Hey, did you hear
what happened?
The general went up in the line companies.
A shell got his jeep.
He's in the C.P.
getting patched up.
I had a general like that in the last war,
General McNair. Remember him?
Got hit in Africa
and killed in France.
Top brass is supposed to
use their brains.
They got too much responsibility taking
chances getting their tails shot off.
When you've been in this outfit
a little longer, Buster...
you'll find out it takes more
than brains to be a general.
You got to have
the guts to lead.
- Hello, General.
- Helpyourself.
- Hi, General.
- Hello, Colonel.
What happened to
the 16th Infantry?
The line was out, sir. Finally made contact.
Colonel Taylor will be here any minute.
What kind of shape
is the 18th in?
We're understrength, sir.
Morale's high, but the ammo's low.
Twenty-sixth?
We're chewed up too, sir.
Danger Forward.
General Allen, sir.
Yes, sir.
This is Danger 6.
Soon as Colonel Taylor gets
here, we're in business, sir.
Yes, sir.
They're getting jumpy back at army.
- Hello, Taylor. - Hello, General.
Got pinned down on the road.
- Sniper got my driver.
- Bad?
Dead.
How's the arm, sir?
Still on.
All right, we've been
ordered to withdraw.
The boys upstairs want the whole division
pulled back right away.
What do you think our chances
are of ever getting back to this area?
It'll be rough, sir.
It means getting across this river.
There's a bridge right there at
that point. It's the only exit open.
Then we got to get to that bridge, cross
it and blow it up to give us a breather.
Once we're reinforced, we'll come back and
hit 'em like they've never been hit before.
John, how's the enemy
picture look?
Very strong, General.
If I were the enemy...
and became aware of your withdrawal from
here to there, I'd start a full-scale attack.
The Reds have got
two armored divisions here...
a field division here and elements
of a regiment behind this hill.
Now, once we start moving
along this road to the river...
the Reds are going to form an iron triangle
that'll trap us and smash us in the gut...
unless they didn't know
we were withdrawing.
Well, in that case...
we'll have to withdraw without the Reds
knowing about it.
You should be evacuated, sir.
You're liable to lose your arm.
I'm more worried about losing my division.
Now clean it, dress it, tape it and forget it.
Will you hold that, sir?
There's only one way we can pull this off.
That's rearguard action.
We'll have to put up a front
and fool them.
We'll have to make them think
our rearguard is not a delaying action...
but a forward outpost
to this division's bivouac.
General, the spot is there.
Now, I looked over this terrain yesterday.
The hills are steep
on both sides of this pass...
and the road narrows down so that
only one tank at a time can get through.
All right, if we move down
that road, around that bend...
and set up a roadblock
right here at Bayonet Pass...
we stand a chance.
I suggest we leave
a full regiment to hold the pass...
so the enemy won't suspect that
we're pulling back the division.
Yes, but what happens to the regiment
after the division is across the river?
That might be just as costly for a regi ment
to try to pull back as a division.
We can do it with
a battalion or a company.
It should be a small, specially selected
unit of platoon strength.
Forty-eight of our toughest,
most experienced combat men.
It would mean sacrificing
less men in a gamble...
and an easier withdrawal
for the group if successful.
In other words,
what you're saying is...
if we can make a platoon sound
and look like a regiment, it'll work.
Yes, sir.
Well, that's it. Order the division
to move out right away.
Get me the threes-
Dagwood, Decoy and Dextrose.
Chuck?
This is Vic. Hold on.
Pete? Hold on.
We're waiting for Dagwood.
Carl? Vic.
We're pulling out right away.
Dagwood line of departure-
3-9-5-2-3-7.
Decoy- 4-9-8-3-2-8.
Dextrose- 6-2-7-3-8-4.
Yep. They're here now.
Nope. No time.
Get them on the road.
Somebody's got to get left behind
to get their bayonets wet.
It's tough picking out an outfit,
but it's got to be picked.
- Colonel Taylor.
- Sir?
Pick a platoon
out of your regiment.
I know there's nothing dirtier
than a rearguard action...
especially at
platoon strength.
But in this case, it's 48 men-
unlucky men, maybe-
giving 15,000 men a break.
- Get going.
- Yes, sir.
All right, let me know
if you need any more ammo.
Cover that gun.
Dig those mines in deep.
Charlie, plant a.50 over there.
To your right!
What I don't understand
is why we're on a patrol.
I know the enemy is here. I don't need
any proof. I ain't from Missouri.
- You're from Missouri?
- Ramirez, you don't know
what's going on half the time.
And right now, I don't know what's
going on all the time. Hey, Denno.
The sarge likes you.
Fix it up for us to go back to the pass and help
the platoon throw up the roadblock, huh?
We got to use our heads and make
these Reds think regiment's behind us.
They won't fall
for that kind of mishmash.
Hey, Rock, what if they find out
that the regiment ain't sitting behind us?
What if they hit us with a lot of guys?
Who's going to hold them back, the platoon?
They ain't gonna hit us
with a lot of guys.
They're gonna smell us out first,
try and find out our strength.
We'll run into some small patrols.
Maybe one joker, maybe two, maybe three.
But whatever happens,
we don't want them to find out...
we're just a small rearguard
holding a delaying action.
- Rearguard? That's us?
- Yep.
What is this rearguard?
The object of the rearguard is to
check enemy pursuit and harassment...
and thus allow the main body
to retire unmolested.
- Hey, what did he say?
- He said rearguard.
That how you got those two stripes,
Denno, memorizing the book?
All right, you guys,
knock it off..
Remember, the man on his belly
out here looks like snow.
A man standing up
looks like a man.
Easy.
The minute they spot us, they'll hit us and run.
They won't take any chances hanging around.
We got to make a lot of noise.
We got to sound like a regiment.
Hey, look what I found-
dry socks.
I smell more people,
real close.
Fix bayonets.
You heard the man.
Fix your knife.
Okay, you guys,
spread out and dig for money.
If you don't see anything,
shoot anyway.
Denno, that'll be
your hole. Dig.
A little to the right.
Hold on. Not yet.
That's it. You've got him
balled in the center.
Squeeze the trigger.
Take up the slack.
You've gotta shoot him.
Now, Denno. In the head.
Shoot, Denno.
Shoot him. Shoot.
Why can't I kill a man? What's the matter
with me? Why do I freeze at a single target?
I can fire at a lot of them. I can do
anything the rest of the platoon can do.
I'm not chicken.
I've got plenty of guts.
But why can't I shoot a man?
What's wrong with me?
I've got to shoot him.
Squeeze, Denno, squeeze.
Congratulations, Denno.
Now you've joined the big fraternity.
That was a perfect bull's-eye.
All you got to remember is you're not
aiming at a man. You're aiming at the enemy.
Once you're over that hump, you're
a rifleman. And you've been baptized.
It'll be a lot easier
from now on. Like spittin'.
How are you laying
the antitank mines, Wolowicz?
Crazy quilt pattern,
Lieutenant.
Planting them
way out to that bush.
And the antipersonnel mines?
Lazy-daisy, sir,
covering this whole area...
and both flanks.
All you got to do is
breathe on them and boom!
The guys better be careful
moving around, Lieutenant.
- Make a map of this minefield
and be sure and give it to me.
- Yes, sir.
Lonergan.
- Sir?
- How many people up there?
Nothing, Lieutenant.
- Vogl, do you see them?
- Nothing, sir.
Lonergan, come on down and get these guys
on the ball. I'm checking on the minefield.
We got troubles up here,
Lieutenant.
- Commies?
- Sergeant Rock.
- What's the beef?
- Planting the 75.
Coming up.
This is one of the times it ain't funny,
knowing what to do.
Toughest rap for an officer,
makin'a decision.
You can say that again.
Hey, you went to
officer school, didn't you?
What happened?
Goofed off there, huh? How?
I just figured out I was never cut out
to be a leader of anything.
You're a corporal.
Only three guys in this outfit above you.
Gibbs, Lonergan and me.
Before this mess is over,
you're liable to lead the whole platoon.
Takes three months in O.C.S.
Out here it only takes three seconds...
to be the number one Joe,
the ichiban boy.
Gibbs, Lonergan and me. We could
stop three bullets just like that.
Come off it, Rock.
For an old dog face like you that's
bellied from Tunisia to Czechoslovakia...
there's no bullet now
that's gonna stop you.
Whew! This-
This is some mountain.
This ain't no mountain. It's just a hill.
Ain't that right, Whitey?
It's sheer rock
with ice hummocks...
and a complex
of palisaded ridges...
that only an Alpinist would
undertake to ascend frontally.
- What'd he say?
- He said it's a hill.
Duck!
Two hundred. Zero.
Try one for effect.
Range- 200. Zero.
Smoke.
Shift right, six mils.
Fire for effect.
Shift right, six mils.
Fire for effect.
All right,
take a break.
Medic!
- Medic!
- Wheeler!
Lieutenant!
I found a cave up here!
All right, come on, you guys.
Let's move. Rock found a hole for us.
Come on, Jonesy,
move your butt.
- Haven't you ever been in a cave before,
Sergeant? - All right! All right!
That's a stalactite
you tried to knock down.
Very interesting species.
It's been many years since I've seen
such an elongated pendulous.
It's probably 2,000 years old.
Now they look like icicles,
but most of them are minerals.
This is calcite crystals.
That is a stalagmite.
The counterpart of a stalactite.
Shut up!
All right,
you guys... Hey!
Hey, now, watch your step in here.
This place is full of...
Rocks!
And there's an ice pond
here too.
Come on. Let's see
how far back this goes.
But, Sergeant, there's usually a chasm
at the end of an ice pool.
Unless you want Denno to suddenly
become the new squad leader.
How about it, Denno?
There's a drop down there.
Don't anybody fall in, 'cause ain't nobody
gonna pull nobody out.
All right, you guys,
get that ammo out ofhere.
Take all that stuff.
Get it around the back.
- Take that mortar too.
- Sarge, I don't like my hole.
Oh, Bigmouth
doesn't like his hole.
But there's a great one
way up there.
- Oh, there's a great one way up there?
- Yeah.
I'll tell you what, Bigmouth.
There's a great one way up there.
Now you get out there and get in it. Wait a
minute. Take some of this ammo with you.
Sarge, what's eating him?
- What's your name?
- Bulchek.
Bulchek, huh? Okay, Bulchek,
help him with the ammunition.
Bulchek? Is that a name?
All right, come on. Let's go.
- It's nice layout here, Lieutenant?
- Yeah, not bad.
Except for ricochets, sir.
The scientific principles of ricochet
can be tactically utilized by the enemy...
because the bullet
will be torn and jagged...
by its contact with the walls
and the rocks and the roof.
That scratch you got must be
making you run off at the mouth.
- Why don't you have the medic patch it up?
- I took care of it.
I was quite a medical student
in my day.
Now, if they fire anything in here
that will strike off that limestone...
or that calcium carbonate,
the ricochet-
There goes Mr. Belvedere again.
Knows everything.
You ought to be
a general.
- Well, as a matter of fact-
- Save it! Rock.
Yeah, nice layout here.
Yeah. We got a field offire over
the roadblock and the pass.
Yeah. This will give us
an edge on them.
- See that hummock over there?
- Yeah.
- They'll probably try and work a mortar
in behind it. - Yeah, or a buffalo gun.
Yeah, could be.
To get one smack in the cave...
they'd have to plant an A.T.
gun right in that...
Keep it there!
Denno, cover me!
Hey, Vogl!
You guys asleep up there?
You want my squad
to coverboth hills?
We didn't see nobody.
Lonergan, you know
that second squad of yours?
That's your squad.
Well, they're for the birds.
- How many people up there?
- Only one. Only one.
You want to know something else?
That Vogl? Nothing!
Knock it off,
will you, Rock?
Now listen, Vogl!
Keep those monkeys on the ball!
Take a look around!
Anybody stop one up there?
Yeah. One man.
- Bad?
- Dead.
Hey, Lieutenant! I think we ought
to plant a B.A.R. over by that hill!
We got no lieutenant!
Strip him of everything
we can use!
Roll him up in a blanket,
bury him!
And mark him!
There are only three guys
above you- Gibbs, Lonergan and me.
And now there are only two.
Hiya, Harv. Happy in your work, Harv?
What's the matter? This is better than
that "C" Company in the 17th Infantry.
What are you beefing about?
You're getting experience,
aren't you?
Hey, you, you call that cover?
Belly down. More.
Get some more ammo.
How you doin', Irish?
Any more of those Commies
hit this minefield...
they'll make enough noise
to wake up half of Moscow.
- Plant a couple more
of those trip flares over there.
- Yes, sir...
What are you, a wise guy?
Don't "sir" me.
I didn't mean anything by it, Sergeant.
They told me you was acting platoon leader.
I am platoon leader.
That don't mean I have to sweat out a looey
getting killed just to crack an order.
I've seen these looeys come,
and I've seen them go.
Lieutenant Gibbs
was different.
Yeah, he was a young guy, sure,
but I don't hold that against him.
He was more like a sergeant.
He was on the ball.
- Now you move your butt out of here.
- Yes, sir.
- What's eating him?
- You know those sergeants.
All alike.
Frustrated
second lieutenants.
Making noises like officers.
He's ichiban now.
Big deal!
Number one boy.
Very funny.
Bigmouth, climb out.
Climb!
So I'm frustrated, huh?
Look, Bigmouth, that is
the general direction.
Get out there
about a hundred yards...
keep your eyes open and stay there
till I send a relief.
If you see any people that don't look
exactly friendly, send up one flare.
If they got tanks,
send up two flares.
Oh, and, Bigmouth, be careful of the
minefield. I'd hate to lose you, all right?
Move out, Bigmouth.
Hey, you guys,
on your feet.
Get out there
and spread the word.
One flare, people.
Two flares, tanks.
- Tanks?
- You mean we're fighting tanks?
Spread the word.
Hey, you guys.
Okay up there?
They told me this was
going to be a police action.
Why didn't they send cops?
Sarge.
I've been watching you, Sarge.
I've been watching you out there...
and you came close to stepping in
some of the land mines.
- Come on, Fitz. Will you cut out worrying?
- I mean it, Sarge.
You know, I got used to Lieutenant Gibbs,
and he got it just like that.
So?
Well, I feel like I'm a bad luck piece
'cause I'm getting kind of used to you.
All right,
kill that fire!
- I thought the smoke would go down
that drop. - I cook the hot chow.
- I just want to get some heat.
- Well, kill it!
Bunch up. Heat will
come from your bodies.
Wolowicz,
did you find Lemchek?
Yeah. You were right, Corporal.
He was on the 30.
- He's had it.
- Yeah. What about my helmet?
Oh, I couldn't find yours.
Hey, how come we weren't
issued those stoves?
You're too young
for this kind of luxury.
- You looted that in Germany, didn't
you, Rock? - Yep. Aachen.
- Sarge, you know the fellow you got?
- Yeah. Which one?
The one that got
Lieutenant Gibbs.
A funny thing
about that joker.
When I stuck him,
he made a booming sound.
- Yeah, like a bass drum.
- Yeah. How'd you know?
Well, I heard it.
- What about him, Wolowicz?
- He had an extra pair of shoes on him...
just like my old
bowling sneakers.
- Let's see. - Wolowicz, did he
have any dry socks on him?
I never could figure them Chinese.
Well, you know what I heard? I heard they're
doped up before they're sent into charges.
Oh, it isn't a question of opiates.
Now as a student of atavism-
What a crock! Mr. Belvedere
knows everything. Ha! I need a fumigator.
You've been around
a lot, Whitey.
When you get out, are you going on another
safari to Africa in your private plane?
No. All I want to do
is roll a couple of lines.
You mean, you like to bowl?
Wolowicz, there's nothing like
the thrill of a good, clean strike.
Good, clean strike. Instead of pulling that
dope's leg, why don't you drop dead, Whitey.
- Give your mouth a 10-minute break.
- Is that an order, Corporal?
- If you're looking for a fight,
there's a lot of people outside.
- Let's go.
- Who's gonna follow who?
- Meaning what?
- Whatever you think it means, Corporal.
- I think I'll slap your ears in.
There they are.
You bucking for his stripes? You want him
to get busted for taking a poke at you?
'Cause if he does, I didn't see a thing.
I'm snow-blind.
What's the matter with you, Mainotes? We've
got a good cover here. Ain't you happy?
I just don't
like that guy.
Well, then why don't you
get a transfer?
They got the buddy system now.
If you got a buddy, they'll put you
both together in the same outfit.
I got a buddy
in Pittsburgh.
She's a blonde and operates
her own pool hall.
Tell me, Sarge, whywere we picked
for this job?
Regiment's saving the cream
for the rougher stuff ahead.
Cream? Well, what are we,
skimmed milk?
So far,
we've just been lucky.
They blew them horns
to make us jumpy.
They knocked us off the hill
to see if we'd answer back with artillery.
They shellacked the pass
hoping we'd start a rout.
But we're still in luck.
Know why?
'Cause they think
we're the whole regiment.
So far, we got them fooled.
I wonder how long it'll be
before they get wise to us.
When you hear a tank, that's the main
event. That means they're wise to us.
A tank means they'll hit us with
more tanks and a lot ofpeople.
A tank means they'll push through us
like we were a paper bag.
So until you hear one,
take it easy.
We'll each take
two hours on O.P.
When I come off, it'll be time
to pull out for the bridge.
- Who's relieving Ramirez?
- Denno.
So you're putting
the corporal to work, huh?
Corporal's got to be able to do
something besides draw extra pay.
How did you get those stripes, Denno?
Dog rob for the colonel?
Only three things you got to worry about
in the infantry-your rifle and your two feet.
Pull off your boots and your socks.
Both pairs.
Come on. Bunch your canal boats
together like bananas.
Massaging's good
for beetle crushers.
Yours is purple, Denno.
Next, it'll be blue,
then trench foot, then frostbite.
Then they got to be chopped,
all 10 of them.
You've got to rub
harder than that. Here.
All we've got to worry about's where the Reds
are gonna hit us from in the morning.
If we can draw their fire without
losing a guy to locate their guns...
that's using our noodle.
- How's that?
- I don't feel anything.
Oh, yeah?
- Feel that?
- No.
Doc, come here.
Take a look
at Denno's foot.
You got it bad,
Corporal.
Hey, you better start
stomping around on that, Denno.
Get the blood circulating.
That one always
did go to sleep on me.
Let's hit the sack.
Whatever made you
stay in the army?
You woke me up
just to ask me that?
Well, I've been meaning to ask you,
but I just never got the chance.
Get some shut-eye before those
people start hitting us again.
- You want to gab, huh?
- Yeah.
That's something I been trying
figure out myself for a long, long time.
What makes a guy
stay in the army?
I wish I knew the answer.
Some of us 'cause
we're dumb, I guess.
Some are poor.
Some are a little lazy.
Some of us got some vanity.
Know what I mean?
Some of us old pros stay in even when we
know that after the fighting's over...
some of us will rest in peace
and rot in hospitals.
Even when we know all that,
we stay in 'cause-
I don't know.
It's hard to explain.
Maybe it's something
that just happens to you.
Maybe it's the pension.
I wish I knew the answer.
- I don't want to be a corporal.
I want to get busted. - You what?
I always wanted to lead.
When I was in officers' school,
I was head of the class.
They said I had the makings of a leader-
the education, the brains...
the knack of solving
tactical situations.
And one day, we had a problem with
live shells. We had to knock out a tank.
There was a red flag there warning
not to send any men in that area.
I was in command
of the platoon.
I don't know
what happened, Rock.
The minute that stuff started flying through
the air and I had to deploy my squad...
something happened
right in the pit of my gut.
I got panicky and I sent a squad
to the danger zone.
Four men were hit,
one seriously.
I was there when
they amputated his leg.
They gave me another chance. Again I got
into a sweat the minute I had to give orders.
Then they found out
what I'd known all the time.
I can take an order.
I can't give one.
Some men are afraid of high places,
some are afraid of water...
and some are afraid to be responsible
for the deaths of a lot of other guys.
That's me, Rock.
I don't want to
carry that load.
Yeah. Well, a lot of guys
sweat out leading an outfit.
I mean, nobody goes out
looking for responsibility.
Sometimes you find it whether
you're looking for it or not.
But I'm not looking for it.
It takes brains to be a leader.
I'm just smart enough
not to want any part ofit.
Even a two-striper like you,
you'll find out.
It takes more than brains
to be a corporal.
You got to have
the guts to lead.
Look, I'll do my job.
It's just... I don't want to
lead, that's all.
Hey, take it easy.
I ain't promoting you.
Lonergan and me,
we'll be around for a long time.
Ain't no burp gun fast enough
to cut down an old doggy like me.
If anything happened to you,
Rock, I'd pull out.
Look, don't suck around nobody
in the army for apron strings.
That's all you got
to depend on.
You take care of her,
and she'll take care of you.
You're over the hump.
You're a rifleman.
You're wrong, Rock.
I didn't shoot that Red.
Jonesy did.
Oh, well, there's
a lot of Reds out there.
You'll get plenty of chances.
- One flare.
- One flare dead ahead.
Hey, Rock! People!
Commie medics pulling
back their casualties.
Just because they shoot our medics
don't mean we have to shoot theirs.
Hey, down there!
Hold your fire!
Denno, come here.
Go on up
and relieve Ramirez.
Hey, you jokers, did you hear me?
I said hold your fire!
Denno. Lonergan.
Do you see anything?
- No. Nothing.
- Vogl?
- No. Nothing.
- Vogl?
- Vogl, you see anything?
- Nothing.
Now, why do they blow
them bugles?
Sometimes, it's to herald
their armed approach.
Mostly, it's to confuse and frighten us.
It's a psychological trick.
Hey, they're blowing "Taps."
That's our own call. They stole our music!
No, that's not our "Taps."
That's a Chinese reassembly call. Listen.
It ends on the same three
mournful notes.
I don't like that tune!
- Let's stop the music! - Wait a minute.
Theywant to suck us out there.
Whitey, you know
all about them horns, don't you?
- Yeah, Sarge, I do.
- Yeah?
- You go out there and get me one.
- Me?
Sure, Mr. Belvedere.
You know all about everything.
Wait a minute. That's one thing
I don't know anything about.
- I'll go with you, Whitey.
- Okay, both of you. Move out!
Hey, you guys going out
to relieve Bigmouth?
No. We've got to get a Chinese bugle.
You got one on you?
Look, wise guy, that minefield
starts right here.
- I can walk through it with my eyes closed.
- Some other time.
No. I'm on the level about getting
that Chinese bugle.
- Say, Harvey?
- Yeah?
- How'd you like to make a fast five
dollar bill? - How would you like-
Save it.
Come on.
I'm beginning to know
that tune.
I made that up myself.
- Hey, wise guy, are you a full-blooded
Cherokee? - That's what they tell me.
All right, you guys, relax.
We got O.P.'s all over the place.
Whose coffee is this?
- Who belongs to this coffee?
- Not me.
- Oh, thanks, Rock.
- Here.
You wanted it hot. Who's next?
Hey, Doc, need any
hot water over there?
Yeah. I want to shave away
some hair near this wound.
- Here, take mine, Doc.
- Not with the coffee.
Get him down.
The kid had a tough time taking it away
from him. He didn't want to give it up.
We couldn't find Bigmouth.
Lonergan! We got one
of those commie bugles up here!
Keep those guys quiet
down there for a minute!
All right,
who can play a horn?
- I'm no Gabriel.
- Whitey does enough blowing for a regiment.
Blow it!
Now those little weasels are running around
trying to figure out what's happening.
Lonergan!
That ought to keep 'em confused for
a while, huh? Psychological warfare.
Yeah, yeah. Real psychological.
Who's doin' all that blowin' up there?
Whitey! Hey, he says he didn't
see Bigmouth out there anywhere!
Hey, Lonergan!
- You goin' out after him?
- I sent him. I'll bring him back.
You take over, Rock!
That's psychological.
- And where do you think you're going?
- I'm going with you, Sarge.
Oh, you are? You said so
yourself you're bad luck, didn't you?
What are you trying to do, get me killed out
there? Besides, I'm beginning to like you too.
- He needs blood, fast.
- Well, what are you waiting for?
We only had six bottles
for the platoon.
A shell got them
at the roadblock.
Will it match?
Yeah, same type.
Bigmouth?
Bigmouth, wake up.
It's Lonergan.
- Where was I hit?
- Oh, you're hit?
You wasn't hit.
You're frozen.
Here's your piece.
Can you belly? All right, come on.
Let's belly.
Gee, Sarge.
- I bet they have to cut my legs off.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
How you feeling?
You think you can make it now?
- Yeah.
- You think you can walk?
- I'll try.
- Huh? Okay. Come on, let's try it.
All right, kid, get on your feet.
Come on, hurry up.
Now, come on. Stamp on your feet.
That's it. That circulates the blood.
Stamp on 'em!
Shove off!
Hey! Where's the sketch
of the minefield?
I gave it to Lieutenant Gibbs.
I took it off
the lieutenant.
- Good. Give it to me.
- Lonergan's got it.
Oh, that's great. Lonergan's lying out there
hit, smack in the middle of the minefield.
I can point out where I buried 'em.
Well, what are you all
staring for?
You know who's got
to go out and get him.
Keep him bundled up, Wheeler.
And see if you can clean up
this mess without passing out.
Medic.
That puts you
in charge of the platoon, Rock.
Lonergan's in command
as long as he's alive.
Come on, Denno. Let's go
cover the noncombatant.
Medic or no medic, I wouldn't
go in that minefield for nobody.
Don't nobody come out to get me,
you hear? Nobody. That's an order.
- I'll get him.
- Okay, Denno. Anything to keep
Lonergan alive, huh?
Okay, go ahead.
- I didn't know Denno had that kind of guts.
- That's why he's a corporal.
Denno, I'm warningyou.
Get back. You'll blow us both up.
Get your hand off.
It's an open wound!
What are you trying to do,
give me blood poison?
Put your head down.
All right. Up.
All right, kid.
Take it easy.
Follow your own footprints.
Take it easy, Denno.
Steady, kid.
Watch that open wound,
will ya?
Wheeler, get to
work on him!
- What's the matter?
- I'm no doctor.
- You're a medic. - No, I-I'm a
litter-bearer. I don't know any-
Wheeler, you're a disgrace to the medics.
You, you're no medic.
You're a chicken-wired,
chicken-hearted jerk!
All you had to do was make a gesture
to help him. That's all you had to do.
It was good try, Denno, butyou're out
ofluck. You were carrying a dead man.
Jonesy, strip him of everything we can
use. Gimme the sketch of the minefield.
A lot of good
that's gonna do.
Roll him up in a blanket,
and bury him.
And mark him!
Only one to go.
- That's great, Whitey. - Hey, Whitey,
that louses up your perfect 300.
Hey, Whitey, let's-let's
see you roll in Brooklyn.
Say, pin boy.
Set 'em up.
It's like anything else, Wolowicz.
Women, liquor, horses.
As long as you know how to
handle them, you can beat them.
All right. Here. Let's see you
knock down one pin.
With this guy, I think we better
set 'em up in the gutter.
- Yeah, to make sure that he hits.
- Don't forget to let go of the ball.
He couldn't bowl his way
out of a paperbag.
- Oh, what a guy.
- Send him back to the kitchen.
- He's a rush a lineJoe. - You bowl
just like you shoot. That's lousy.
- Let's see how good you are.
- I think he stinks.
Hey, Denno, get me the helmets
and weapons of those dead guys.
It worked.
We spotted their gun.
You guys set?
Our tongues
are hanging out.
3-5-0, right.
3-5-0, right.
You knocked out their gun.
- How about those people, tried to get
through? - There's lots of them there...
but they're all sayonara.
Send up Bigmouth, Zablocki,
Griff and Bulchek from the third squad.
That means they'll probe
every area with mortar.
- How do you figure that? - Well, they
just scouted with mortar, didn't they?
Or did they send out people first?
It means they got plenty of mortars.
That was smart drawing fire
with guys made out of snow.
- Plenty smart.
- Yeah, you build a good snowman, Jonesy.
Yeah, you going to make statues
when you get out, Jonesy?
- I'm staying in.
- You like the army that much?
It's better than anything
else I can think of.
Everybody's always worried about
coming out of this.
- Who cares?
- I care.
You'd care too, Mainotes, if you
had a reason for coming out of this.
All right, knock it off,
and go back to the cave.
Go on, Fitz.
I'll be right with you.
Denno. Come here.
Like ice. Look, Denno,
I know you're a brave Joe.
It took guts to go
down there and get Lonergan...
no matter what
your personal reason was.
But it takes more than guts
to stay alive in this business.
You've got to get over
that big hump.
There's eight bullets in that clip.
That means eight dead Reds.
I ain't asking you to
use a clip to kill eight men.
I just want you to kill one man,
even if you've gotta use the whole clip.
But kill him!
Now, getyourtail
down there.
When dowe get a crack
in that cave, Rock?
- Yeah, we're putting in for transfer
to your squad. - Shut up!
You guys want to move in that cave,
you let me know at 9:00...
and I'll hand it over to you,
swimming pool and all.
- What's eating him?
- You ask him!
Never mind asking anything.
I'm telling you.
You guys better
stay on the ball.
These Commies take 10 hours
to belly 10 yards without being seen.
And don't relax for a minute, or you'll
wake up with a bayonet in your back.
They move in fast.
They move out faster.
It'll happen all of a sudden,
without a sound.
Keep all points covered.
- I told you he was favoring 'em.
- What's behind that crack?
Some of the guys think you're
playing footsies with your own squad...
- since you took over the platoon.
- Oh, some of the guys, huh?
You see that?
That's Jonesy's ear.
Got shot off a couple
of minutes ago.
Hang onto it to remind you
how I'm playing footsies with my squad.
So that's Jonesy's ear.
- Are you sure?
- Sure, I'm sure.
Hey, ain't
that right, Fitz?
- Sure. - Hey. Fitz, did you
hear him say he smells 'em?
- Yep, that's what I heard.
- Well, that did it.
- Is that bad?
- Bad? You know, they used to say...
an Indian could put his ear
to the ground and hear the enemy...
but Rock,
he uses his nose.
He sticks it up in the air and...
- he can smell a Red a mile away.
- I guess some guys are born with it.
No, it's a mixture
of training and instinct.
- I used to have a nose for winners
at the track. - What time is it?
It's a little
after 7:00.
We'll be moving out soon.
Hey, Fitz.
Griff. Are ya sure you don't
see anything out there?
Look, Rock, we got
eight eyes up here...
and there ain't an inch of snow
we don't know now by heart.
Yeah. Well, the smell's getting stronger.
Don't relax for a minute.
Bulchek didn't mean that crack about
your squad. W-We were just riding you.
Forget it.
- How's Jonesy?
- Okay.
I got it here
in my pocket, Rock.
I thought maybe
they could graft it on.
Throw it away.
It's tore up too much.
Vogl?
You asleep up there?
Between you and this quiet,
Rock, you're getting us jumpy up here.
You got a reason to be.
They're so close now they stink.
What're you trying to do?
Take 10 years off us? We don't see nobody.
- Hey, Griff.
- There's nobody out there, Rock.
We keep lookin'any harder,
we'll get snow-blind.
I been through this before. There's
something cookin' on that Commie stove.
Nobody out there, Rock.
I think I spotted
a movement out there...
about 200 yards to the left
of that little hill.
It looks like a Chinese hat.
Do you see it?
Are you looking?
Griff, can you hear me?
Griff, what's the matter with you?
Griff,
what's the matter with you?
Hey, Griff...
Do you smell anything?
What does he mean it stinks?
I don't smell anything.
Are you looking?
Griff!
What's the matter
with that radio?
Denno, I'm going up
to check on Griff.
Let's go!
Medic! Medic!
Hey, stay away from back there.
There's a deep drop there.
I've been hit.
- Start cuttin'.
- I can't cut it myself.
Sure you can.
Here's your chance to be a real medic.
At least they can't
hit us in here.
You know what I think? I think they're
trying to knock off that top ledge.
And then they'll drop one
on the lower ledge...
and hope that the fragments
get us inside.
That's what I think.
What's the idea? You crazy?
You want to blow your top?
Well, go out there
and blow it.
Haven't you ever
heard of telepathy?
- Telepathy?
- Telepathy.
It means if you think something hard enough,
the thought waves go through the air.
Sometimes they go this way.
Sometimes they go this way.
Sometimes they go
straight up.
If you think hard enough,
the thought wave...
is gonna hit them up there,
and they'll do it.
All right!
So I'll think of dames.
They must've read your mind, Borcellino.
They're trying to hit that ledge.
- Let's get that stuff inside!
- Hey, come on, you fellows!
You heard the sergeant!
Hey, you, Big Deal! Come on.
Move that lead in there. Come on.
What time you got?
Almost 8:00.
We gotta hold till 9:00.
That's what the colonel said.
Look!
I did it myself.
Look. I cut it out. Me!
Thanks, Jonesy.
Look at the size of that!
I didn't know
I could handle a wound.
Say, I'm a surgeon.
- Look.
- Okay, Wheeler...
then come on overhere,
and give me one of them knife jobs.
What are you
waiting for, Doc?
Jonesy.
Hey, you know what
I'd do if I was a Commie?
No, what would you do
if you was a Commie?
I'd plant myself right in the middle
of that hill out there.
Then all I'd do is fire one bullet
smack into this cave.
Just one bullet. I know
ricochet'd do the rest.
Ricochet's
for the birds.
Well, I guess you're wrong.
Nobody was hit by that ricochet.
I was right.
- Where?
- It's in my gut.
We'll get it out, Rock.
Maybe it was spent by the time it hit you.
- Maybe it's not in too deep.
- Don't get your tail in a roar, Denno.
I ain't dead yet.
Every Red out there is out of action.
We make sure this time, Rock.
Tell Denno he's in charge now.
You're in command
as long as you're alive.
Denno, you got the command now
whether you want it or not.
- It's all yours.
- You're gonna live, Rock.
I'm dead.
Listen, Rock.
I'm no good without you.
Remember what I told you.
Killing's a business.
It'll be a lot easier
from now on. Like spittin'.
Rock.
I told you.
I'm dead.
Strip him of everything
we can use.
Roll him in a blanket...
and bury him.
And mark him.
- Let's bug outta here!
- I'm for it.
All right. You carry that 30.
I'll carry the tripod and ammo.
Yeah, by the time we get to that ridge,
regiment'll be across it.
If we pull out now, they're liable
to over run us on the road...
and slaughter the tail
of the regiment.
- We're supposed to stall 'em.
- Who made you platoon leader?
Look, I got the same
rank as you, Denno.
- I'm a two-striper from way back.
- Yeah!
Way, way back.
I saw you at
the Naktong.
You had buck fever like
no guy I ever saw before.
You're like a lot of guys
in the army.
You can shoot at something
you can't see...
but when it comes to picking out
a single target, you can't shoot.
I don't want no buck fever squaw woman
telling me what to do.
Corporal or Lieutenant
or Sergeant-
Whatever they call you,
Denno. Who cares?
Two-striper,
three-striper, 10-striper.
Rock made you the ichiban.
You name it, and I'll do it.
Well, I ain't hanging around here
to be chopped into Chinese rice balls...
washed down with
that Russian tea.
You guys follow me.
I'll get you back to the bridge.
- He's right!
- I ain't winding up in a sack
in this middle of nowhere.
Shut up!
We've gotta
hold here till 9:00.
- Says who?
- Says the colonel.
Look, when you start wearing
eagles on your shoulders, look me up.
I'll clobber the first guy
that tries to bug out.
- You know, I still think that we oughta-
- Dry up!
Big Deal, you better
watch your step...
or the corporal's gonna
send your scalp to Uncle Joe.
No, Corporal, you didn't
ask forit. Butyou got it.
It's all yours.
You're the ichiban boy now.
If it keeps up like this
till 9:00, it's all right.
But what if they hit us?
What'll I do?
Will I really be able to lead these guys
in a fight? Have I got what it takes?
When I get out of this...
I'm gonna open up a bowling alley
with Whitey.
I'll build me a big swimming pool
and fill it with hot water.
Just move right in
and live in it.
Always worried about
coming out of it, these guys.
For what? Who cares?
Gibbs, Lonergan, Rock.
With my luck, I'll lose Denno ifwe
don't pull out of here right away.
"Dr. Wheeler."
That don't sound bad.
Dr. John Wheeler,
Surgeon. Yeah.
I kind of like
the sound of that.
How can I get that extra pair
of dry socks out ofhere?
If he likes coffee,
maybe I can make a deal.
If that guy's thinking
of getting his hands on my socks...
he's crazy.
I wonder what he's
gonna do when he finds out...
I'm wearing his dry socks.
Okay! Well,
I'm all set!
Go up and tell those guys at O.P.
to come down at exactly 9:00.
Hey, you really are going by the book.
What're you bucking for?
- Get your butt up there.
- All right-
- Go on!
- All right!
Move the casualties down first.
Come on. Everybody's in the act!
Go out there,
and keep your eyes open.
- Get everything down from up there?
- Yeah, everything.
Okay. Hey, Big Deal!
- Did you take care of that?
- Yeah, we buried them all.
Let's go!
When you hear a tank,
that's the main event.
That means they're wise to us.
A tank means they'll hit us...
with more tanks
and a lot of people.
They're sending a guy out
in front of the tank.
You know what that means. It means
they're gonna blow up the minefield...
knock out our roadblock,
then that joker's...
gonna come out here to see if we got an
antitank gun planted around the bend.
If we can knock out
that tank right here-
right where we're standing-
- and make a roadblock outta her...
- Yeah.
If we could suck that guy out here
where he don't smell us...
we could knock out
that tank right here.
Right on this spot.
We gotta do it.
Jonesy, be sure you
camouflage that 75.
And hide the bazooka. Hide it good, huh?
And Jonesy. Come here.
I don't care if that tank gets close
enough to spit right in your eye...
you wait for my burst
before you let her have it, ya hear?
You wait for
my burst. Okay?
Wheeler, get 'em around the bend there.
No, way around.
Jonesy,
remember what I said.
Wait for me.
Mainotes,
keep your head down.
- Hold your fire! - We'd better open
up. He's gonna walk over us.
Everybody opens up
when I fire.
We did it!
Jonesy. Hey!
Beautiful shot!
I thought you'd never fire.
I gotta hand it to you, Corporal.
That took guts.
All right, let's pick up that 75
and haul out ofhere.
Hey, Wheeler, get those casualties
started towards the bridge.
The rest of us will
cover ya and follow.
Well, go on!
Head for the river!
All right, come on, you guys.
Let's go.
Lieutenant,
I think I hear 'em coming.
Yeah. Yeah, there's some people
out there in the river.
Pass the word down
to alert.
Could be the rearguard?
Yeah, it could be
the Reds too.
Who's there?
Wait a minute.
Who's out there? Speak up!
Rearguard.
Ain't nobody goes out
lookin' for responsibility.
Sometimes you get it whether
you're looking for it or not.
You ain't a corporal
for nothin'...
Corporal.