Transcript: (3x15) The Road to Long Binh

From Bravo 3/44th

Directed by: Steven Dubin

Written by: David Kemper and Carol Mendelsohn

See the Episode Guide

[01.42] Stroll through the base

[02.42] Never eating again

GOLDMAN: Well don't everybody leap to your feet at once.

(Groans)

GOLDMAN: How y'feeling?

TAYLOR: Now I know why pork ain't cosher for ya LT

RUIZ: I swear man, as long as I live I'm never eatin' sweet an' sour pork again

PERCELL: I'm never eatin' again

HOCKENBURY: Y'all have to talk about food

GOLDMAN: Well I'll tell you something the good thing about a little bit of food poisoning is it'll shoot through you in about twenty four hours. Now Taylor you an' Percell are gonna have to go on a prisoner detail for me.

PERCELL: Sure thing LT, you can count me in. Ohhh

GOLDMAN: Forget it Percell

HOCKENBURY: LT I'd like to volunteer

GOLDMAN: No way Doc. Unless you're prepared to carry a weapon and use it, I'll have to count you out of this one. I guess that leaves you Roo.

RUIZ: Excuse me a second LT

[03.48] Glad we ate at Lulu's

ANDERSON: So how's everybody feelin' this fine mornin'?  ???

TAYLOR: Go away

ANDERSON: Taylor, what's the matter with you? I thought you were tough

TAYLOR: Out of my control Sarge.

ANDERSON: Well you know LT, I never thought I'd be grateful that we ate at Lulu's last night

GOLDMAN: Well I hate to be the one to break it to you Sergeant but it looks like I'm gonna have to give you this detail. Let's try an' find somebody who's not so sick to go with you.

[04.20] Just above latrine duty

ANDERSON: Oh come on, it’s not all that bad. Fresh air’ll do you good. You’ve gotta learn to look at the bright side LT.

GOLDMAN: What side is that?

ANDERSON: Well Colonel Stringer said he’ll give you another three day pass when we get back, so nothin’s lost. So why don’t you just sit back an’ enjoy the view here.

GOLDMAN: Sergeant, this is just above latrine duty.

ANDERSON: Yes Sir, but Tien Lin(sp?) doesn’t know that. An’ since we don’t have to pick the prisoner up till tomorrow morning, I figure that gives us a night on the town to ourselves.

GOLDMAN: We’re not on vacation.

ANDERSON: Yes Sir.

GOLDMAN: Doesn’t it tick you off that we’ve gotta go along with all this just to escort some deserter?

ANDERSON: Well Sir, they’re not my favorite breed of soldier either, but it’s gotta be dealt with. An’ I’ve been a member of this man’s army long enough to know that when the brass gives you some time to yourself, you take it.

GOLDMAN: Well maybe you’re right Sergeant, but the brass didn’t exactly give us a three day pass.

ANDERSON: LT, you’ve just gotta learn to read between the lines.

GOLDMAN: What about the detail?

ANDERSON: That’s tomorrow’s business. Now LT, with all respect I suggest we check in with the provost marshal, store our gear an’ then go out an’ do a little ??? for ourselves.

GOLDMAN: Guess we could get a steam an’ a steak.

ANDERSON: Yeah, that’s a real steak too, not that buffalo steak. I didn’t steer you wrong last time did I?

GOLDMAN: No you didn’t. I don’t imagine they have a Lulu’s in Tien Lin(sp?) do they?

ANDERSON: Oh yeah, franchise – drive through.

[05.42] Steak dinner

ANDERSON: Not buffalo.

GOLDMAN: I know that. What is it?

ANDERSON: It’s not bad.

GOLDMAN: 1954 to 1967, this guy’s an army recruitment poster.

ANDERSON: Yes Sir.

GOLDMAN: He’s got more citations than General Westmorland. He’s got Silver; he’s got Bronze; two Purple Hearts and he’s got a fistful of commendations.

ANDERSON: LT, would you like another beer?

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

ANDERSON: Miss – excuse me. Two more beers please.

GOLDMAN: Okay, now we’re cookin’. He assaulted his captain, fractured a couple of his ribs an’ then he went AWOL. He’s been gone for about ninety days. I think we’ve got trouble.

ANDERSON: Yes Sir, he’s already ruining a very good meal.

GOLDMAN: Okay, I get the point. I will close this, I will put it over here. I won’t look at it till tomorrow. Thank you.

[06.50] Talks in the latrines

RUIZ: What kinda guy deserts his buddies?

TAYLOR: A coward

HOCKENBURY: C'mon Marcus, you're the guy all the time telling us we ought not to be jumping to conclusions

TAYLOR: An' I'm right. But a deserter's a deserter

PERCELL: Ahh. Well hurry up

RUIZ: You know, if there was a guy thinking about deserting in our unit, I'd rather have him step forward an’ go home

TAYLOR: What!?

RUIZ: Well better that than in the middle of a fire fight when he's supposed to be watching my back.

PERCELL: Look--uh--one of you guys has gotta hurry, Okay?

TAYLOR: One second Danny. You know Roo, you have a point there man. Take Doc here. He might be a-a-a squirty little long-haired red-necked (pinko???) conchie medic, but I know he wouldn't desert me in battle.

HOCKENBURY: Thank you

PERCELL: Oh hell

HOCKENBURY: Danny, come back here with that.

[07.42] Father told me about your kind

ANDERSON: So tell me LT, what did you think?

GOLDMAN: My father told me about your kind.

ANDERSON: My kind?

GOLDMAN: Uh-hm. You know, lifers. Square jaw, take-it-on-the-chin kinda guys. Hate to break in new officers.

ANDERSON: Well you were better than most.

GOLDMAN: Oh come on! You were just waiting for me to step in it.

ANDERSON: An’ you did too.

GOLDMAN: Yeah I did, but I was following you.

ANDERSON: Well, be hones with you LT, you made a damn fine officer. Half the time I found myself learnin’ from you.

GOLDMAN: Your turn.

ANDERSON: Sir?

GOLDMAN: You know, what did you think of me the first time you saw me?

ANDERSON: No way!

GOLDMAN: Come on Sergeant, come on.

ANDERSON: Well Sir, I remember the first time I laid eyes on you I started calculating how long till my (derost?). Lord take me home.

GOLDMAN: That bad hm? Well, we all gotta start somewhere, right?

ANDERSON: I’ll tell though, a lot of officers, you know, they start out thinkin’ they know everythin’ an’ make a lot of mistake because of that. You were the first officer I met who was willin’ to learn the rules that were not written in the book. Yes sir.

GOLDMAN: An’ I guess I knew I was blessed with someone who could help teach me my job. You did that. You’re a fine leader. An’ I knew that my trust was not misplaced.

[09.42] Letter from Johnson

ANDERSON: Mm, I got a letter from Johnson the other day.

GOLDMAN: Yeah? How’s he doin’?

ANDERSON: Well he’s adjustin’ just fine. He’s enjoying his classes – got him a girlfriend – says he’s put on a few pounds because of his mama’s cooking – and uh, oh, he says he wants to grow him an afro.

GOLDMAN: You know I was thinking about growing an afro when I get home.

ANDERSON: No Sir. Don’t do that.

[10.19] Late start

MARKHAM: Sorry to get you gentlemen off to such a late start.

GOLDMAN: That’s alright Sir, I think we can still make it to Long Binh jail before dark.

ANDERSON: Yeah, LT’s got the road to L-B-J down cold ???

MARKHAM: I would have preferred to get you off at the crack of dawn but this S-O-B jumped out the latrine window- stark naked. Took us two hours to track him down.

GOLDMAN: Well we’ll make sure we cuff him to the back of the jeep Sir.

MARKHAM: I should’ve known when it took five MP’s to bring this deserter in. Don’t let him get away Lieutenant.

GOLDMAN: No Sir, I will personally deliver him to the provost marshal.

MARKHAM: Here he comes now.

[10.55] Little lady'll be OK

MP: Don’t you worry about a thing sergeant. Your little lady’s gonna be in mighty fine hands while you’re doin’ hard time. Matter of fact, our whole company’s planning on adopting her. We’ll keep her employed – if you know what I mean.

MP: Think you were goin’ crazy in that cell back there? Wait till you see the small (little?) ones they’ve got waiting for you in Leavenworth.

GOLDMAN: That’s enough.

MARKHAM: Staff Sergeant Jonathan Digby delivered Lieutenant. Good luck.

[11.46] Remember me?

ANDERSON: You remember me?

DIGBY: Anderson?

GOLDMAN: You know this guy Sergeant?

ANDERSON: Germany – ’63.

DIGBY: Good to see you. You’ve come a long way.

GOLDMAN: Ah, don’t let him get to you Sergeant. And you – shut up.

DIGBY: How long you been in the army? Five days?

[12.19] Puncture

GOLDMAN: How we doin’ Sergeant?

ANDERSON: Almost done here LT. Digby, you seemed kinda familiar with those MP’s back there.

DIGBY: Yeah, we exchanged addresses.

ANDERSON: Oh, you’re a real hard case now, aren’t you? Tell me somethin’. How’d the soldier I knew back in (Weissbarden?) turn into you?

DIGBY: You remember that idealist soldier that collapsed next to you after that thirty mile march?

ANDERSON: Oh yeah. You were a sight to behold.

DIGBY: You tried to tell me that I wasn’t indestructible, that everyone had a breaking point.

ANDERSON: Well, you were full of hormones, grits an’ vinegar back then.

DIGBY: An’ you were right.

[13.35] All aboard

GOLDMAN: Alright Sergeant, we’re running behind. We’re gonna have to take an alterate route to make up some time. Here we go – come on. All aboard.

DIGBY: Couldn’t you find a lower place so I really have to bend over?

ANDERSON: LT, these jeeps weren’t really made for transporting prisoners. Couldn’t we just cuff his hands.

GOLDMAN: We talkin’ about the same man who escaped from the holding pen this morning?

DIGBY: My legs are chained, there’s nowhere to run, you have the weapons. So shoot me!

GOLDMAN: You watch him.

DIGBY: Thanks.

[14.21] Liberates medicine

HOCKENBURY: Okay, Lieutenant McKay helped to--uj liberate some of this stuff from the dispensary for us. Marcus take about--uh two tablespoons of this every six hours. ------ Two every twelve hours. ------ Take two of these every four hours.

[15.15] Heaven

RUIZ: Now I know what it's like to be gut shot.

TAYLOR: If this stuff does(doesn't?) cure me I hope God have mercy on my soul and let me into heaven.

RUIZ: Heaven! You believe in heaven Taylor?

TAYLOR: I don't know any more. So much bad goin' on in the world there can't be too many people up there.

PERCELL: There's a heaven Taylor an' I'm goin' to it.

RUIZ: Oh yeah. What's heaven like Percell?

PERCELL: It's like Baja California, wide open, nature, water. Dirt roads goin' off into nowhere. You can pick a piece of fruit off a tree an' not worryin' about it being a booby trap. Sleep at night lookin' up at the stars, and that noise in the bushes ain't tryin' to kill ya. Yeah, there's a heaven an' that's where I'm goin' when I die.

TAYLOR: Sounds like heaven to me.

RUIZ: Uh-ha, I even speak the language.

[16.27] First time up close and personal

DIGBY: So Lieutenant

GOLDMAN: Hmm?

DIGBY: First time up close an’ personal with a deserter?

GOLDMAN: Oh I’ve seen all kinds.

DIGBY: You wouldn’t know a real soldier if he was sitting behind you.

GOLDMAN: I tell you what. I saw enough back there at the MP station…

DIGBY: The son of a bitch MP punched my wife when they tried to arrest me. What would you do if he punched Carol?

ANDERSON: Carol an’ I got divorced Digby.

DIGBY: Sorry.

ANDERSON: Is your wife Vietnamese?

DIGBY: Yeah, peasant girl, doesn’t speak English. ???

ANDERSON: Did you leave because of her?

DIGBY: Yeah.

GOLDMAN: Great justification for going AWOL Digby.

DIGBY: I don’t have to justify anything to you Lieutenant. I gave fourteen solid years to the army -- three of them in Nam, two of those humpin’ the boonies. Then I re-upped for six more.

ANDERSON: So what are you doin’ here?

DIGBY: I met (Lu Fong?) and changed my mind.

GOLDMAN: You gotta be kiddin.

DIGBY: About marryin’ a Vietnamese?

GOLDMAN: No, about changing your mind. What about your commitment to the army?

DIGBY: What about the army’s commitment to me? I spent two months in the 29th Evac Hospital recovering from my second tour. Four days out, still numb and not giving a damn, Captain Bishop slides re-enlistment papers in front of me - what else am I gonna do?

ANDERSON: So (Lu Fong?) changed your mind.

DIGBY: Not really, when I snapped out of it she happened to be there. Right time, right place.

GOLDMAN: So you left.

DIGBY: No, I didn’t just leave. I explained the situation to Captain Bishop, asked to be transferred back to the States, have my tour shortened. He turned me down. Man’s hated me ever since I survived Operation Morning Star. An’ I’ve been through too much to be treated that way.

[18.27] Mines in the road

GOLDMAN: Digby, what the hell do you think you’re doin’?

DIGBY: There’s mines in the road.

GOLDMAN: Check it out Sergeant.

ANDERSON: LT – NVA mine.

[19.18] Stop for chow

GOLDMAN: That’s affirmative Six, we only found the three but I think the entire road’s mined. So we doubled back, we’re gonna take an alternate route east. This is Viking Four – roger, out.

GOLDMAN: Alright, we’re almost out of time. We’re gonna take thirty minutes, choke back some food, then we’re back on the road. Keep an eye on him Sergeant.

DIGBY: He always this gung ho or does he put his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us. Aw, give me a break!

ANDERSON: Come on Digby.

DIGBY: I bet your whole unit jumps into both legs at once.

ANDERSON: Shut up will you, shut up.

[20.06] Die to make a contribution?

DIGBY: So you think you have to die to make a contribution?

GOLDMAN: All depends on the circumstances.

DIGBY: Look I was there pal, that’s a load of army B-S. Sounds like you and Captain Bishop came out of the same cookie cutter.

ANDERSON: Operation Morning Star?

DIGBY: Yeah,  ??? River. If they had any guts they’d teach it at infantry school “how not to win a war”

ANDERSON: Thirty four dead, three survivors.

DIGBY: Yeah well, Parrish—Parrish is still in the Nut House, Baldwin rotated home an’ got shot by a cop looting a furniture store. And—uh me? No survivors.

GOLDMAN: Look Digby, you haven’t got a monopoly on horror stories. You can’t just make up your own rules and walk away whenever you want to.

DIGBY: You don’t have to understand Lieutenant but if I didn’t go I’d be more of a liability than an asset.

GOLDMAN: So you just broke a couple of your Captain’s ribs on the way out.

DIGBY: Can’t explain it to you LT, can’t explain it. But he deserved it.

GOLDMAN: I’ll be back.

[21.21] What he do?

???: What’d he do?

DIGBY: Deserter.

???: Only in the army. You never hear of any of us Air Force personnel turning tail now do you?

DIGBY: Never heard of any blue-suiters in the trenches either.

???: Why you low life piece of army trash.

ANDERSON: Hey—hey. Think maybe we can keep this friendly this afternoon.

???: Why don’t you stay out of this.

DIGBY: Yeah, stay out of it.

ANDERSON: Don’t push it Digby.

???: Yeah, you started this whole thing anyway, didn’t ya?

GOLDMAN: Are you alright?

???: Those your buddies?

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

[22.26] On the road again

GOLDMAN: Come on, come on. We’re not gonna get out of here till after dark.

DIGBY: I can’t believe how long those MP’s kept us back there at that bar. You’d think they’d believe a lieutenant over an Air Force mechanic.

ANDERSON: Shut up Digby.

DIGBY: Hey that was one helluva left-right we threw at them guys, huh?

[23.19] Time to check in

ANDERSON: LT, it’s about time for us to check in.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, we shoulda been there by now.

ANDERSON: Well we’ll be there in another couple hours.

GOLDMAN: Hand me the radio.

ANDERSON: LT!

GOLDMAN: Damn!

[23.48] Duty to escape

GOLDMAN: Get him back in the jeep.

GOLDMAN: You tell me something Digby, you tell me something. What the hell is the matter with you.

DIGBY: Haven’t you read your Code of Conduct. I’m a prisoner, it’s my duty to try an’ escape.

ANDERSON: LT.

GOLDMAN: Not now Sergeant. You lock him to the floorboards if you have to. Now you listen to me an’ you listen to me real good. If I hear you open your mouth again or you try an’ escape one more time, I swear…..

ANDERSON: LT

GOLDMAN: ……I am gonna lock you…….

ANDERSON: LT!

GOLDMAN: …… to the bumper --- not now --- and drag you all the way there. Have you got me soldier?

ANDERSON: LT.

GOLDMAN: What!?

ANDERSON: LT – easy.

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

[24.52] Friends of Digby

DIGBY: Lieutenant.

GOLDMAN: Shut up.

PRAN: ???

DIGBY: Lieutenant!

GOLDMAN: Put a lid on it Digby.

PRAN:  ???

DIGBY: (Vietnamese)

PRAN: ???

GOLDMAN: What’d he say?

DIGBY: The rains have washed out the main road between here and Saigon.

ANDERSON: We’re way off schedule as it is LT.

GOLDMAN: Yeah. Ask him if we can make it through before dark.

DIGBY: (Vietnamese)

PRAN:  ???

ANDERSON: It’s an hour back to the nearest town.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, this doesn’t look too good. Ask him if we can stay in his village tonight.

DIGBY: (Vietnamese)

PRAN:  ???

[26.07] Commander of local Popular Forces

GOLDMAN: That’s affirmative Six. The name is Pran and he claims to be commander of the local Popular Forces. Break.

RADIO: Roger, we copy.

GOLDMAN: We gonna secure the prisoner. We’ll re-establish contact at seventeen hundred hours. Roger, out.

[26.21] Non violent lunatic

MCKAY: Hockenbury. What are you doing here?

HOCKENBURY: Tryin' to get better sir.

MCKAY: Better? This is where we got sick.

HOCKENBURY: Mind over matter, you know you've gotta get back up on the horse.

MCKAY: You are the most non-violent lunatic I have ever met Hockenbury.

HOCKENBURY: Well thank you sir. Actually, I've always been non-violent, the--uh the lunacy came with Vietnam.

MCKAY: Yeah I know how you feel.

HOCKENBURY: Actually its--uh it's a bit worse than you think sir. I'm beginning to understand why we're over here.

MCKAY: Really

HOCKENBURY: Yeah

MCKAY: Well that's funny ‘cos it's getting harder an' harder for me to see that every day.

HOCKENBURY: Well I guess once you go round the bend, one way or th'other it's time to go back home

[27.15] Chow not ready yet

COOK: Chow ain't ready for another thirty minutes. Come back later.

MCKAY: Oh god

MCKAY: You know Hockenbury, I think I'm starting to feel a little bit better.

HOCKENBURY: Yeah?

MCKAY: Yeah

HOCKENBURY: Well that's--uh kinda good news, bad news sort of thing sir.

MCKAY: Yeah, why's that?

HOCKENBURY: Well the better you feel, the more likely you are to go back there an’ eat.

[27.58] Out of radio range

ANDERSON: It’s no good LT, we’re out of radio range.

GOLDMAN: Well at least they know where we are.

ANDERSON: Digby asleep?

GOLDMAN: Looks like it – I wouldn’t take a bet on it.

ANDERSON: Well, believe it or not LT he was a good soldier.

GOLDMAN: Oh I believe it. He spotted that mine in the road before we did. An’ his record speaks for itself.

ANDERSON: I don’t know what happened to him.

GOLDMAN: Neither do I, but I know what’s gonna happen to him.

ANDERSON: General court martial, two to five in Leavenworth?

GOLDMAN: That’s just for desertion. Wait till they tag on the escape and assault charges.

DISBY [o/s]: Oh --- no---no.

GOLDMAN: I tell you, I—I can’t figure out why a guy would throw away his whole life for just a couple of punches and a few months with a wife he barely knew.

ANDERSON: Aw hell LT, he didn’t do anything our guys haven’t done. His mistake was: he hit the wrong guy an’ he stayed away longer. It ain’t fair.

GOLDMAN: No, it’s not fair. But that’s the army.

[29.17] Hero on TV

GOLDMAN: Sergeant, did I ever ……..

ANDERSON: What?

GOLDMAN: Nah.

ANDERSON: What?

GOLDMAN: Nothing.

ANDERSON: What?

GOLDMAN: Well you remember that time I saved all those people in the bar right before Charlie blew it up?

ANDERSON: Oh yeah, you were a hero on the TV.

GOLDMAN: Well that’s kind of a fine line. You see the truth of the matter was I was pretty drunk. Alex and McKay had---well that doesn’t--doesn’t really matter, but was drunk an I was in this bar. So I pulled out my side arm, cos I was angry, an’ I took a shot right at the dartboard – scared the hell out of everybody in the bar and in about ten seconds the bar was cleared.

ANDERSON: No.

GOLDMAN: Yes.

ANDERSON: Well, d‎’you at least hit the bulls eye?

GOLDMAN: No. I’ll tell you something though. If that bullet had just veered one way or another and killed a civilian, I’d be warming up the cell in Leavenworth for Digby right now.

ANDERSON: Well there are two sides to every story.

GOLDMAN: Yeah – but we’ve got our orders.

[30.25] Not trying to escape

DIGBY: No ---no

ANDERSON: Whoa – hold on—hold on.

DIGBY: I wasn’t trying to escape.

ANDERSON: I know that—I know that. Just take a breath—take a breath. Breathe.

DIGBY: I’ll die if I sleep in that hut. The walls – they close in. Let me stay out here, you can chain me to a tree.

GOLDMAN: Alright—alright, calm down. We’ll find you a place to lie down out here where I can keep an’eye on you. Sergeant, go in and get some shut-eye. I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours. I got the first watch.

[31.18] Next morning

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

[32.14] Walls

DIGBY: Here.  ???

DIGBY: (Zeke?).

ANDERSON:  ??? Digby. Thanks. So—uh, you mind tellin’ me what happened last night?

DIGBY: Ah, it was a bad dream.

ANDERSON: You seemed to be alright once we got you outside here.

DIGBY: Walls.

ANDERSON: I hate to tell you this ol’ buddy, but Leavenworth’s got walls.

DIGBY: So do barracks, mess halls, libraries, offices --- everywhere.

ANDERSON: So what are you gonna do? Run forever, live in an open field?

DIGBY: Thirty seven guys just cruising on the banks of the ??? looking for VC ammo dumps. Cush gig Zeke, just cush. No-one knew we were over the heart of their tunnel complex. Now one minute the jungle monkeys were screeching an’ the next we’re surrounded by hundreds of NVA. My boys panicked. They cut us to shreds.

ANDERSON: Yeah we heard about ???.

DIGBY: I was shot in three places an’ I ran out of ammo when they made they last charge. I pulled one of my men on top of me. I played dead. Then—then those animals, they bayoneted all the bodies an’ I just tried …… not to breathe. I was trying not to move. Then a point went right through Hawkins into my chest an’ I was so scared, I was so angry I didn’t even feel it, but his blood—his blood was everywhere. It was in my nose; it was in my mouth an’ I just---I just started—I started chokin’. Oh God!—Oh God Zeke, there was no air. There was no room. They--they just stayed in the area – must have been an eternity. I don’t think I breathed for hours. And later, in the hospital, I woke up screaming in the middle of the night. They had to put the bed on the lawn. They put a—they put a—they put a freakin’ hospital bed out there on the damn lawn.

ANDERSON: So, d‎’you get help?

DIGBY: Oh, help—ah help, yeah. Army shrinks, they just made a total map out of my mind. Thing is, I had it pretty much under control until that bastard Bishop intentionally assigned me to the supply room. Just walls—the boxes. The guy just laughed at me when I asked for a transfer.

ANDERSON: So you hit him? Well, you get him good?

[36.04] NVA Ambush

VILLAGER: (Vietnamese)

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

DIGBY: NVA ambush. At least fifteen, maybe more.

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

DIGBY: In thirty minutes there’s gonna be a US convoy on the worst part of the road.

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

GOLDMAN: Sergeant, how long do you think it’ll take to make radio contact with MacV?

ANDERSON: About thirty minutes. Not enough time LT.

GOLDMAN: C’mon.

GOLDMAN: Oh dammit. This manual doesn’t go down to frequencies at convey level.

DIGBY: Can’t we just roll the dial an’ try ‘em all?

GOLDMAN: Nah, that’d be a needle in a haystack. Hey these guys are civilian defense. That means they’ve gotta be in contact with the district chief.

== [37.19] You lead - they'll fight.

ANDERSON: Twenty minutes LT.

GOLDMAN: Will your people fight?

DIGBY: (Vietnamese)

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

DIGBY: If you lead, they will.

GOLDMAN: C’mon.

[37.56] Think I'll run?

DIGBY: What d’you say? What you think I’m gonna run?

GOLDMAN: Yeah, that thought crossed my mind.

DIGBY: If it hits the fan, you’re gonna need me. I’d take the chance.

[38.14] Getting in position

[38.50] Here they are

GOLDMAN: Here they are. Looks like they’ve got about three or four attack points (in vehicular ambush?). Oh dammit! They’ve got RPG’s – have a look. Digby, see if Pran can take two guys -- go about forty meters that way.

DIGBY: (Vietnamese)

GOLDMAN: Sergeant, I want you to take the rest of these troops an’ spread ‘em out. Let’s try an’ make ‘em think we’re bigger than we are.

ANDERSON: Convoy’s comin’. No more time.

[40.53] Grenade

DIGBY: LT grenade!

GOLDMAN: Thanks.

DIGBY: Don’t mention it.

[41.27] Cease fire

GOLDMAN: Cease fire! Cease fire! Hold your fire!

CONVOY: Thanks a lot. Alright!

PRAN: (Vietnamese)

[41.49] Compelling story

GOLDMAN: Well Sergeant, that’s a real compelling story. I just hope they take it into consideration at the court martial.

ANDERSON: Yes Sir. You saw him in that hut last night.

GOLDMAN: Yeah I did. An’ if he can’t survive Leavenworth, well they’ll send him to a shrink. Anyway it’s not for us to decide. We’re on a prison detail.

ANDERSON: I know that LT. It’s just that sometimes it seems like the system eats its (young?).

GOLDMAN: Well sometimes it can be a cruel system. But you’ve still gotta be responsible for your own actions.

ANDERSON: Bulls eye!

GOLDMAN: Okay—okay. Let’s think about this rationally. If we leave him out here at some rice paddy farm, how long do you think it’s gonna be before the VC or the NVA or the MPs catch up with him?

[42.42] Gonna go to Australia

GOLDMAN: Sorry.

DIGBY: Hey – regulations.

GOLDMAN: Digby, you did real well out there.

DIGBY: It’s no big deal. Half of those things are duds anyway.

GOLDMAN: Well I wish things could turn out differently. I mean it. And I’d like to testify at your court martial on your behalf.

DIGBY: We were gonna go to Australia. Can’t get any more wide open than that.

[43.32] Back at base

MCKAY: So I heard you an’ Anderson John Wayne’d it out there. Saved a truck convoy or somethin’ like that.

GOLDMAN: That’s right.

MCKAY: And--- how’d you lose the prisoner?

ANDERSON: Well we were outnumbered about ten to one – all hell was breakin’ loose, let me tell you. I mean, RPGs an’ mortars, grenades an’ they were air mailin’ them to us too buddy.

TAYLOR: Sarge, what about them ruff puffs, they pull their weight?

GOLDMAN: Saved our bacon.

MCKAY: An’ how’s Sergeant Digby do?

GOLDMAN: Not bad for a deserter.

ANDERSON: Oh yeah, the man was a hero.

RUIZ: So where is he now?

ANDERSON: Well when the smoke cleared all there was was a mortar hole where Digby was standing.

GOLDMAN: We never did find the body.

MCKAY: Oh come on! No-one saw him after that?

GOLDMAN: No.

MCKAY: Come on!

GOLDMAN: It’s true McKay.

MCKAY: You are such a push-over.

End

Back to top

Back to Transcripts Listing

Talk about this episode in Forum

See the Episode Guide