"September 18th, 1944" "After three days of fighting," "The airfield on Peleliu was captured." "The immediate reports back" "Were that it would be over in a day or two." "That was not the case at all." "The worst was waiting for us." "As casualties mounted," "It became clear that U.S. Intelligence" "Had failed to anticipate the level of Japanese resistance." "Looming behind the airfield" "Were high coral ridges that spanned the island." "The Japanese had created an elaborate system" "Of underground fortresses." "Intelligence didn't have a clue" "What we were going into." "If the intelligence had been what it should have been," "I don't think we'd have ever hit that island." "Their whole cave system on Peleliu" "Was unbelievable." "We had never seen anything like that before in the war." "There was over 500 caves." "It was one Ce right after another." "You had to dig them out one at a time." "We were fighting a ruthless enemy" "And he'll die before he'll be taken prisoner." "So you've got to make sure he dies instead of you." "And it was a fight to the finish" "For 30 straight days" "Day and night." "We lost a lot of men." "An unsettling amount killed" "And a tremendous amount wounded." "It's something you never forget." " You handle it well." " Handle what well?" "Membership in the famous people's club." "Just don't be surprised if it's not quite what you expect." "The entire division's moving across the airfield." "The only way to stop this Jap artillery is to get into those hills." "And the only way into those hills is across this airfield." "We have to cross that?" " Move out!" " Go go go!" "Keep moving!" "Let's go!" "Oswalt!" "We need cover fire!" "Sir, coming across the airfield today..." "I've never been more scared in my entire life." "History is full of wars" "Fought for 100 reasons." "But this war, I have to believe" "That every step across that airfield," "Every man I lose, that it's all worth while" "Because our cause is just." "Moving into the hills." "We can't take this objective without unacceptable casualties." " ( man screaming ) - sounds like some guy having a nightmare." "God damn it, shut up!" "I guess better him than all of us." "Sledgehammer's right." "It had to be done." "( orchestral music playing )" "Hanging, fire!" "Sledge, drop..." " Ahh!" "Thanks." " Burgin." " Hillbilly." "You used to not smoke." "Guess I do now." "I need volunteers!" "N.C.O.S report to me" "At 1050." "Corpsman, do blister checks." "Draw ammo and be resupplied" "And ready to move at 1100." "Room service awaits" "And there's time to savor every bite." "Go and get your chow." "1100?" "Ack ack just gave us the morning off." "Let's go get some breakfast!" "I can't even recognize this place." "Judging from those planes, I think it's the airfield we took a while back." "Oh, yeah, now I remember." "We were over there and the Japs were over there." " The Japs were where we're sittin'." " Right." "It's all coming back to me now." "Why didn't I enlist in the seabees?" "I could have come to Peleliu in the seat of a bulldozer." "Any of you guys got a Jap sword or flag?" "I'll pay good money for it." "Or a Jap bayonet?" "Any kind of Jap weapon-- I'll take it." "Sure." "I keep them in my ass." "Reach up, grab what you want." "Seriously." "I gotta get me a Jap sword." "I can't go home from the war empty-handed." "I can arrange for a purple heart." "Ain't nobody going home." "Any of you guys got a Jap sword?" "Fuck off!" " Boys." " Hello, sir." " Hey, Skipper." " Hey, Skip." "Skip." "Never run when you can walk." "Never walk when you can stand." "Never stand when you can sit." "Never sit when you can lay down." "Never lay down when you can sleep." "And never pass a supply of clean water." "Amen." "You get enough to eat?" "I did, sir." "You're a Southern man, right?" "Yes, sir." "Mobile, Alabama." "You realize our ancestors probably shot at each other" "At Gettysburg or bull run?" "My great-grandfather served with general Bragg." "Yeah?" "What's your old man do?" "He's a doctor, internal medicine." "Treated vets from the first world war." "Might have patched up gunny Haney." "My dad's a shop foreman at a textile mill in Massachusetts." "He weaved wool fabric for the military" "All our marine greens," "Our blankets." "It's nice to think my father might have had something to do" "With the blankets we sleep in." "Fuck!" "I got a detail for you." "Yes, sir." "No no, as you were." "As you were." "You got a watch?" "Yes, sir." "You show 0950?" "I do, sir." "Good." "Wake me up in 20 minutes." "Will do, sir." " Look at that." " Let's go!" "Let's go!" "You heard the Skipper!" "Let's go!" "That's the way to kill Japs" "Buzz in, fry 'em, buzz back." "Hey, look, it's colonel puller." "It's the 1st marines." " Sir." " You're up, boys." "Colonel." "Hello, sir." "Go get 'em!" "Good job." "Way to go, 1st." " Here you go." " Thanks, man." "Semper fi." "Hey." "How you doin'?" "Let's go!" "What kind of man walks into a field of fire" "In defense of his country?" "What kind of man has already served his country" "As a soldier in the Philippines way before Pearl Harbor," "Then volunteers to fight the Japs as a Marine" "In the islands of the Pacific?" "What kind of man risked his life" "Throughout a night of combat" "Running barefoot much-needed ammunition back and forth" "To his buddy on the frontlines," "Manning his machine gun throughout the fight," "Suffering horrible wounds" "While killing countless savage Japs" "In the key battle that won us Guadalcanal?" "I will tell you, brothers:" "A fighting man like no other," "Winner of the congressional medal of honor," "America's own sergeant John Basilone!" "Little rr, Johnny?" "How long's he been here for?" "A whole lot of buckets." "John!" "( man shouts in Japanese )" "( men grunting, shouting in Japanese )" "Ooh!" "What was that?" "What happened?" " What the fuck is going on out there?" " I don't know." "Who the hell was that?" "Two Japs, I think." "One ran down the road." "The other jumped in packer's foxhole." "All right, stay in your foxholes." " Stay in your holes." " Stay alert." "There might be more." "How long you people been doing this!" "?" "You don't get out of your fucking hole at night" "Because this is what happens!" "One of us gets tired." "One of us gets lazy." "One of us doesn't keep his edge on," "And this-- this is what happens." "What kind of guy gets out of his hole at night without sounding off?" "The kind with two Japs up his ass." "Just one." "Leyden knows what it's like to have a Jap up his ass." " Fuck off!" " Can it, bill." "Wh-- what kind of asshole shoots the guy?" "An asshole like you." " Ahh!" "Move out!" "Down line!" "Go for cover!" "Move down line!" "We're moving left!" "Burgin!" "Plant your unit behind that bunker!" " Move out!" "Move down the line!" "Let's go, let's go!" "Ahh!" "God damn it!" "Oh, God!" " Get the bunker cleared!" " We got it!" "It's been cleared." "Burgie." "Burgie." "Japs in the Er." "First platoon cleared it with grenades." " They must have checked." " No, listen." "Wake up, sledge." "Burgie..." "I'm sure." "They're in there." "( distant gunfire continues )" "( men whisper in Japanese )" "Son of a bitch!" "( men shout in Japanese )" "Sledgehammer, check that side!" "Ahhh!" "Sledgehammer, Burgie, up here!" "Keep 'em bottled up till I come back!" "Leyden." "Fire in the hole!" "to your right!" "Grenade!" "Grenade!" " Oh, fuck!" " Look at me, look at me." "Look at me." " I can't fucking see." " You're all rig." "Target 100yds to your right!" "Look at me, look at me." "You're all right." " You're all right." " I can't fucking see." " You're gonna be all right." "Get off the bunker, God damn it!" " Ahh!" " Come on." "Bill, come on." "You gotta help me." "We gotta move." "Come on." " No no." " Hold on, bill." "Look at me." "Look at me." "Gene!" "Gene!" "Ahh!" "gene!" "Ahh!" "Gene?" "Gene?" "Gene!" " Gene?" "Fry 'em, Womack!" "Ahhhh!" "Gene!" "Let the bastards burn!" "Ahhh!" "Die, you Jap fuck!" "Fuckin' die!" "Fuckin' die!" "You okay?" "Why don't they just surrender?" "Because they're Japs." "We're gonna have to root 'em out one by one." "Fucking rats." "Look at the gold teeth on this one." "What have you got there?" "( Japanese soldier gagging )" " Ahh!" " Christ!" "Put him out of his misery." "Fuck off." "Makes it easier." "( distant explosions continue )" "Bullshit." "The McCulloch boosted my ." "It only adds four p.S.I., snaf." "You get better torque." "You know that." "Yeah, well, you run that thing for a while and it'll get noisy." "So?" " How you doin', boys?" " Skipper." "Gunny made some coffee if anyone wants some." "It's actually pretty good." "Burgie here says superchargers are worthless." "What you think, Skipper?" "Out here, I'd have to agree with him." "Here, take this." "I'll get some more." "Go on, take it." "Any word on Leyten, Skipper?" "They already cleaned him up." "That New York Irish hide of his" "Is tougher than any little bit of Jap shrapnel." "He'll be back soon." "We're moving into the hills come dawn." "Aye aye, sir." "Burgie, I'm gonna need some of your mortar squad" "To volunteer as stretcher-bearers." "You can't dwell on it." "You can't dwell on any of it." "Try and get some rest, boys." "Gotta move!" "Move it up there!" "Russo, get up there and find hillbilly!" "Pull him back!" "Go!" "Stretchers, go!" "Go!" "Direct run!" "Go go go!" "Ahh!" "Don't stop!" "Keep moving!" "Keep moving!" "Here!" "Pick him up!" "Move!" "Sledge, snafu, up here!" "Sledge, get your stretcher up here now!" "Come on, go!" "I need more ammo!" "Give me more ammo!" "Corpsman!" "Over here!" "Get that shirt opened up!" "Let's get him back." " Boys." " I got the sulfur." "We're good to go." "Get him on the stretcher." "We're gonna need to move him fast!" "God damn it." "Ah!" "Get him!" " Clear." " Oh!" "Ahhh!" " Oh, fuck!" "Fall back!" " Get up here." " Fall back!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "( man shouting, indistinct )" "Eddie?" "Eddie." "Take him back." "Let me help you." "Come on." "Let's get you out of here." "Come on." "Did you see Haney?" "I saw him." "Haney is the old breed." "If a guy like that breaks... ( distant gunfire continues )" "And hillbilly's dead." "You can't dwell on it, Jay." "You can't dwell on any of it." "We go into those hills again, I'm gonna get hit." "I know it." "I don't care anymore..." "Just as long as it's quick." " Get that fucker!" " Everywhere!" " Fucking Japs!" " Japs are everywhere." "Yankee... ( speaks Japanese )" "Hey hey." "Hey, you're okay." "You're okay." "You're okay." "You're okay." "You'll be okay." "How you holdin' up?" "Oh, God." " oh, shit!" " oh!" "Somebody fucking shoot him." "Get him!" "Get the bastard!" "Shoot!" "Shoot!" "Shoot him!" "What the fuck is the matter with you?" "Why'd you take so long to shoot him?" "Damn, Jay, if it ain't coming out your mouth, it's coming out your ass." "Looks like you in a sack race, Jay." "Aw, shit." "I shit myself." " no kidding." "Fuck-- I fuckin' shit myself." "You guys are fucking nuts." "Go back and get some new dungarees, Jay." "It's all over my hands." "You left a trail, boy." "They gonna find us now." " Who's up ahead?" " Their platoon is on point, sir." "Right up there." "All right, Kelmar, what do we got?" "Men in the hill, right up there," "Covering from that ridge all the way to the left." "That's good." "Go slow." "Mortar!" "Hold it up here!" "Corpsman!" "Sniper got the Skipper." "Captain Haldane?" "Ack ack's dead." "Skipper's dead." "All right, let's get your shit together!" "Squad leaders, let's go!" "Let's get it movin'!" " We're going up!" " Get your gear." "We're goin'." "( distant gunfire continues )" "Let's go!" "Move up!" "Mortars, hold it here!" "Smarts with me, God damn it!" "See what's up top!" "Let's go!" "What you doin', sledgehammer?" "I thought I'd bag me some Jap gold." "You don't want to do that." "Why not?" "I saw you do it." "Don't." "You shouldn't do it." "The germs." "Doc Caswell says all these dead nips have germs." " Germs." " Bad germs." "Diseases that'll make you sick." "Bad germs." "Well, is it all right with you if I cut out his insignia then?" "No danger in that I know of." "Yeah?" "That pass muster with you?" "Here, man." "Keep it." "Thanks." " Welcome back." " Thank you very much." "Welcome back." "You're a sight for sore eyes." " Welcome back." " Very kind of you." " Here you go." " What the hell are they doing here?" "Hi." " Hi." " Hi." "Thank you, ma'am." " Thank you very much." " Here you are." "Thanks, ma'am." "Hi, welcome back." "It's good to see you." " Thank you." " Okay, marine." "You've had your look-see." "Now move along."