Transcript: (1x16) Gray-Brown Odyssey

From Bravo 3/44th

Directed by: Randy Roberts

Written by: Bruce Reisman

See the Episode Guide

[1:42] Jeep Load On A Muddy Road

GOLDMAN: Hey, Horn. What's the matter? You don't look like you're too happy about going back to the firebase.

HORN: Pulling detail in the rear for two days is not my idea of a vacation.

GOLDMAN: I know what you mean.

HORN: No, you don’t, sir. You spent most of your time in that nurse's hootch.

GOLDMAN: I was doing research, Horn. I was checking the latest poop on the medical treatment for the natives.

HORN: With all due respect, sir, I think you took the cure for yourself.

[2:53] The Road Blew Up

GOLDMAN: Horn, you alright?

HORN: Yeah.

GOLDMAN: Calhoun?

CALHOUN: Yeah.

GOLDMAN: Pointer? Pointer! Pointer, can you hear me? Pointer! Calhoun! Get him outta here, I'll put out the fire.

HORN: And get the first aid kit.

HORN: Pointer, take it easy. You're gonna be okay, the fire's out.

POINTER: My leg, my leg!

HORN: You're gonna be okay, we're gonna take care of ya.

POINTER: Something's messed up inside.

HORN: You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay. Don't worry, don't worry. We'll get you some help, Pointer, we'll get you some help. Don't worry, man. I gotcha, I gotcha.

GOLDMAN: Aah!

HORN: Lieutenant!

HORN: Calhoun, you watch him. Lieutenant, what's wrong? What's wrong?

GOLDMAN: Get away! It's in my eyes!

HORN: Here, here's some water!

[4:09] I Can't See!

GOLDMAN: Horn...

HORN: I'm right here.

GOLDMAN: I can't see. I'm blind.

[4:34] Ambushed

HORN: Lieutenant, move!

HORN: We gotta get outta here.

GOLDMAN: How many are there, Horn?

HORN: I don’t know, Lieutenant. Can you move?

GOLDMAN: I’ll hold on to you.

HORN: Calhoun, get Pointer’s arm around your neck, carry him as best you can.

CALHOURN: He's all screwed up!

HORN: I'm not leaving him! Move, I’ll cover you!

[5:08] We Are Being Chased

HORN: Calhoun, take him.

CALHOUN: C’mon, Lieutenant.

CALHOUN: We gotta stop, this is killin’ him.

HORN: Get Pointer in the hootch, take the LT. I’ll cover.

GOLDMAN: Horn, let 'em come to you!

HORN: Just stay down, Lieutenant!

[6:22] Holed Up In A Hooch

CALHOUN: Here, sir.

GOLDMAN: How’s Pointer?

CALHOUN: Bad. Just keep him company, I gotta go back out there.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, yeah, go.

GOLDMAN: Horn?

HORN: It’s me, Lieutenant.

HORN: They got Calhoun.

GOLDMAN: Oh man.

HORN: How are your eyes?

GOLDMAN: I can't see anything.

HORN: It appears to be chemical—it’s just gonna be temporary. I’ve seen this kind of burn before, you’re—

GOLDMAN: Yeah—

HORN: .—gonna be okay.

GOLDMAN: —yeah. What about the VC? How many did you get? Did you get 'em all?

HORN: I’m not sure. Even if I did, there’s gonna be a whole lot more comin’.

[7:09] We Can't Stay Here

HORN: Lieutenant, we can't afford to stay here anymore. We’ve gotta move.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, the blind leading the maimed. That’ll be just great.

POINTER: Oh God! Please help me!

GOLDMAN: Take it easy, soldier. Take it easy.

POINTER: So hot.

GOLDMAN: Take it easy. Lie back.

POINTER: Water.

GOLDMAN: Horn and I are here. We’re not movin’ you, man.

POINTER: It hurts so bad.

GOLDMAN: Relax.

POINTER: I’m so cold.

GOLDMAN: I wish I could help you.

HORN: Here’s the water.

GOLDMAN: I don’t think he’s thirsty anymore.

[7:53] Jewish Prayers For Dead

HORN: Maybe he’s better off this way. What’s that?

GOLDMAN: It’s a mezuzah. It’s a... religious symbol, like a St. Christopher, except for Jews.

GOLDMAN: [reciting the Kaddish in Hebrew] I’m sorry, Pointer, that’s all I remember.

HORN: Is that a prayer or somethin’?

GOLDMAN: Yeah. It’s called the Kaddish. It’s a Hebrew prayer for the dead. You know, I was starting to think I was the only Jew in this war.

[9:02] Enemy Sneaking Up On Hooch

HORN: Stay down!

HORN: VC. I’ll get 'em!

[9:40] Jungle Shoot Out

VC SOLDIER: [in Vietnamese] Trời đất oi. (rough transl: Oh God.)

HORN: What do ya know?

HORN: Come on, lady! Stop or I’ll fire! Đứng lại, đứng lại, đứng lại! (transl: Stop, don't move!)

[10:30] Caught Ya!

HORN: I’ll be damned.

[11:31] Meanwhile Back At The Ranch

GOLDMAN: Horn, is that you?

HORN: It’s me, sir. Me and one prisoner.

GOLDMAN: Great, just what we need.

HORN: What’s the matter? You don’t like me?

HORN: You little—

GOLDMAN: Lay off, Horn!

HORN: The way she laid off the others? Man, you are blind because of her!

GOLDMAN: That’s not the point— Did you say, "her?"

HORN: Yes.

LI KIEM: (laughs)

[13:11] Horn Going For Help

HORN: You have enough C-rats to make it through the day. Both your canteens are full. Your rifle’s loaded and ready. Lieutenant, please. Please come with me.

GOLDMAN: Horn, we’ve been through all this. We’d just slow you down.

HORN: Yeah, but I got a bad feeling about this. What if the VC come back? I need a medevac for you—

GOLDMAN: That’s why you’ve gotta get outta here as soon as you possibly can to get us a medevac.

HORN: Yes, sir.

LI KIEM: [cursing in Vietnamese] (something about wishing them dead)

GOLDMAN: Shut her up, will you please?

HORN: Gladly.

LI KIEM: [cursing in Vietnamese] (something about wishing them dead)

HORN: You know, if she had one of us on this leash, she’d be draggin’ around a corpse.

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

HORN: How are your eyes, Lieutenant? I-I-I-I mean, what’s it like?

GOLDMAN: It’s empty. I can see shades of brown and gray. There’s a little bit of light, though. I guess that’s a myth.

HORN: I guess that’s because it’s temporary, right?

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Go on, get out of here, now.

HORN: Yes, sir, Lieutenant. Good luck.

HORN: If you harm my friend, I swear... I swear I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself.

GOLDMAN: Horn, get the hell out of here, now!

GOLDMAN: Hello.

GOLDMAN: Well, welcome to the waiting game with your host Myron Goldman. Guess you don’t understand that, do ya? Hey, take it easy there, partner.

GOLDMAN: Now, I’m gonna take this off, but we’re gonna be real quiet so we don’t have to put it back on, aren’t we?

GOLDMAN: Real quiet. Shh.

GOLDMAN: Now, I wish you'd tell me what the hell you were trying to accomplish back there. You let me in on that, and I can tell the parents of the kids you killed.

[15:03] We Have Company

LI KIEM: (subtitles) He’s blind. You’ll have to help me.

GOLDMAN: I don’t know what you want, but whatever it is, the answer’s “no.”

LI KIEM: (subtitles) I am Li Kiem.

GOLDMAN: Is that a name? Li Kiem?

LI KIEM: Vâng ha. (sp?)

GOLDMAN: Vâng ha. That means "yes". I understand.

LI KIEM: (subtitles) Get his gun.

GOLDMAN: Really?

LI KIEM: (subtitles) Then untie me.

GOLDMAN: I see. Hey! Who the hell is that?

LI KIEM: (subtitles) Get some help.

OLD VIET WOMAN: (subtitles) I run get help.

LI KIEM: [in Vietnamese]

[15:55] She's Coming Back

GOLDMAN: Damn you. Damn you! She’s coming back, isn’t she? Huh?

LI KIEM: (?)

GOLDMAN: You may not understand this, but I’m gonna wring your little neck until you do. You’re getting me outta here.

LI KIEM: I take you, GI. I take you.

GOLDMAN: You understand English? Huh?

LI KIEM: Yes.

GOLDMAN: Well you understand this. Look at me. I’m blind because of you, and my men are dead because of you, and right now I’d love to blow your brains out. You want me to?

LI KIEM: No!

GOLDMAN: Huh?

LI KIEM: No.

GOLDMAN: Alright. From here on out, you’re my eyes. Now, you get up and you get me outta here. Move!

[17:08] Get Me Outta Here!

GOLDMAN: Alright, there’s the sun. We go... south. That’s where my people are.

GOLDMAN: I didn’t know English was part of the VC drill. Where’d you learn it?

LI KIEM: In Hue. ^[1]

GOLDMAN: You’re a college girl, huh? Looks like you took your ideas pretty seriously.

LI KIEM: My father went to prison for his ideas. He love this country but American puppet government destroy him. He not fight back and he lose everything. I will not make the same mistake.

GOLDMAN: You already made a mistake; you’re a prisoner. You just may lose everything.

LI KIEM: Maybe not.

GOLDMAN: Oh man. The college kids back home would love you.

LI KIEM: American students very brave, risk very much for People Forces.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, they’re real brave. You don’t get locked up in the United States for speaking your own mind.

LI KIEM: But you would like to lock them up.

GOLDMAN: No. I believe in freedom of speech. You people are the ones that want everybody to think alike. Old Mao and Stalin killed anybody that didn’t buy the party line, didn’t they? Huh?

[18:54] Injured Man and Family

LITTLE VIET BOY: [speaking in Vietnamese] (transl: Mom, a GI!)

GOLDMAN: What is it?

LI KIEM: It is an injured man and his family. [in Vietnamese] (transl: Child, please (?))

LITTLE VIET BOY: [in Vietnamese] (transl: My family is hungry; please give me some food.)

LI KIEM: They need food.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, well, what do I look like, The Salvation Army? Who are they? Talk!

LI KIEM: It is a liberation fighter—

GOLDMAN: You mean it’s a VC?

LI KIEM: That’s your word.

GOLDMAN: Has he got a gun?

LI KIEM: He has nothing but two hungry children and a wife. He’s sick.

GOLDMAN: He’s got no food?

LI KIEM: None.

GOLDMAN: Okay. Okay.

LI KIEM: That’s your food.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, I know, and it’s all I got. You tell him there’s food in that pack. Then we get out of here before I change my mind.

LI KIEM: (subtitles) Food is over there. Get the knife and cut me loose.

VIET FATHER: GI... [in Vietnamese] Cám ơn, ông. Cám ơn, ông. (transl: Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.)

GOLDMAN: What’d he say?

LI KIEM: He said, “thank you.”

VIET FATHER: Cám ơn, ông. (transl: Thank you, sir.)

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

[20:45] That Was Kind Of You

LI KIEM: That was kind of you.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, yeah. It’s the American way; do one good deed every day.

LI KIEM: Arrogance is American way.

GOLDMAN: I was just kiddin’. You know, joking?

LI KIEM: But it’s really the way you people are. You go all over the world, throw your money around, then act like everything belong to you.

GOLDMAN: Look. All I did was give some people some food, one of 'em was a VC for God's sake, don’t get your chops in a (?).

LI KIEM: But your whole history is full of nothing but imperialist conquests. You kill your Indians, keep your black under yoke of oppression, take land from whoever you want. Is it not the truth?

GOLDMAN: Yeah, some of it’s the truth. We do a lot of other things, too, and I haven’t done any of those.

LI KIEM: But you come to Vietnam, kill my people, turn country into big brothel.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, well, you collect taxes so you can buy bullets. You couldn't fight this war without it.

LI KIEM: So arrogant. With all your money and machines, you'll still never win war. We fight to last man. You'll never kill us all.

GOLDMAN: You may be right.

LI KIEM: I am.

[21:45] Is That A Trap In Road

GOLDMAN: What is it? What is it?

LI KIEM: I thought I heard something.

GOLDMAN: What?

LI KIEM: Maybe soldiers, yours or mine.

GOLDMAN: Come on.

LI KIEM: What is your name, GI?

GOLDMAN: Goldman. Lieutenant Goldman. Nice of you to ask.

LI KIEM: Be careful, there are rocks and things.

[23:24] Help Me!

GOLDMAN: Help me! Help! Help me.

LI KIEM: No!

GOLDMAN: I swear to God, I’ll pull you in on top of me.

GOLDMAN: You knew it was there, didn’t ya?

LI KIEM: No!

GOLDMAN: Didn’t you?!

LI KIEM: No.

GOLDMAN: You lyin’ little bitch. I swear to God if I wasn’t blind I’d kill you right now.

LI KIEM: Go ahead! Go ahead.

GOLDMAN: No, I’m gonna take you back and let ARVN Intelligence have a field day with you. Now, get up. Get up! Now, you’re gonna take me out of here before your VC buddies come and find out what that shot was all about. Move!

[24:13] Running Through The Woods

GOLDMAN: Keep going.

LI KIEM: I can move faster if you untie my hands.

GOLDMAN: You could do a lot of things if I untied you.

GOLDMAN: Ow! I was just startin’ to trust you, too. Damn it.

LI KIEM: Don’t be stupid. I’m your prisoner; it’s my duty to escape any way I can. Once you hand me over to those puppet soldiers, I’m dead.

GOLDMAN: Good, that’s what you deserve.

LI KIEM: How you know what I deserve? Is this your country? No, it’s mine.

GOLDMAN: Oh, it’s yours, it’s theirs, it’s everybody’s. I don’t give a damn. All I know is my men are dead, and you killed them.

LI KIEM: And you killed my comrades.

[24:58] Small Farm - A Goat

LI KIEM: A small farm, a goat, some chickens. You eat live chicken?

GOLDMAN: Right now, I’m so hungry I could eat anything.

LI KIEM: Good soldier learn to forget hunger.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, yeah. You see anyone down there?

LI KIEM: No one.

GOLDMAN: Alright. Now, we’re gonna move in down there, real slow. And you’re gonna find us some food.

LI KIEM: I hope I find more liberation fighters.

GOLDMAN: You do, and you’re not gonna have any lunch. Let’s go.

[26:26] He No Like Nobody

VIETNAMESE FARMER: (subtitles) What do you want?

LI KIEM: (subtitles) Are you a Liberation Fighter?

VIETNAMESE FARMER: (spits, curses in Vietnamese, something about Li Kiem's father, the equivalent to talking smack about someone's mother!)

GOLDMAN: What are you doin’?

LI KIEM: He don’t like VC.

GOLDMAN: Hey, man, that makes two of us. Now, you ask him if he’s seen any GIs.

LI KIEM: [in Vietnamese] Ông thấy lính mỹ không? (transl: Sir, have you seen any GIs?)

VIETNAMESE FARMER: (spits)

LI KIEM: He don’t like your people, either.

[27:09] We Need Food

GOLDMAN: Alright, you tell him to give us some food and we won’t hurt him.

LI KIEM: [in Vietnamese] Chúng tôi không làm gì hết. (transl: We won't do anything.)

VIETNAMESE FARMER: (laughs)

GOLDMAN: You just give us some food, right now. Right now!

LI KIEM: (laughs)

GOLDMAN: What are you doin’?

LI KIEM: He walk away. You didn’t even know. He could have shot you.

GOLDMAN: What’s wrong with you?

LI KIEM: I need to sit down.

GOLDMAN: This better not be a trick.

GOLDMAN: I gotta get some food. Hey, uh, Papa-san. Papa-san! Hey, Papa-san.

VIETNAMESE FARMER: [in Vietnamese] Cái gì? (transl: What?)

GOLDMAN: We need some food. We’re very hungry. Please. Chop-chop.

[28:24] He Wants Us To Leave

VIETNAMESE FARMER: [in Vietnamese] (transl: I don't have any food for you. Go away.)

LI KIEM: He want us to leave.

GOLDMAN: He’s gotta have something extra. Please. Chop-chop. Please.

LI KIEM: [in Vietnamese] (transl: Please, I ask of you, sir. Please give us a little—)

VIETNAMESE FARMER: [in Vietnamese] (rough transl: Your kind are always hungry. Don't you know your damn Viet Cong came here and wiped out this village? (?) And this bastard... These bastard Americans brought their planes here and destroyed my farm. What food of mine do you two think you'll be eating? You understand? Get out of my sight!)

GOLDMAN: What’d he say?

LI KIEM: That we should go.

GOLDMAN: I know he said a lot more than that.

LI KIEM: He fought both the Japanese and the French with his rifle. Then both our side come, destroy his village, kill his family. He won’t feed us.

GOLDMAN: I don’t blame him. Come on, let’s go. Come on, let’s see some of that iron Cong willpower, huh?

[29:06] Here's A Bowl Of Rice

VIETNAMESE FARMER: [in Vietnamese] (transl. Here. Take this rice, go ahead and eat it.)

GOLDMAN: What did he say?

LI KIEM: He'll give us some food.

GOLDMAN: Hang on.

LI KIEM: Use your finger.

GOLDMAN: Haven’t eaten in a while, huh?

GOLDMAN: You know, that guy really hated us. You can feel it.

LI KIEM: He still feed us.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, even though we’re his enemies. Doesn’t that make you feel somethin’?

LI KIEM: The Revolution need food.

GOLDMAN: The Revolution? Give me a break. The guy did something that went way past any revolution. He’s just being a decent human being.

LI KIEM: Everyone can't afford that luxury.

GOLDMAN: You know what your problem is? You’re a slave to your own ideas. You could walk past the most beautiful sunset in the world, and you’d never even see it because you’d be flapping your gums about revolution and politics.

LI KIEM: You enjoy your beautiful sunset, rich American. Political indifference is the reason you’re here. That’s what’s going to kill you.

GOLDMAN: Maybe. But just for a second there, I thought I felt that VC hate slip away. Or was that just your stomach growling?

LI KIEM: I’ve eaten enough, GI.

[31:32] Giddy-Up, Go Girl

LI KIEM: I’m not cold.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, but now you’re an American target, just like me, for any of your buddies that might be following us. Maybe if you’re lucky, Charlie’ll aim low.

LI KIEM: So we both die by my army?

GOLDMAN: Or live by mine. Giddy-up.

[32:29] Cross Very Wide River

GOLDMAN: I can hear the river. Which one is it?

LI KIEM: Song My.^[2]

GOLDMAN: Good, we’re going in the right direction. Alright, we cross here. Come on. Come on.

LI KIEM: It’s very wide.

GOLDMAN: Song My is not that deep.

LI KIEM: My hands are tied.

GOLDMAN: You can walk across it. Come on.

LI KIEM: I can't swim.

GOLDMAN: You guys are real well-trained, aren’t you? Come on.

GOLDMAN: It’s alright. It’s alright, it’s alright.

GOLDMAN: It’s alright, it’s not that deep.

GOLDMAN: I got you. Calm down.

GOLDMAN: Where are you? Where are ya?

GOLDMAN: It’s alright. It’s alright, it’s alright, calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Relax. That was the middle; that was the deepest part. It’s alright. It’s alright. Okay. Come on, come on.

GOLDMAN: We're there.

[34:23] I Can See A Little

GOLDMAN: I can see. God, I can see. Hey, I can see.

VC SOLDIERS: [shouting in Vietnamese]

GOLDMAN: I can see! Hey—

LI KIEM: [shouting in Vietnamese]

[34:54] I've Been Hit, GI

LI KIEM: You helped the hungry family. Now you help me. Please.

[35:39] Rest Here

LI KIEM: You can see me.

GOLDMAN: Well things are still a little blurry. That water must have done something.

LI KIEM: I’m bleeding. I’m dying.

GOLDMAN: I’m gonna get you some help.

LI KIEM: Why? So they can torture me for what I know, then kill me?

GOLDMAN: No. Because you’re a human being; so am I.

[36:25] Horn Searches The Grass

HORN: Oh man. Hey! Hey! Wait for me! Hey! Hey, wait!

ARMY OFFICER: What in the hell are you doing out here, soldier?

HORN: We hit a booby trap. We lost everybody.

ARMY OFFICER: Who are you?

HORN: Spec 4 Horn. Bravo Company. We were running, we hit VC. I left the Lieutenant back there. He’s blind. We have to go back there and find him.

ARMY OFFICER: We’ll try, but we gotta pick up a recon team that just made contact. Come on.

SOLDIERS [o.s.]: Alright, you guys, let's go. . . . Come on, we're movin' out.

[37:28] I Will Not Leave You

LI KIEM: Your soldiers must be only a few kilometers from the next village. My army’s somewhere between. Go alone.

GOLDMAN: Forget it. I’m not gonna leave you.

LI KIEM: The Liberation Forces are still behind us. You’re only chance is to run.

GOLDMAN: Then we run.

[38:07] A Burnt Out Village

LI KIEM: You don’t think I’m worth it, right?

GOLDMAN: No, I was just thinking about how much things have changed.

LI KIEM: I’m still your enemy.

GOLDMAN: You don’t look like much of an enemy.

LI KIEM: But I am, Goldman. And if we get back, we still kill again.

[39:42] Bodies

LI KIEM: You are dragging us to our death.

GOLDMAN: I’m doin’ the best I can, okay?

LI KIEM: So you take orders from your heart. Here, that make you a fool.

GOLDMAN: You know what I saw back there? A Vietnamese family. There was a kid and a mom and a dad, and they were all dead.

LI KIEM: If they had been alive, they may have killed you.

GOLDMAN: No. They were just a bunch of lousy farmers, you know? I mean, it could have been your guys, it could have been my guys. All I know is the first thing I saw when I got my sight back is a dead family.

LI KIEM: That’s the way it is here. We didn’t start the war. It just turned out that way.

[41:01] I Hear Gunfire!

LI KIEM: Our sides fighting.

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Everyone except for us.

LI KIEM: We had our fight. I lost.

GOLDMAN: I'm still not safe yet.

LI KIEM: You leave me here.

GOLDMAN: I can't. You need help.

LI KIEM: I’m dying. Remember where we had our fight and you lose your men?

GOLDMAN: Yes.

LI KIEM: I lose my man, too. Please, leave me here, with my land, my people.

LI KIEM: Enjoy the sunset, Goldman.

[43:35] There's A Chopper Coming In

SOLDIER: (?) Let’s go, let’s go.

HORN: Come on!

SOLDIER: Man, am I glad to see you guys.

HORN: Captain, we’re wastin’ time; we have to find the Lieutenant.

ARMY OFFICER: We’re on our way.

[44:50] Set It Down, There He Is

GOLDMAN: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

HORN: Set it down, set it down! There he is! Lieutenant!

GOLDMAN: Hey! Hey!

HORN: He can see! I knew you’d make it!

HORN: Come on, come on, come on, come on! Come on! I knew you’d make it, man! Come on!

HORN: What happened? Where’s the girl?

GOLDMAN: It’s too long a story, Horn. Just too long.

End

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