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Saints and Soldiers (2003)
This is Armed Forces radio
reporting from London. Today, Supreme Allied headquarters reported American combat troops and aircraft have completely routed the attacking German army at the Ardennes front. American troops have discovered the frozen corpses of over 70 fellow GIs, taken prisoner then fiendishly executed by their German captors. Investigating officers at the nightmarish scene say the massacre happened at a small crossroads near the Belgian town of Malmedy. General Eisenhower has vowed that upon war's end, all German officers and soldiers responsible for this unspeakable act will be vigorously tried for war crimes and swiftly punished. This is Armed Forces radio, London. Ahhhhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahh--Ahhh! Ahh! Stop crying! You're making Dieter here a little nervous. Ahh! Ahhh! I need that. Okay, okay... Thanks. Ah, Zigaretten. I hope you choke on it. Lemon powder. Meine Frau. Du sprichst Deutsch? Ya. Hmm. Bitte-- Hier. Danke. You must be living right, Deac. Halt! Halt! Come on! Come on, this way! Deacon. Out! Heraus! Jetzt! No, don't shoot! Nein shooten! Nein shooten! Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him. I surrender. What are you waiting for? Shut up! Give me the gun! No! Hey, hey! Why didn't you take that shot? Do you know what you just did? Shh! Deac. Come on. Get down, get down low. Oh! What happened back there, Deac? He had a Kraut in his sights and he froze. He's one of ours. Yeah. Get down! Boy, am I glad to see you fellas. Gould, I've been hit. What in the Sam Hill happened back there? I'm Steven Gould. This is Shirl Kendrick, 285th. Gordon Gunderson, Nathan Greer, 101st. Kendrick, hold still. It's just a graze, I can fix you un right here. We gotta get out of here and find shelter before it turns dark. Due respect, Sarge, but I didn't come to the war to hide out. Nobody asked you, Kendrick. Look, we're behind the enemy lines. In a couple of days, the bombers are gonna drive these bastards back to Berlin. For now, they're shooting prisoners, and we got one Kraut rifle with, what? Sheesh. Four rounds left in it. Hell, I just wanna shoot me some more Krauts. We gotta get out of here. Deacon, you gotta go point. This way. Move it. I don't see any weapons. An ambulance. They mowed down a damn ambulance. Deac... Deac... Why don't you, uh, head up the hill and keep watch. I'm gonna see if we can find some stuff we can use, and then we'll get out of here. All right? I hate robbing the dead. They're already been robbed. Just grab whatever we can use. Deac. Put this on. Put it on. I need you at the road checking stuff out. Go on, get. Damn. What? I found some K-rations. And? Some dummy took all the cigarettes out. How long has Deacon been gone? Almost an hour. That's a nice watch, Gould. He's not gonna miss it, trust me. If I catch a bullet, you gonna take my personals too? You don't have anything I want, Kendrick. Except maybe your flashlight. Funny. Hey, Sarge, what's the deal with Deacon? He seems a little...jumpy. Deacon's fine. He's just a little on edge. He seems like a nice enough fella and all, just... He's shell-shocked. I've seen it a million times. Don't worry about it. Yeah, it's just a little frightening. We only have one weapon, and he's holding it. Yeah, we do have one weapon. How did we get that weapon, Gould? Deacon saved my ass more times that I care to think about. He's fine. What'd ya find, Deac? Home, sweet home. Yeah, this will work to hold up in for a couple of days. Deac, I want you on first watch. Let's see if we can get a fire going in this thing. Gould, you got any matches? No. I found the latrine. Like I said-- home, sweet home. Great, this thing's safe. Hey, Gunderson. What's the deal with you and Deacon? You guys separated at birth? Cousins? Deacon's the squarest guy I know. He's from some little backwards town in Arizona. Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke. He doesn't even like coffee. That's why they call him The Deacon. My boys back in the neighborhood-- if they knew my best buddy was a good church boy like him, they'd laugh their butts off. I'll tel you something else about Deacon-- he's the best shot I've ever seen. Where are you from, Sarge? Chicago, south side. Is that right? How about you? Louisiana. Small town. Really small. How about you, Gould? Where are you from? New York. What part of New York? Brooklyn. Heights. I like Brooklyn. Good jazz clubs. Yeah, you want good jazz, you gotta go to the Village. You want great jazz, you go to New Orleans. That's a good place. Father in Heaven, forgive me for the things I've done. I just need-- Stop. This is your card. That's a pretty good trick, Kendrick. Got a jeep coming! Keep going. Keep going, keep going... They're stopping. Gunderson! Hallo! Jemand zu Hause? Ach! Ohh! I-- I don't know. Deac, what'd you get? I couldn't hear 'eh very good. Something about the Meuse River and the plane crashin'. Shh. Bloody, come on! Stand back! I think he's a Kraut. Not a step closer! Don't shoot him. I've got a gun. He's a Brit. Kendrick, go help him down. Stand back! Go. All right now, just calm down. No! Here we go. Come on. Get back! Whoa! Hey, take it easy. Drop it! You drop it! Keep it down! We're Americans. Prove it! What? Who was the third president of the United States? Just put the gun down. Thomas Jefferson. Who was the fourth? Madison. What's with this guy? What's the capital of Vermont? Hartford-- I-- Sarge! Give me a break! Nobody knows that. You tell me! Haven't the foggiest. Sorry, boys. Where's your command post? Used to be that way. Sorry for the trouble. Thank you. Montpelier. About how far back? About 10 to 15 miles. Soldier, who are you? Flight Sergeant, Oberon Winley, Royal Air Force. Oberon... Winley. Look, I am in possession of some crucial intelligence. I need to get to the nearest command center. Buddy, you must have smashed your head on a tree coming down or something. Or a bloody field phone at least. There are no field phones, and you will keep it down. Can we shoot him now, Sarge? Shut up! Winley, where do you think you're going? I was intended to fly back to Manhay. Really? Well, we've had a bit of bad luck around here. A Panzer division went on a spoiling expedition, and we are now behind the enemy lines. This isn't some little spoiling expedition. This is a major German offensive. After the Germans attacked, we were ordered to fly an emergency photo re-con mission to collect electronic intelligence. We were flying under some-- some cloud cover and... snapped some rather revealing photos. But by the time we realized what we had, a German fighter had shot us down. So you need to get to intelligence? Yes. And it's damn critical that I get there as soon as possible. They've punched through... all along here... right where we're thinnest. Why would they do that? If they punch through here, they're exposing their flank. That's right. Unless, of course, they hurry and make it to the Meuse River and cross over. I don't get it. Well, if they cross the Meuse, then they can turn and take Leige. I went through there on my way in. It's got one of the biggest ammo dumps I've ever seen there. It's one of the largest in Europe. And if the Krauts take Leige, they take the ammo dump. Or we have to destroy it. Either way, it's a straight shot for them to take back Antwerp. What is this? This ain't German. Thank you. I have got to get these to there before the Germans cross the Meuse River. It's over 20 miles. As a crow flies, yes. Thank you. And we're supposed to outrun an entire Panzer division, on foot? You know, we could follow this rail line along here and then cut up through here and shortcut them. Could save a lot of troops. Hey... Where'd you learn to speak German? What? Your German-- where'd you pick it up? Oh, in Berlin. What were you doing there? Going to school or something? No, I was a missionary. That must have been neat. Hanging out with a bunch of Krauts talking about God. How is Adolf? I loved it. It was the best time of my life. Hey, Deac. Deac! You wanna see a good magic trick? I need a smoke. Hi. So, Winley... where'd you say you were from, exactly? What is it, Kendrick? You want one of my fags, is that what it is? Well, uh... That's... Hmm. Forget I asked. No problem. How long has it been since you and Deacon have slept? Me--two days. Him--three or four. The longer he goes without sleep... the more he's gonna lose it. Thank you. What is he doing? He's making sure all's clear. Okay, let's go. Move it. All right, look, we've gone about 12 miles. We've gotta stop. We gotta get some shut-eye. All right? We're gonna get moving in a hour. I'm gonna take first watch. No, I got it, Sarge. No, you don't. You gotta get down there and get some sleep. All right? Go. Move it. Careful. Hey, Kendrick, that was, uh, nice work really. Thanks, Sarge. Yes, thank you for protecting us from the birdies. Very decent of you. "Very decent of you." I fell asleep. Well, you're not the only one. What about you? No. You sure you don't want some coffee? You sure you don't want some hot lemonade? What the hell are we doing here, Deac? This is crazy. Yeah, you got that right. I should be home right now. Should be home playing with my nephews, flirting with the girl at my dad's store... What's her name? I forgot her name. And you-- you should be doing... whatever you do. I should be helping my wife get ready for the baby. You didn't tell me you were having a baby. I got the letter on Thursday. She says she knows it's gonna be a girl. Huh. She must be due pretty soon then, huh? Yeah, January 18th. That's my birthday. I know. Huh. Hmm. Thursday--that was the day we hit Essendor. You'll be all right, Deac. We just gotta get Winley to Manhay... win the war, and go home. Hey, Deac. I got some lemonade packets. I'll trade you for a couple of butts. Kendrick, give it a rest. Nobody has any smokes, especially not him. I just need a smoke. I gotta figure out where the hell we are. So, Gould... what's your secret? My what? You know, your big secret you don't tell the other chaps around the campfire. I mean, we've all got them. I'm sure Kendrick here has 10 or 20. Yeah, I don't have one of those. Rubbish. Look, even if I did... why would I tell you? You don't have to tell me, of course. It's-- It's just that we're on this perilous mission together. And I've found that when man can share anything with each other, anything, well, it creates a certain... Esprit de Corps, you follow? Forget it. Righty-o. You can play as you want. I never kissed my wife 'til the day we were married. All right, Deacon. You see, I feel close already. When I was 15, I showed up at school with a shiner and a bloody lip. I told the guys I got it plying stick ball, but I actually got it 'cause I got beat up by Alice Palisky. Alice Palisky. Good. All right, all right, I got one. One time when I was, uh, in high school, I was working on my dad's truck. And I had one of them vacuum tubes-- you know what I'm talking about. And, uh, I figured out that if I held it just so and sucked-- I could give myself hickeys. So I had them all over my neck. And I told my buddies that, uh, that I had a girl from out of town. But, truth be known, I never kissed a girl before, ever. I'm sorry. What's so funny? Sorry, everyone. It's just, well, hickeys, huh? Guess we found a new nickname for Kendrick. Let's go. We're making good time, but we gotta keep moving. So, Winsley, what's your secret, huh? Good grief, you think I'd tell you chaps? I've just barely met you. Is all Brits as charming as Winsley? I don't know. What the hell is he doing? No... Deac! No! Deac! No! No! No! Don't kill me! No, no! Cover his mouth. Come on, right here. Deac, Deacon, Deacon, shh. It's okay. Be quiet. Can you do something for him? He needs a warm place to sleep. Yeah, we don't really have that, do we, Gould? What can you do for him here? Deacon! Deacon! Deacon, listen to me! Do not get us killed! Look at me! Look at me! Open your eyes. Look at me. Relax. Breathe. I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. Don not scream, okay? Okay. Shh. Did you see 'em? Tell me you saw 'em. It's okay, Deacon. It's okay, Deacon. Talk to me. All right. Last Thursday, we ran into some Krauts in a little town in the Elsenborn Ridge. They were pulling out, but this one little bastard was holed-up inside a church. I sent Deacon to take him out. It was dark in there. Somebody took a shot at him. So he threw in a grenade, sprayed the room. Went up and took the guy out. In the room... was two women and six kids. It was a mess. When it was over, Deac just... flipped out. Our C.O. gave me a jeep to have him checked out at St. Vith. We got captured about an hour before you guys run into them at Malmedy. You don't mention this to him. Do you understand me, Gould? All right, what do we do? We keep him talking. We don't let him go off by himself. And please, put that rifle in somebody else's hands. Yeah. 47, 48, 49, 50, 51... C'mon. Damn. What is that? Some kind of code? No, it's the way I write. I hope somebody can translate that. Of course. I can. Are you trying to tell me you're the only person that knows what that says? That more or less sums it up. So us not letting you die would be pretty important? Yes. Great. Kendrick. You got watch. Gonna give you a gun. I'm gonna scout a bit. I'll be right back. That is sick. Yes, I'm sure you prefer to use your fingers. That's much better, Hickey. Very distinguished. That's better than carrying it around in your pocket all day. That good reading? Do you believe in a life after this one? Not a chance in hell. When we first got there, I was working on this kid. He was shot up pretty bad. He kept saying, "Please, God." "Please, God," over and over... like it meant something. He was so sincere about it, I thought it might work. Then two minutes later he was dead. There wasn't a thing I could do about it. When I looked into his eyes... there wasn't nothing there. Nothing. That's when I realized that... this is it. It's funny. What can possibly be funny about that? No, I don't mean funny funny. It's just that, uh... We were just outside Sainte-Mere-Englise. We were getting pounded pretty hard. And I was holding this-- this kid on my lap, and... he was shot up pretty good. And I remember him praying. And I was praying too. Then all of a sudden, he-- he was gone. And that was-- that was it, really. That was the first time that I-- that I really watched somebody die. But right then, I knew that he was-- he was in a better place than that. How convenient for you. Convenient? Yeah, that's what I was just thinking about what you said. Funny, huh? Where you from? Arizona. I know, Arizona. Where in Arizona? Snowflake. Snowflake-- I never heard of it. What do you do in Snowflake for fun? Hunting. What do you hunt? Whatever's in season. So you like to shoot things? Forget I asked. So why do you like the Krauts so much? 'Cause I know 'em. I know that most of 'em are just like you and me. They just wear a different uniform. So Adolf Hitler is a pretty nice fella? Once you get to know him-- it's just a different uniform? That's not what I said. And those guys at Malmedy--they're just like us, except they got different helmets on? If it makes it easier for you to hate 'em, then go right ahead. You know what, if it weren't for them, I'd be finishing up med school and putting a cast on Billy's leg 'cause he broke it on his bicycle. But instead, I'm taking lead out of his 17-year-old brother's gut, 'cause he wanted to serve his country, and he lied about his age. And now he's spitting up blood, lying in the dirt, and asking God to come and save him. It's more than a different uniform. Are they crossed by yet? They must be stalled somewhere in here. Yeah, this weather can't be helping them much. How far is it to Manhay? About 15 kilometers. All right. This weather keeps up, we should be able to beat 'em. Get there by dark. All right. Let's move out. Come on. Ahhhh! Kendrick! Kendrick! Kendrick! Okay, buddy? Okay? Kendrick, can you hear me? We can't do this here! We gotta get out of this. If we stop now, there's no way we're going to make it in time. If we can't move, they can't move. And we can't move! Get him out of here. Come on. We're going, we're going. Careful, careful. Stand right there. Do not move. No, no. You can't sit down. You've gotta keep moving. Get up. Get up. Keep moving. I'm gonna check it out. Winley. Give me your gun. Just stand there, keep your eyes open. I'll go with ya. I got it, Deac. But, Sarge, I can-- Corporal! Don't worry about it. Just open the door. It's okay, okay. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay. I'm American. Put the knife down! Put it down! I don't want-- Put it down! It's okay. It's okay, look, I'm putting the gun down. Okay? Put the knife down. I'm an American, okay? It's okay, it's okay. Okay, put it down. American. American. Yeah. It's okay, fellas. It's okay, uh... This is, uh, this is Madam Thearey. Catherine. Catherine, Catherine. Uh, and this is Sophie. Bon jour. Bon jour. Ah, yeah, yeah, we're all-- we're all Americans. Uh, except for him. He's, uh, he's British. He's from, you know, England. Bien. Merci. Merci. Merci, Catherine. What did she just say? Goodbye... in French. Gunderson. It's 15:00 hours. We did everything we could, Winley. We certainly did. Still... here I sit all nice and comfy, while... You boys have been super. But I'm figuring I best get on with it. Look, if I start now, I can probably get there before morning. Yeah. You could try. I just don't know what your frozen dead body is gonna do for anybody. You can give these to Kendrick if you want. Cheerio. Winley. You let him go. He's not our prisoner, Gould. He's gonna die out there. Yes, he is. Catherine. Bon jour. Bread. Thank you. Winley? Oh, Winley? Yeah, yeah, yeah... Deac? We got company. Oh, Sophie! Catherine... No! No! No, no! No! Hands off! Hands off! You gotta take him, Deac. Deac! Deac, get the Luger! We gotta catch him! Damn! You gotta be kidding me. Did you get him? We lost him. What happened to "dead eye"? I don't know. I just couldn't hit him. Couldn't or wouldn't? Hey, I did not miss on purpose! That's a lie! That's enough! If Deacon says he just missed him, he just missed him. We've got other things to worry about right now. Look what I found! I heard gunshots, so I started back through the woods, and I found this little bugger... kneeling down, praying his little Gerry head off. I say we shoot him right now! Shut up, Kendrick! I'm with Kendrick. Let's shoot him. With his own gun! We don't shoot prisoners, people. Yeah, but he does. Shoot him! Shut up, Kendrick! What's wrong with you? Shoot him! Winley, put the gun down! You will obey my orders! Rudy? What's going on? Deacon! This is Rudolph Gertz from Berlin. When I was on my mission, I taught his family, and I c-- I never miss. Gundy, I didn't hit him... but I never miss. Sergeant. Hmm. Did you give my cigarettes to, uh... Thanks. No problem. So, Winley, why did you come back? I heard gunshots, and I realized I was probably going to die out there. I'm not proud of it. You made a choice. You're still alive. That's good for you. Yes, that's true. It's midnight. Gould, you're up. I see our prisoners-of-war's having fun. What'd he say name was? Adolf. He gives me the creeps. It's Rudolph. Whatever. Hey, Winley, I'll make you a deal. You pick a card, any card, the put it back in the deck. If I can find your card in this deck, you give me one of them smokes. What do you say? Deal. Okay. Got it? Okay, now, you just tell me when to stop. Stop. This is your card. Nope. Sorry, Hickey. This is your card. The French lady is coming. Bon jour, Catherine. Bon jour. Thank you. Thank you all. Allez. Joyeux Noel. Merci. Merci. Frhliche Weihnacht. Frhliche... Deacon! Where is he? Where's the Kraut, Deacon? You let him go. You let him go! No, no, Deacon! Off, off! Let's go, right now! Hey, who had watch, Gould? Who had watch?! I did. But I fell asleep. Then Deacon didn't let anybody go. Yes, I did. What? Come on, what'd you wanna do, Gundy? Take him with us? No, I wanted to shoot him, remember?! What where you thinking? I made a trade. Rudy told me that the weather's pretty much shut down all movement on either side. And that Manhay is in the middle of some of the heaviest fighting right now, so we wouldn't be able to get Winley through anyway. But he also said that an unknown number of Germans are making a push toward this little town, Longin. That's less than six kilometers away. Right. Those are our nearest boys. I think we can make it through to them. Yeah, sure. Through a fully armed Kraut division. We sneak through. I like it. I don't love it, but I like it. And with our full arsenal of two pistols and a bolt-action. Kendrick... you check the back of that rig? It's not much, but we gotta make it count. It's outta gas. The tank's empty. All right. Run it as far as you can on fumes and then ditch it. Take some grenades. What kind of name is Oberon? It's from Shakespeare. You ever heard of him? Yeah. What kind of a name is Shirl? It's short for Shirley. Shirley. Yes, Shirley. Don't get me wrong-- I love the name Shirley. In fact, it's my mother's name. You trying to get us killed? Is that what you think? Marching through enemy lines-- there's no danger there. Yeah, well, it seems like the right thing to do. We die trying. Yeah, maybe. Of course, if someone killed a bunch of innocent women and children this might be a real great way to make up for it, right? Is that what your little Bible tells you? Huh? Is this your penance? You know what? Here. What? Take it. I can get another one. I don't want your book. Really? 'Cause with all your questions, you seem awful curious. Get back in formation. Let's take 'em. Or not. We lay low, keep moving. That's good thinking, Kendrick. What are we, about a mile from Longin? Sounds about right. All right, sun's starting to peek through. Let's go, boys. How you doing? All right. You know, this really is beautiful country. Yeah, I knew you liked her. I think I want to learn French. Gunderson! No! Stay with me, Gundy. Gundy! Gundy, I'm comin'. Breathe, breathe! No... Help him! He's dead. No, he's not. Deac-- He can't... Look...he's gone. Come on, we've gotta go. We've gotta go--now. All right, come on. Come on. Come on. C'mon, Winsley, let's go. I can't. Kendrick, go see if we're still being followed. Go to hell, Gould. Now! You go! Or you too worried about saving your own skin? I'll go. No, you're not going anywhere. Deacon! Deac! They're still all over the place. What do we do now? We're gonna get shot out here. We need to find a place I can work on him. Can he move? Yes. Yes, I can move. All right, follow me. Deacon. Huh? I need your help. Put your fingers in here-- when I open the wound, push the muscle aside. Don't scream. Okay. It's all right. Doing all right, doing good. Open it a little further. I'm trying. I got it. Come on. Almost done. I got it. Ugh. That's it. All right, I got it. You're gonna be fine. Hold still, hold still. Hang in there, Winley. You're not gonna bleed to death. We'll take you to an aid station. Shhh! Krauts. Let's go! Here. Heads up! Come on! Move! Come on! Triples on the right flank! I've got it! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Kesndrick, get Winley outta here! Yeah, go! All right, ready? Move, move! Grenade! Move, move, move! C'mon! Come on. I got him. Stay with me, stay with me. We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it. Shhh... Get out. Go. Fire in the hole. Come on, Hickey. Hang on. Gould will be here in a second. Just hang on. Help... Just hang on, hang on! I'm sorry. Go! Where are they? Right there. Winley! Winley! Where is he? There. Winley! Winley! Winley! Winley! Come on. Winley. Winley, hang on. Winley, come on. Say something! Right here. I can't swim. Is that your big secret? Where's Kendrick? Kendrick's dead. We gotta get these clothes off of him. So what now? I don't know. How's your German? All right. The German line's about a half mile up that way. This road will take us straight through the clearing. Our boys are dug in on the other side. We ready? We get Winley through... save some lives. That's the idea. I hid. I didn't sign up. I tried to dodge the draft. But my father came and found me. Is that your big secret? Huh. Did you get that, Winley? Gould, cover up those weapons. All right, Winley. Look sick. Hang on. Go! Go! Go! What's going on? I can't tell. I think they're trying to make a push. There's a jeep coming from right over there. Better get the Sarge on the radio. Let me see. Foxtrot 2-9er calling Foxtrot 0-2. We got a jeep coming from out of nowhere. Over. Out. That's one of our jeeps. But that's a Gerry flag on the hood. What are they trying to do? I don't know what you got in mind, Gerry. But it ain't gonna happen. The flag! Now! Get it! Hang on a second! American! What is it? We got two Krauts coming in, right there. You okay? They're shooting at each other. You know what, I think the boys are ours. Let's give them some cover fire. Cover fire! Into the trees, on me. I'm out! I'm out! You take Winley and go, and I'll cover you. No, I'm not going to leave you! You go now! No! I'll be right behind you. You saved my life. Be at peace, Deacon. |
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