylor, blow the well." "The rest of you burn the hooches." "Burn them down." "Fire in the hole!" "All right, people, let's saddle up!" "Sorry you've got to leave your home like this." "Tango Niner Four Seven One" "This is Tucson Three Four." "I copy." "Will arrive your position in O-five." "Out." "You should eat something." "Come on." "This is good." "Number one." "It's a nice nosh." "Come on." "What's your name?" "Lang." "Lang?" "That's nice." "Mine's Myron." "So don't you have a mama-san, papa-san?" "I'm sorry." "What about a husband?" "Don't you have a husband?" "A man?" "Away." "Fighting." "Oh, he's an ARVN soldier, huh?" "Well, you must miss him very much." "You're very beautiful." "All right, nice work, you guys." "Go get some chow, huh?" "You find anything, Lieutenant?" "No, sir." "Not a thing." "I told you, sergeant." "This valley is clean and we aim to keep it that way." "Yeah, well, good luck on that, sir." "We don't need luck." "Just a lot of hard work and American ingenuity." "We're gonna make it happen." "Shove some more of these hamlets together, throw in a rural construction team, get these people medical help, a little technology." "Hell, they won't let us leave." "Well, Charlie and the North Vietnamese might have a little something to say about that, sir." "Not if nobody will listen to 'em." "I'm telling you, sergeant, we know what's good for these people." "Our agricultural techniques could triple..." "quadruple their yields." "This country could become a major exporter again." "Or the VC'll get a lot fatter." "You wait." "Nop Thanh is gonna be a shining example of what Americans and Vietnamese can do together when they set their minds to it." "Might even shake some of that cynicism of yours, sergeant." "Oh, I'm not cynical, sir." "I'm just responsible for a lot of men who depend on me to be realistic." " Move these people!" " Let's keep 'em down!" "What the hell was that?" "I don't know." "Something set off the trip flare." "I'm going to hit the Claymore." "You see anything?" "Well, nothing that I can..." "My one o'clock!" "My one o'clock!" " My two o'clock!" " Two o'clock!" "What do you got, LT?" "I got... nothing." "That was .30 caliber." "VC." "Maybe we got him." "Yeah, maybe." "And maybe we didn't." "It's all right." "Well, maybe we ought to send someone out there after him." "After what?" "That could be anybody out there, lieutenant." "You want my advice, sir?" "We stay right here." "All right." "All right, I'm going to go check on the men." "Horn." "What do you reckon's out there, sarge?" "Well, a lot of things, Baker." "Maybe nothing." "It could be one guy, could be 10 guys, could be 1,000 guys." "No matter who it is, you know they don't have our best interests at heart." "Why don't we just burn the jungles down, take away their hiding places?" "I'll tell you what, Baker," "I'll call General Westmoreland in the morning." "We'll discuss it." "Hold up." "Hold up." "Hold up, everybody." "Keep your intervals." "We'll get going in a minute." "Okay." "It's okay, mama-san." "What's the matter, Ruiz?" "She want go back." "Mama-san," "Ben Duc no more." "Nop Thanh number one." "No VC." "Come on, mama-san." "You can make it, okay?" "You can make it." "Oh, no wonder she's falling, Sarge." "This is heavy for her." "These are strong people, Ruiz." "Mama-san, I carry." "You sure you can manage that?" "You're talking to the kid, Sarge." "GI dien cai dao." "What did she say?" "She's saying you're crazy." "Yeah, I guess I'd have to be to get myself in this mess." "Let's hump." "All right, everybody, let's move it out." "Don't get trigger happy on that jungle now." "We got patrol coming back in here." "Come on, come on." "Keep spread out." "This reminds me of a story they used to tell me about my great-grandma." "My great-granddad had died and she was real old, she was about 92, and she couldn't keep the place up, so they put her in one of these homes." "What happened?" "Well, uh, she busted out." "True story." "She busted out." "That old broad, 92 years old, and she walked and crawled 10 miles, just so she could get back to her own home and die underneath her favorite tree." "That's a tough old gal." "I'll tell you what." "I hope I'm half as tough when my time comes." "Hope your time ain't this afternoon." "Hey, Baker, I got news for you." "Your platoon sergeant plans on dying of natural causes many years from now." "Well, there she is." "All right, I say we forget the trail and go in by the jungle side, over by the rice paddy." "Okay, fine." "Looks okay to me, though." "Yeah, well, there are looks, and then there are looks." "Sometimes you think they're doing it with mirrors." "Let's go." "All right, Percell, you take the left." "Jackson, you get over on the right." "Ruiz, you set up the pig in the middle." "You cover us real close, now." "Almost home, mama-san." "Let's do it." "The rest of you people, anything happens, you didi back to the woods." "Back to the tree line, and you wait there to regroup." "Relax." "Everything's under control." "I could do this 20 years and not be relaxed." "Choy-yo, Charlie Chan." "Hope he isn't holding a grenade under there, man." "If he throws it and you fall on it," "I'll recommend you for a medal of honor, okay?" "Go!" "Go!" "Didi!" "Didi!" "Is she all right?" "Yeah." "Just tired, I think." "Get in the tree line and take her with you, man." "Come on, let's go." "Damn it, this place is full of them!" "We got to get out of here!" "Continue fire!" "All right, we've got to keep them out of there." "If they get to that cover, they'll be all over us." "All right, I'll stay here with Ruiz and Percell." "That should be enough firepower to keep then pinned down." "I stay." "All right." "We can use you." "All right, that's your best bet right there." "Right there." "Phan Tre?" "Yeah." "I've been there before." "It's a larger village and Charlie doesn't have his hooks in the people yet." "That's 17 klicks." "Hey, you got any better suggestions?" "All right." "All right, we'll keep them pinned down here for an hour, then we're gonna follow you, all right?" "There's a dogleg comes out of the mountains right about there." "Okay, it's rough terrain, but they shouldn't be able to hit us." "We should be there by 1800 hours." "Damn it, you'd better be there, or else I'm calling in Cavalry." "You do that, sir." "That's affirmative, Saber Six." "Completely occupied." "Over." "I can't believe that." "Our intelligence..." "Believe it, Six." "We're proceeding to Phan Tre." "Go." "Casualties?" "Three U.S. KIA, two Vietnamese, several walking wounded." "Over." "Enemy?" "No body count at this time." "We may need some tac air or arty." "Over." "Could be tough, Two One." "The 15th's in a real storm up at the A Shau." "Everything's committed there." "Ran into more than we thought we would." "Well, that's it." "We'll be in touch, Six." "This is Redwing Two One." "Out." "Well, looks like we're on our own." "That's something new, isn't it, sir?" "These woods are looking big, bad, and nasty, Sarge." "It'll get a lot nastier if we stick around here." "All right, now, listen up." "We aren't gonna have much of a lead on these boys, so we're gonna have to move fast." "I'll take the lead, but I want everybody to keep the man in front of him in sight." "I come last." "All right, suit yourself." "Ruiz, you're after me, then Percell, but now you all save some ammo, because we're a long ways from home." "That's keeping them honest, sharpshooter." "You're a very tough old gal, mama-san." "Very tough." "All right, men, let's ground the gear, all right?" "Pass it down." "Ground your gear." "Horn, Taylor." "Come on." "Cover the approach." "Come on, let's go." "Now, spread the chow around." "Let's keep it real quiet." "Real quiet." "No, first you, okay?" "Now, that's an order." "Cam on." "Cam on." "Lang?" "Water?" "You want some water?" "It's good." "I'll be back." "Sir, do you know where we are?" "Yep, and the sergeant knows the way home, so don't shoot him when he comes up here." "We're almost there." "Almost home." "Spanish Harlem right around the bend." "Oh, yeah." "Lieutenant." "Lieutenant." "Who goes there?" "Who goes there?" "It's the cavalry." "And your mama." "She's wearing jungle boots too." "Man, am I glad to see you." "I'm glad to be here." "I think we got company, though." "Who's here?" "I don't know It's hard to tell." "We were moving pretty fast." "Can we do something up here?" "Well, I don't know." "I think we're all right here." "This is a pretty hard place to attack." "You go get something to eat." "Appreciate it." "Dien cai dao." "Yeah, dinky-dao." "Dinky-dao still here, mama-san." "Mama-san, some chop-chop?" "You chop-chop." "You hungry boy." "Yeah." "Me a hungry boy... a long way from home." "Tell you what." "I am tired." "How you doing big guy?" "Ready for anything, sergeant." "I'll bet you are." "Horn!" "Get over here with that radio!" "I'm throwing in some arty on these boys." "Saber Six." "This is Redwing Two One." "Over." "Roger, Two One." "This is Saber Six." "We're taking enemy mortar." "We request immediate artillery." "Our coordinates, Bravo Romeo 1-7-niner-0..." "I got two companies in it." "All my pieces are committed." "I'm stuck up here with all these people." "Over." "I understand, Two One." "Give me the coordinates in case I can break something loose." "Bravo Romeo 1-7-niner-0," "Lima X-ray 8-4-1-6." "Go." "I copy, 21." "I can't promise anything." "Over." "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do in the meanwhile?" "Go." "Any way out of there?" "Over." "Negative." "It's almost dark, and I've got old people up here," "I've got children." "Go." "Maybe you should leave them." "Over." "Come again?" "Go." "I said leave them, Two One." "Maybe that's your only choice." "Over." "But what about the mission, sir?" "Over." "Mission's been aborted." "You don't owe these people nothing." "Your mission now is to save American bodies any way you can." "Do you read me, Two One?" "Over." "Mission's aborted, Two One." "Do you read me?" "I've got to tell him something." "You don't got to tell him squat, lieutenant." "Well, maybe he's got a point." "That's bull and you know it." "Come on, lieutenant." "Take a look at those people." "They gave up everything they got." "They got nothing to go back to." "I hear what you're saying, but that's not our fault." "Maybe it's not our fault, but it's our responsibility, lieutenant." "Now, you can walk if you feel like you've got to walk, but no, sir, not me." "I'm not going, orders or no orders." "Same here, sir." "Me too." "Mission aborted, Two One." "Do you read me?" "Over." "It's not just these people, is it?" "That's not the point." "Yeah, well, saving our lives is the point." "Lieutenant, I don't like unfinished business." "I don't like running out in the middle of something just because things heat up, but these people, if we run out of them now that we got them in the middle of this mess, we might as well jump on a plane and didi on back to the world." "I want you out of there, Two One." "That is a direct order." "Do you read me?" "Over." "Horn, let me see that radio." "Do you..." "This radio's broken." "We can't take orders if we can't hear them." "All right, does anybody got any ideas?" "What do you say, sarge?" "Well, I say it'd be suicide trying to get out of here now." "We've got pretty good cover." "They'd be lucky to hit us." "That's .30 caliber." "VC?" "I think so." "What the hell is going on here?" "I tell you what, lieutenant, that's a question I've been asking myself more than once these last few days." "Why don't you get some sleep?" "We'll set up 50 percent guard." "All right." "Sir." "Sir!" "Where's Sergeant Anderson?" "He took Taylor and Percell on another patrol." "Should be back any minute." "All right, let's get ready to move out." "We found the mortar team." "Two NVA, each with a bullet through his heads." ".30 caliber?" "I'd say so." "You mean to tell me a Vietcong killed two North Vietnamese?" "That's my opinion." "Well, why don't we just go home and let them kill each other?" "Did you see anything else out there?" "Well, I know there are more NVA out there." "I just don't know where." "Well, let's get out of here before they find us." "I think if we can just make it to that saddleback, we'll be home free." "Yeah." "That's a big if." "I'll tell you what." "Going through that valley looks easiest, but I'd rather we went around it." "All right." "Well, we'd better eat up what chow we got now." "It's gonna be pretty tough going, especially on the kids and the old women." "When was the last time you ate, sergeant?" "Don't worry about me." "I'm on a very strict diet." "10 minutes." "Here." "All gone." "No more." "You drinking again, Percell?" "Oh, give me a break, sergeant." "Hell, boy, you've been on a break the last 48 hours." "How you doing?" "I'm doing good." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Yeah?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Oh, come on, mama-san." "Come on, you can make it." "Come on." "Is she gonna be all right?" "She's old and she's tired." "She's real tired." "We've got to get going." "I'm not leaving, sir." "You wouldn't leave that one up there, would you?" "Yeah, you're watching that one real close." "I ain't talking about leaving her." "Can you carry her?" "Uh-huh." "I'll carry your pack, Ru." "Yeah, I can hump the ammo, man." "All right." "Let's go." "Mama-san!" "Mama-san!" "Mama-san." "Medic!" "Medic!" "Mama-san!" "Mama-san!" "Lang!" "Lang!" "No." "No." "LT." "You all right?" "Where's the girl?" "She's gone." "With a VC." "He had me in his sights, and..." "I don't know." "I guess it was her husband." "Yeah." "He was a sniper." "He probably took out that NVA mortar team." "Why didn't he shoot me?" "I don't know, LT." "I mean, you saved his woman." "Maybe he's one of those crazy people who still thinks that love's more important than politics." "Come on." "Come on." "So long, mama-san." "Alberto Ruiz owes you one." "She with the land now." "No more fighting." "I'm sorry you people had to go through all this jive." "Redwing Two One." "Roger." "Out." "Well, everything's set with Major Rigby." "He's gonna send a chinook for those bodies, and then he's gonna meet us across the valley with a chopper." "He's still steamed as hell." "Well, what's the matter?" "The body count's not high enough to make him happy?" "Oh, come on, man." "You know officers don't like getting their orders countermanded." "Well, some officers make you forget that." "How are you feeling, sir?" "Come on." "Let's get out of here." "Now, maybe you thought that was a cute trick last night, turning your radio off instead of obeying orders." "Well, it wasn't cute." "It was insubordinate, and insubordination will not be tolerated." "If command structure breaks down, gentlemen, we're gonna lose this war." "You do not risk your lives for something of no tactical or strategic importance." "People are strategic, sucker!" "All right, who said that?" "I demand to know who said that!" "I did." "No, you didn't." "I did." "I think I did." "Wait a minute." "I said it." "No, I said it." "It was me, man." "No, It was me, sir."