Windtalkers (2002) Movie Script
Charlie!
Watch out!
My hand!
Goddamn!
We're running out of ammo.
We gotta get out of here.
Move!
Come on!
Come on, you can do it! Come on!
We got nothin', Enders!
We're out of ammo!
Joe... Nobody else needs to die.
We can go! We can get outta here!
We got orders!
They told us to hold the position!
And that's what we're gonna do!
Get up, marine!
Hold the goddamn position!
Come on!
Get down!
Tommy.
Goddamn you!
Oh, no! No!
- Bill!
- I'm out.
Come on! Come on!
Goddamn you, Joe Enders.
No... No!
No!
Raise your right hand.
- I... State your full name...
- I, Ben Yahzee...
Do solemnly swear to support and
defend the constitution of the US...
Against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
Jap Ha-Go. Who can give me
the code word for "tank"?
Come on. You boys
wanna be codetalkers.
Show me some brains. Think!
What do we call a tank?
Chay-da-gahi.
Tortoise. Good.
Artillery. Code word?
In code. Private Whitehorse.
Be-al-doh-tso-lani?
Very good.
Japanese Zero. Code word?
We can go! We can get outta here!
They told us to hold the position!
Nice day, huh?
Joe?
Joe.
Didn't hear a word, did you?
That's what happens to a man
when he's talking to a beautiful woman.
It happens when you're
not watching my lips, Joe.
Watch this.
You're a mess, Joe.
You're not fooling anybody.
No, Rita. He's a mess.
I'm getting better every day.
You got a perforated eardrum, Enders.
Your equilibrium's all screwy.
You can't go back to war
if you can't stand up.
Let's go, marines. This war
ain't gonna wait forever. Let's go.
Joe...
Why don't you just stay here, Joe?
Somebody's gotta keep
the WAVES company.
Are you gonna help me or not?
Marked improvement.
And his left ear is the worse of the two?
It's... amazing.
TBY hasn't got the range of the TBX.
So you may need a relay to get
your transmission to command post.
But what it really comes down to
is speed and accuracy under pressure.
Transcribe now.
Victor, Victor. This is X-ray. Over.
Damn it! We got a unit under fire!
We're losing men.
I need this message decrypted.
"Request fire support. We have target
at one-one-niner, Baker one-five. "
"Pillbox with heavy machine gun.
Fire at will. "
Beginner's luck.
You're up, mac.
- Corporal Enders reporting, sir.
- At ease.
You've done well as a marine, Corporal.
Better than you did as a civilian.
Stole a motorbike, crashed it.
Got kicked out of high school.
Assault and battery...
on one Father Crispin O'Donnell?
A priest?
Assistant principal at Archbishop Keenan
High School, sir, and head disciplinarian.
Public-school boy myself.
Some minor problems in boot.
A commendation for valor in Shanghai.
And you made a hell of a stand
on the Solomons.
Tough bit of business there, huh?
Pretty tough, sir.
But you're prepared
to jump right back into it?
Yes, sir. Very much so.
Very much so.
Well...
The Japs have pretty much busted
every code we've thrown at 'em, Corporal.
You men on the Solomons
were lost to a broken code.
Tell me something. You ever
run into any Indians on the Solomons?
- Indians, sir?
- Navajo, to be exact.
The Corps has developed a new code
based on their language.
It's had quite an impact.
So much so the navy have decided
to go to great lengths to protect it.
That's why you're here.
You're to pair with one of them,
keep his ass safe.
Your job is to keep him alive
so he can do his job.
Begging the major's pardon, but I believe
I'd best serve the Corps killing Japs,
not baby-sitting some Indian.
Enders, we didn't pick
your name out of a hat.
We need good marines.
That's why you're standing here.
Take a look.
It's a Navajo. Or it was.
Tortured to death by Japanese
intelligence trying to bust our code.
Fortunately, he couldn't help them
even if he wanted to.
- Sir?
- Man's a Navajo, not a codetalker.
Code's based on their language,
but it is still a code.
Tojo would like nothing more
than to catch a live one.
What I'm about to tell you, Corporal,
cannot leave this room.
Under no circumstances can you allow
your codetalker to fall into enemy hands.
Your mission is to protect the code...
at all costs.
You understand me?
Yes, sir, I do.
Good.
Congratulations. You just made sergeant.
Keep those hands vertical.
Way to go, marine.
Fortino, take over.
Hey... That was you, right,
sitting in front of the major's office?
Yeah. Listen, I'm Pete Henderson.
They call me Ox.
Not cos of my big muscles or anything.
I'm from Oxnard, California.
Just north of Hollywood a ways.
So you're with JASCO too, huh?
Hey, know where we might find
No fuckin' idea, mac.
Thanks. Thanks a bunch.
They've never seen so many Navajo.
Looks to me like you got to see
a little action there.
Me too.
Jap sons of bitches
shot me right in the ass.
You believe that shit?
I wasn't running or nothin'.
So, your duty with JASCO have anything
to do with these Navajo radiomen?
I'm not at liberty to say.
I see you got a new stripe there. Me too.
So I'm guessing the orders you can't tell
me are the same orders I can't tell you.
Hell of a thing, huh?
Ain't a democracy, Sergeant.
It's the marines.
Yeah.
They look pretty normal, I guess.
Expecting them to wear war paint?
Maybe we ought to go introduce
ourselves. They look a little lost to me.
Henderson.
I wouldn't get too friendly.
How!
Just kiddin'. I'm Ox.
Whitehorse.
This is Yahzee. Ben.
- Next.
- Beautiful. Beautiful.
Close your eyes. It'll taste better.
Who's next?
Mind if I join you?
I'm Ben Yahzee.
Guess the Corps paired us up.
How you doin'?
You're blocking my view.
Oh, sorry.
What do they call this crap anyway?
Marines call it chow.
Well, there's a propaganda effort.
Sorry. You can have mine.
Shit.
What'd you say your name was again,
Private?
It's Yahzee. Ben Yahzee.
Hold this.
Shit.
I'm in for a couple more.
Tell him I say hello.
Pair of cowboys for Big E.
- Possible straight for the Greek.
- Possible thumb up the Greek's ass.
Oh, a pair of twos for the kid.
Lookin' good.
- Oh, come on!
- Now there's a bold move.
All right.
OK... Oh, another mess
for the Sunshine State.
- What, are you mad at me?
- Just want your money.
Hey! Look at that. A trio of nines. Pretty.
- You shuffle that deck?
- I certainly did.
Nines bets. I'll raise it two bits.
Call.
We all got thumbs up our asses.
You won't for much longer. I got a buddy
in Intel that says we ship out in a week.
I been hearing "next week" for a month.
I didn't know you knew
anybody in Intelligence, Harri.
Next year'd be all right with me.
Gentlemen, read 'em and weep.
Look at that. Nines and fours.
Full boat, baby.
Cowboys over queens. Read 'em and die.
Oh, Jesus!
Ouch. Ouch.
- Fuck it. I'm out.
- Yeah. I'm gonna go write the missus.
God knows what a girl will do
without reassurance.
Son of a bitch.
Hey, looks like we got a coupla seats
opening up. You wanna come join us?
Are you serious?
What, Injun poker?
Hey, how do you boys do that again?
Card on the head,
only fool can't see it is you.
You want to come on over, or what?
Cut me in.
I'm thinkin' Fiery Cross, high-low,
hoggers OK, ace plays both ways...
Hey, don't let him scare you.
If you've ever played a high-low game, it's
like any other. Waste of time and money.
Well, ante up... Chief.
How'd you know I was a chief?
You must've seen me showering
with my war bonnet.
- Deal 'em up, deal 'em up.
- You know, we don't take wampum here.
Beautiful.
All right, then.
Orders finally came through.
We ship out tomorrow morning.
Destination: the island of Saipan,
which is one of the stepping stones
we gotta take on our road show to Tokyo.
It's of strategic importance
that we capture this island.
We can get ourselves
an advanced naval base
and an airstrip to land and refuel B-29's
and get our bombers
within range of Tokyo.
Now, Saipan is Japanese soil,
and there's 30,000 of 'em dug in.
They're gonna fight for every square inch,
because it's their home,
but we're gonna take it away from 'em!
Yeah! Kill me some Japs!
We're gonna be in front
of the whole damn division.
We're gonna be the eyes and the ears.
We're gonna be
sniffin' out enemy positions,
coordinating the naval gunfire -
exactly what we've been training to do
for the last four months. All right?
Now, we got some new radiomen
from headquarters.
There's a Private Whitehorse...
and Yahzee...
and a couple of sergeants,
Enders and Henderson,
who, if I'm understanding
these orders correctly,
will be covering our Navajos' asses.
Goddamn you, Joe Enders!
...but I'm tellin' you, we'll be steppin'
into our share of the shit nonetheless.
Any questions?
Sounds like you're dying.
These might help get rid of the taste.
Charlie and I, we both lost it
on the boat ride from San Diego.
Not many bodies of water in Arizona.
Life Savers really helped.
You want a Life Saver?
What are you doin' here?
Just trying to help.
Not what I meant.
You mean what am I doing
in this uniform?
It's my war too, Sergeant.
I'm fighting for my country,
for my land, for my people.
Not your people I'm worried about.
Listen, Enders, I'm a codetalker.
It takes me two-and-a-half minutes
to do what used to take an hour.
Now, somebody wearing
a lot more stripes than you
thinks that's worth something.
Remind me to time you when
you got bullets flying over your head.
What the hell's wrong with you?
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Early in the morning!
From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We will fight our country's battles
On the land and on the sea
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines
Hi.
How's that ear?
Not that you'd ever admit it, but if
it starts aching, take a couple of those.
And call me in the morning.
You're not gonna be here
in the morning, are you?
Shipping out without even
buying me a drink.
Ought to be ashamed of yourself,
hustling a... hustling marines.
What's your poison?
Jeez, might as well go all out.
I'll get a shot of something.
Rum.
Eddie, give me a shot of Bacardi.
Make that two.
May as well join me, huh?
- Why not?
- OK.
Thank you.
Well... to war.
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Get those men spread out!
Charlie, come on, come on, come on!
Come on, keep up!
Let's go, let's go, let's go! Come on!
- How am I doin'?
- You're good.
Let's go!
Stay on my ass.
I told you to stay on my ass!
- Stay low!
- Get out of there!
Go!
Get him outta there!
Get me outta here!
- Hold still, damn it!
- Get him outta there!
You sons of bitches!
Fortino! Cover me!
Whitehorse, get down!
Get down!
Pappas!
Corpsman!
Helmet goes on your head! Corpsman!
Take care of him.
Put a hand on this.
Tank! Tank! Tank!
You ready? Go! Go!
Harrigan, light it up!
Let's go, boys! Keep up the fight!
Are you hit? Are you hit?
You're OK. You're good, you're good.
- Are you OK, Chick?
- Still in the hunt, Gunny.
- Harri?
- You ain't gettin' rid of me that easy.
- Stay low!
- Nellie? Pappas?
Yeah, we're good.
Greek's predisposed to hyperventilate.
What?
I can't breathe when I get excited.
Goddamn! Must be hell on your gal!
Enders, get the navy on the horn
and tell 'em to dig out those guns.
Target reference... dog one...
right 700.
Elevation zero-five-zero.
Relay the damn coordinates!
Arizona! Arizona!
Target reference, dog one,
south 700, elevation zero-five-zero.
Right 200!
Up 50. Fire for effect.
Let's go!
Move!
Harrigan!
Torch the box!
Kill him!
Goddamn it!
Shit.
Nellie. Take the satchel charge.
You hear me? Move!
You're gonna cover me, right?
I'll go with you. We flank left.
I'll cover you. Smoke and cover.
I can do this.
I can do this.
Smoke 'em up!
Cover up.
Shit!
Shit. Goddamn Nipponese touchdown!
Biscuits? How can you ruin biscuits?
You are a whiny son of a bitch
right now, aren't you?
that make it on the East Coast?
How the fucking hell should I know?
Just seven...
It's 8am, Sunday morning.
I hope my side of the bed
didn't get taken up Saturday night.
Nell, you'll give yourself an ulcer,
you keep worrying about her.
Might get my ass
sent back to Rhody, though.
There's plenty of dollies outside
of Rhode Island, Nell. Many plenty.
- Well, there sure as shit ain't any here.
- Ain't that the truth.
That's cos they're all in Daytona Beach.
The most beautiful women in the world.
This one time, before the war,
I'm lyin' on the beach and this sweet little
thing named Molly comes out the water.
She walks straight up to me
and asks me if I'm hungry...
cos she's havin' a weenie roast.
Shit! Damn.
Yeah, me and Molly, oh boy.
Now I'm on Saipan with this
giant Zippo strapped to my back
and I'm roastin' human beings.
Why I volunteered... beyond me.
Damn, I'm proud to be here.
My whole family's been in the Corps.
My old man, he's a lifer.
An ass-kicker on the land and on the sea.
Around the house too.
Maybe now he'll back off.
Pappas, I...
I want you to do me a favor.
If anything should happen to me,
you make sure that my wife gets this.
I mean, she picked them out and all.
Don't talk like that, Nell.
You don't even joke about shit like that.
Now you put that ring back on.
You're goin' home.
Hey.
Don't thank me till you've tried it.
You missed mail call.
What the hell are they doin'?
I don't know.
They've been doin' it since sundown.
Sounds like some kind of prayer.
Maybe they know our orders.
Think you could do it, Joe?
Give it a rest, Henderson.
Give it a rest? I keep tryin', but...
I'm here to kill Japs, not marines.
What the hell you think you're doin', boy?
Getting on my uniform.
You know the difference
between you and a Jap, Yahzee?
It's that uniform.
That's it.
See, I know you people.
I know what kind
of slanty-eyed savage you are, boy.
You ought to be careful out here all alone.
No baby-sitter.
I might just take you for a Jap.
You gonna let me get dressed, Chick?
Or keep demonstrating
what an ignorant fool you are?
How's that for an ignorant fool?
Go ahead, try again.
You gonna do somethin'?
Chick! Come on!
Get off me!
- You OK, Ben?
- Yeah.
Ben? Shit.
I thought he was a Jap. You know,
killed some marine for that uniform.
Sure you did, Chick.
Damn Injun looks just like
a Jap, don't he?
Look, I'm no damn Injun.
I'm Navajo, of the Bitter Water People,
born for the Towering House clan.
But you do look like a Nip.
Next time you decide to take a bath,
Private, let me know, or I'll kick your ass.
Fuckin' shitbird.
Supposed to be with a baby-sitter
all the time, I thought.
Out here huntin' salmon and shit.
That ceremony you saw last night?
It's called a protection ceremony.
Navajo believe, until a body's given
a proper burial, the spirits stay near it.
Chindis - that's what
we call evil spirits. Demons.
I haven't thought much about it
since I was a kid.
Till I saw those dead bodies.
You telling me you saw ghosts, Private?
No, Sergeant. I'm telling you
I won't freeze up again.
Because your buddy
smeared ash on your forehead?
That's right. Cos my buddy
smeared ash on my forehead.
You ever see ghosts?
No more stupid questions today, Private.
That's an order.
Sounds beautiful.
You, uh, you self-taught?
My dad was always playing.
You know what they say:
if you can't beat 'em...
No shit. My dad, he...
he gave me this thing.
Used to call me the Pied Piper of the Pigs.
Used to bring 'em in for feeding
with this little tune I played.
I know I ain't gonna get you
to quit playin' that thing, so...
like you just said, if you can't beat 'em...
I don't think it's gonna work.
Well, we ain't got much else
to do out here. What the hell?
OK.
All right, you lead off. I'll follow you.
Dear Joe, how the hell are you?
Or, given that you're not much of a
writer, should I not expect an answer?
The newspapers say
our boys are doing great.
But I don't think the reporters
have been to Kaneohe Bay Hospital.
I found a stray dog
the other day on Waikiki.
I gave him a bath and took him in.
He reminded me of you - but cuter.
At least he keeps me warm at night.
I try not to think about you. About
what might be happening over there.
But sometimes, when I'm lying in bed,
I can't keep myself
from wondering where you are.
How you're doing.
What the hell you doin'?
Writing a letter to my son.
Forget your orders? No letters out.
Command don't want postmarks
going to the reservation.
Hey! You hear me?
I thought that he might read 'em
when I get home.
What's his name?
Your son.
It's George. George Washington.
George Washington Yahzee.
It's got a bit of a ring to it.
My wife wasn't so sure.
She's a little more traditional.
- Nice-looking family.
- Let's see, Yahz.
Yeah, that George, he's quite a character.
He's got a mind of his own.
Can I try one of those?
- You smoke?
- Not really.
- Dismount!
- Get out of the truck!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Follow me!
- Let's go!
- I'm hit!
- Yahzee!
Yahzee!
I'm hit!
Take it off! It burns!
You're not hit. Just shut up.
You're not hit.
- Spread out!
- Move!
- Where the hell are they comin' from?
- From us.
- What?
- They're not Jap guns.
- We're getting shot at by our own guys?
- We're supposed to be on road 04.
- Get the regiment on the horn.
- I can't!
- Tell 'em they're shelling...
- I can't! The radio's out. It's been hit.
- They're firing too short!
- The Japs gotta be way ahead of us.
Do somethin'.
Shit... Follow me!
- We're on the wrong fuckin' road!
- Goddamn it!
God.
Son of a bitch!
I got you, mac!
Corpsman!
Corpsman!
Corpsman!
Nellie!
Corpsman!
You were right, Joe.
I do look like a Nip.
What the hell are you talking about?
Putting on that Jap uniform. Trying to get
one of their radios, call off our guns.
- That's stupid.
- Shut up. Let him talk.
- He's not goin' out there.
- You're not in charge here, Enders.
I got orders, Gunny.
He's my responsibility!
He's just a kid! You killed your own!
What's wrong with you?
You killed your own! Sons of bitches!
You killed your own!
- Sure you're up to this?
- Find out soon enough, sir.
- What the hell are you doin' there?
- I'm goin' with him.
If that's OK with you.
Give me the rifle.
Horyo-da.
It's Jap for prisoner.
Horyo-da.
Horyo-da.
All right, everybody be ready.
Horyo-da!
Now!
Hit me. Hit me.
Please don't hit me!
Yahzee!
Kill him!
Goddamn it, kill him!
Get on the radio!
Bowie White, Bowie White,
this is Carson Red!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
You're shelling marines!
Sergeant!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
Add 325, fire for effect!
Redirect fire. Add 325, fire for effect.
Let's go!
Crank it up! Let's go!
Commence fire!
Fire!
Yeah!
Well, I'll be.
Colonel. Can I help you, sir?
I'm looking for Sergeant Enders.
Joseph F Enders.
Enders.
Yes, sir.
Report I read claims
you went above and beyond.
Sir?
You've been recommended
for commendation.
And I concur. But I don't see any point
in you having to wait around
for all those formalities
to work themselves out.
Not when I got one of these handy.
Congratulations, Enders.
You saved a lot of marines.
I wasn't alone in that, sir. I couldn't have
done it without Private Ben Yahzee.
Oh... Right.
The, uh, Indian.
Begging the colonel's pardon,
he's a Navajo, of the Bitter Water People,
born for the Towering House clan.
Of course. Navajo. Towering House clan.
You keep up the good work, Enders.
Send that to Nellie's wife.
You ever not miss mail call, Enders?
My mom says somebody
takes the time to write a letter,
you should read the letter.
Does she let you drink, your mother?
No. But she's not here.
- What is it?
- Well, it ain't Chianti, I'll tell you that.
It's rice wine. It's Jap sake.
But it does the trick.
How much of this crap
do you have anyway?
You have a little trouble with that ear,
don't you, Joe?
Ah, real problem's the inner ear.
It's anvils and stirrups and shit.
I'm a little out of balance.
You done good on that hill today, Yahzee.
Yeah, I did, didn't I?
I bet I surprised the shit out of you.
It was a noble thing that you did, Joe.
To give your Silver Star to Nellie's wife.
I don't give a shit about medals.
The first one they gave me...
I threw it into the ocean.
What'd you get that one for?
For not dyin'.
The 15 men who fought with me
got decorated too. For dying.
So...
Lieutenant was killed
the night before and...
none of the sergeants even made it
out of the landing craft, so...
that left me in charge.
It was my first command.
Orders were to hold some shitty swamp
marsh on the ass-end of nowhere.
And I did.
All of the men under my command...
men who trusted me...
who begged me to pull back...
not one of them made it.
Just one stupid asshole.
And for that, they gave me the Silver Star.
What were their names?
It might be good to tell a story about 'em.
You know, who they were
and what they were like.
What a magical pile of Navajo horseshit.
What the hell for?
To honor them.
Their memory.
You know, it wasn't your fault, Joe.
You were just followin' orders.
Yeah.
I'm a good fuckin' marine.
That's why they gave me this detail.
Yeah.
I'm a good fuckin' marine.
- Joe!
- What?
Goddamn you, Joe Enders!
Really.
It's all right.
Come on, Joe. I got you.
What the fuck?
I ain't that drunk, Yahzee.
You cut that horseshit out.
I'm gonna mix my daddy's strawberries in
this Swedish concoction called yoghurt.
God willin', America
will develop the taste.
What about you, Charlie? What's life
got in store for you after this mess?
Sheep.
Sheep? As in Chick's girlfriend, sheep?
Charlie's family owns the biggest flock
in the Four Corners area.
No shit?
- You a rich man, Whitehorse?
- We do OK.
Taxis. A whole stinkin' fleet of 'em.
That's how I'm making my millions.
And then I'm goin' back
to the motherland.
I'm gonna build myself a villa
on the cliffs of Santorini.
Ah, Santorini, my friends - that's living.
Sounds nice. What about you, Zee?
Thinkin' about teaching.
Ah, teaching. Bring a little something
back to the reservation?
Actually, more interested in bringing
some of the reservation back to the world.
Hoping to teach college.
American history.
Oh, that's just what we need.
Yahzee teachin' college boys about
Custer's scalpin' at Little Bighorn.
And what about Kit Carson, and what
they did to the Navajo in the Long Walk?
You ever read about that, Chick?
Didn't think so.
How about you, Joe?
- What?
- What are you doin' after this mess?
It's gotta end sometime.
Dear Joe, we got great news today.
President Roosevelt announced
the end of blackouts on Hawaii.
We thought the day would never come.
There's still a ten o'clock curfew,
but it doesn't matter to me.
After a 12-hour shift I'm too tired
to do anything but write letters.
There is a real sense that the war
is going well, and could be over soon.
I think about you more and more.
If you're alive or dead out there.
I check the mail every day, knowing
there's going to be an answer.
Are you reading these, Joe?
Are you listening?
- We're secure on the left side.
- Area's secured.
Set up defense positions.
Chick, bed 'em down for the night.
Harri.
That's startin' to sound like something.
I didn't know you were an artist.
Oh, it's stupid.
It's just something I would do as a kid
on my grandmother's kitchen table.
Well, it's nice.
You Catholic?
I used to be.
I was thinkin' about
when they confirmed me.
I was eight, and they anointed me
with the holy water.
And I remember...
they told me I was a soldier of Christ.
I guess somewhere along the way
I must have switched units.
It's oil.
They don't use holy water to confirm.
They use oil.
I was raised Catholic too.
Mission school on the reservation.
It's funny. Fathers didn't like us
talking Navajo at Mass.
Of course, one Sunday I forgot.
They punished me by tying me
to the radiator in the basement.
For two days.
I think I was eight too.
Well, they're sure
lettin' you talk Navajo now.
Yeah.
You know, when this is over, maybe
you should come out to Navajo country.
Monument Valley is a beautiful place.
It's peaceful.
You know, we could do some things
that you don't do in the Corps.
Like ride horses, eat fry bread,
do some hunting...
Horses.
I don't know.
It's a pretty long drive to Arizona.
But it might be worth it.
You know, you could meet my son.
And he could meet Joe Enders,
the guy who watched
over Daddy's scrawny ass.
You must be a very good father, Ben.
Ben. You know,
you've never called me that before.
Enders. What kind of name
is that anyway?
It's Italian. Used to be Endrolfini before
some asshole at Ellis Island got hold of it.
Captain needs to code a message
back to command post.
You the Indian?
Yeah, I'm the Indian.
It's just a few minutes' drive.
We'll get you back in no time.
- I need to speak with you, Gunny.
- Yeah. Give me a second.
Got this with the mail today.
You ever had pickled herring?
I need out.
What the hell are you talkin' about?
This detail.
My duty.
I can't do it.
Well, I need you, Enders.
Yeah. You've been saving
a lot of marines.
I'm requesting mast with
battalion commander. I want out.
Oh, yeah? You and me and every
other mother's son. We all want out.
Well, as long as there's
a Tojo and a Hitler out there
we have to keep on fighting.
Is that understood?
- You're not hearing me.
- I'm hearing you just fine.
Now, there's a war goin' on worldwide,
and it ain't bein' waged
on your wants and wishes.
Now you get some sack time.
That's an order.
Goddamn it! I can't do it!
I can't perform my duty!
Hey there, sweetheart.
Hi. It's OK.
You don't have to cry.
You're gonna be all right.
Got a present for you.
This is chocolate.
You see, you eat it... and it's good.
It's good.
You want some?
You'll have to chew it next time. Here.
Harrigan, go!
Incoming!
Run!
Go! Run!
Harrigan! Make her run!
Come on! To me!
Harrigan!
Come on, keep moving!
Fall back!
Help! Help!
I can't let 'em take us.
What are you talking about?
Enders!
I can't find Ox or Whitehorse.
Have you seen them?
He's over there.
Oh, shit...
This was supposed to be a secured area!
What happened?
I killed him.
You... you what?
I took my grenade and...
and I threw it and I blew him up.
What the hell is wrong with you?
Yahzee!
Yahzee! Yahzee, no!
Get up!
Come on. You can do it.
- Yahzee.
- Let him go.
Yahzee, no.
Go on. Why can't... Come on. Do it.
- Do it!
- No.
You know, Whitehorse...
he saved my bacon.
Wonder what George Armstrong Custer
would make of that.
I remember my granddaddy sittin' on
the porch talkin' about huntin' Indians,
like he was talkin'
about gophers or somethin'.
About gettin' paid three dollars
per Comanche ear.
I know. Gets you thinkin'.
Another 50 years, who knows, we could
be sittin' down with the Nipponese.
Drinkin' their sake, shootin' the shit...
lookin' for somebody else's ass to kick.
You think too much.
First time I ever been accused of that.
Thought I told you not to go
traipsing around on your own.
You know, Charlie blessed my son
in the Navajo way the day he was born.
He wondered about cowboys
watching Indians' backs.
Something about it didn't seem right.
I thought it was Charlie just being Charlie.
He didn't even want to come
to this damn war. I talked him into it.
Maybe you made a mistake.
Maybe we all did.
I was following orders, Ben.
My orders were to protect the code.
If one of you got caught, talked,
the code would be useless.
I was following orders, Ben.
Course you were, Joe.
You're a damn good fuckin' marine.
The Viking wants to see you.
He says right away.
I want you to brief everybody,
make clear what's happenin'.
All right. Got no problem
with point, Gunny.
- That's good.
- You wanted to see me?
Yeah.
The 8th is moving out already
and we need to be ahead of 'em.
The destination is that big piece of rock
you see over there.
The last defensible ridge on this island.
Now, thinkin' is, we take the mount,
Saipan is pretty much ours.
Yesterday, bombers
beat the shit out of that rock.
The brass is nervous. They expected
more resistance over there.
Now they want us to go over
and check it out.
So where the hell they got us now?
Goin' up the mountain.
Have ourselves a little peek.
That codetalker is out front for a reason.
That's exactly where I need him to be.
If there's still a problem
between the two of you,
I would like to straighten that out,
right here, right now.
- No problem here, Gunny.
- That's good.
But there's still one here.
You just do what you're
supposed to do, Sergeant.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Enders.
You got another letter.
Freeze!
Jesus Christ! We're in the middle
of a goddamn minefield!
Chick's gonna get us out. Right, Chick?
Sure I am.
One line after Chick.
Pappas.
Pappas.
Move, Greek.
I'm gonna get my fuckin' balls
blown off out here!
Yahzee! Stop!
Move out!
Yahzee!
Hey!
Nice shootin', Pap.
The 8th's movin' in.
We'd better check out the other side.
Got it. You all right?
Chick, take the left flank. Enders,
go right. We'll cover you with a 30.
- On it.
- All right?
OK, let's go!
Move!
Hjelmstad!
- Help him up!
- Gunny!
Come on. Come on.
- Christ.
- Joe! Joe!
Tear him open.
You want morphine?
- You want morphine?
- Yeah.
You'll be all right, sir.
Goddamn it, Yahzee, get over here!
Fuck!
Chick... Stay with him.
I got ya.
I told you to stay with Gunny.
Gunny's gone.
We're not gonna make it
out of here, are we, Joe?
I'm runnin' out of ammo here, Joe.
I don't wanna die in this shithole.
You're not gonna die.
Nobody else is gonna die.
We're gonna make it.
We're gonna make it out of here.
We gotta call in the flyboys.
I'm gonna get that radio. Cover me.
He got the radio, Yahzee!
Cover me! I'm going!
Stay back!
Fuckers!
It won't bring your friends back.
What do you know about friends?
Get us some air support!
Bowie White, this is Carson Red, Arizona.
I say again, Carson Red, Arizona.
Coordinates!
Two-twenty, Mike, three-six.
All right, let's go.
We're gonna make it outta here.
Damn it, Joe.
Just get it over with.
Shut up, Ben.
Do it, Joe.
Do it!
No one else is gonna die, Ben.
No one else is dying.
Joe, we did it.
God...
God!
Oh, God... Oh, Joe...
We saved a lot of marines today.
Yeah, we did, Ben.
Charlie...
You know I didn't want to.
Right?
Hail... Hail Mary...
full of grace...
our...
our Lord is with thee...
Holy Mary, mother of God...
pray for us...
I got the last of 'em, Joe.
His name was Joe Enders...
from South Philadelphia.
He was a fierce warrior.
A good marine.
If you ever tell a story about him,
George...
say he was my friend.
Watch out!
My hand!
Goddamn!
We're running out of ammo.
We gotta get out of here.
Move!
Come on!
Come on, you can do it! Come on!
We got nothin', Enders!
We're out of ammo!
Joe... Nobody else needs to die.
We can go! We can get outta here!
We got orders!
They told us to hold the position!
And that's what we're gonna do!
Get up, marine!
Hold the goddamn position!
Come on!
Get down!
Tommy.
Goddamn you!
Oh, no! No!
- Bill!
- I'm out.
Come on! Come on!
Goddamn you, Joe Enders.
No... No!
No!
Raise your right hand.
- I... State your full name...
- I, Ben Yahzee...
Do solemnly swear to support and
defend the constitution of the US...
Against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
Jap Ha-Go. Who can give me
the code word for "tank"?
Come on. You boys
wanna be codetalkers.
Show me some brains. Think!
What do we call a tank?
Chay-da-gahi.
Tortoise. Good.
Artillery. Code word?
In code. Private Whitehorse.
Be-al-doh-tso-lani?
Very good.
Japanese Zero. Code word?
We can go! We can get outta here!
They told us to hold the position!
Nice day, huh?
Joe?
Joe.
Didn't hear a word, did you?
That's what happens to a man
when he's talking to a beautiful woman.
It happens when you're
not watching my lips, Joe.
Watch this.
You're a mess, Joe.
You're not fooling anybody.
No, Rita. He's a mess.
I'm getting better every day.
You got a perforated eardrum, Enders.
Your equilibrium's all screwy.
You can't go back to war
if you can't stand up.
Let's go, marines. This war
ain't gonna wait forever. Let's go.
Joe...
Why don't you just stay here, Joe?
Somebody's gotta keep
the WAVES company.
Are you gonna help me or not?
Marked improvement.
And his left ear is the worse of the two?
It's... amazing.
TBY hasn't got the range of the TBX.
So you may need a relay to get
your transmission to command post.
But what it really comes down to
is speed and accuracy under pressure.
Transcribe now.
Victor, Victor. This is X-ray. Over.
Damn it! We got a unit under fire!
We're losing men.
I need this message decrypted.
"Request fire support. We have target
at one-one-niner, Baker one-five. "
"Pillbox with heavy machine gun.
Fire at will. "
Beginner's luck.
You're up, mac.
- Corporal Enders reporting, sir.
- At ease.
You've done well as a marine, Corporal.
Better than you did as a civilian.
Stole a motorbike, crashed it.
Got kicked out of high school.
Assault and battery...
on one Father Crispin O'Donnell?
A priest?
Assistant principal at Archbishop Keenan
High School, sir, and head disciplinarian.
Public-school boy myself.
Some minor problems in boot.
A commendation for valor in Shanghai.
And you made a hell of a stand
on the Solomons.
Tough bit of business there, huh?
Pretty tough, sir.
But you're prepared
to jump right back into it?
Yes, sir. Very much so.
Very much so.
Well...
The Japs have pretty much busted
every code we've thrown at 'em, Corporal.
You men on the Solomons
were lost to a broken code.
Tell me something. You ever
run into any Indians on the Solomons?
- Indians, sir?
- Navajo, to be exact.
The Corps has developed a new code
based on their language.
It's had quite an impact.
So much so the navy have decided
to go to great lengths to protect it.
That's why you're here.
You're to pair with one of them,
keep his ass safe.
Your job is to keep him alive
so he can do his job.
Begging the major's pardon, but I believe
I'd best serve the Corps killing Japs,
not baby-sitting some Indian.
Enders, we didn't pick
your name out of a hat.
We need good marines.
That's why you're standing here.
Take a look.
It's a Navajo. Or it was.
Tortured to death by Japanese
intelligence trying to bust our code.
Fortunately, he couldn't help them
even if he wanted to.
- Sir?
- Man's a Navajo, not a codetalker.
Code's based on their language,
but it is still a code.
Tojo would like nothing more
than to catch a live one.
What I'm about to tell you, Corporal,
cannot leave this room.
Under no circumstances can you allow
your codetalker to fall into enemy hands.
Your mission is to protect the code...
at all costs.
You understand me?
Yes, sir, I do.
Good.
Congratulations. You just made sergeant.
Keep those hands vertical.
Way to go, marine.
Fortino, take over.
Hey... That was you, right,
sitting in front of the major's office?
Yeah. Listen, I'm Pete Henderson.
They call me Ox.
Not cos of my big muscles or anything.
I'm from Oxnard, California.
Just north of Hollywood a ways.
So you're with JASCO too, huh?
Hey, know where we might find
No fuckin' idea, mac.
Thanks. Thanks a bunch.
They've never seen so many Navajo.
Looks to me like you got to see
a little action there.
Me too.
Jap sons of bitches
shot me right in the ass.
You believe that shit?
I wasn't running or nothin'.
So, your duty with JASCO have anything
to do with these Navajo radiomen?
I'm not at liberty to say.
I see you got a new stripe there. Me too.
So I'm guessing the orders you can't tell
me are the same orders I can't tell you.
Hell of a thing, huh?
Ain't a democracy, Sergeant.
It's the marines.
Yeah.
They look pretty normal, I guess.
Expecting them to wear war paint?
Maybe we ought to go introduce
ourselves. They look a little lost to me.
Henderson.
I wouldn't get too friendly.
How!
Just kiddin'. I'm Ox.
Whitehorse.
This is Yahzee. Ben.
- Next.
- Beautiful. Beautiful.
Close your eyes. It'll taste better.
Who's next?
Mind if I join you?
I'm Ben Yahzee.
Guess the Corps paired us up.
How you doin'?
You're blocking my view.
Oh, sorry.
What do they call this crap anyway?
Marines call it chow.
Well, there's a propaganda effort.
Sorry. You can have mine.
Shit.
What'd you say your name was again,
Private?
It's Yahzee. Ben Yahzee.
Hold this.
Shit.
I'm in for a couple more.
Tell him I say hello.
Pair of cowboys for Big E.
- Possible straight for the Greek.
- Possible thumb up the Greek's ass.
Oh, a pair of twos for the kid.
Lookin' good.
- Oh, come on!
- Now there's a bold move.
All right.
OK... Oh, another mess
for the Sunshine State.
- What, are you mad at me?
- Just want your money.
Hey! Look at that. A trio of nines. Pretty.
- You shuffle that deck?
- I certainly did.
Nines bets. I'll raise it two bits.
Call.
We all got thumbs up our asses.
You won't for much longer. I got a buddy
in Intel that says we ship out in a week.
I been hearing "next week" for a month.
I didn't know you knew
anybody in Intelligence, Harri.
Next year'd be all right with me.
Gentlemen, read 'em and weep.
Look at that. Nines and fours.
Full boat, baby.
Cowboys over queens. Read 'em and die.
Oh, Jesus!
Ouch. Ouch.
- Fuck it. I'm out.
- Yeah. I'm gonna go write the missus.
God knows what a girl will do
without reassurance.
Son of a bitch.
Hey, looks like we got a coupla seats
opening up. You wanna come join us?
Are you serious?
What, Injun poker?
Hey, how do you boys do that again?
Card on the head,
only fool can't see it is you.
You want to come on over, or what?
Cut me in.
I'm thinkin' Fiery Cross, high-low,
hoggers OK, ace plays both ways...
Hey, don't let him scare you.
If you've ever played a high-low game, it's
like any other. Waste of time and money.
Well, ante up... Chief.
How'd you know I was a chief?
You must've seen me showering
with my war bonnet.
- Deal 'em up, deal 'em up.
- You know, we don't take wampum here.
Beautiful.
All right, then.
Orders finally came through.
We ship out tomorrow morning.
Destination: the island of Saipan,
which is one of the stepping stones
we gotta take on our road show to Tokyo.
It's of strategic importance
that we capture this island.
We can get ourselves
an advanced naval base
and an airstrip to land and refuel B-29's
and get our bombers
within range of Tokyo.
Now, Saipan is Japanese soil,
and there's 30,000 of 'em dug in.
They're gonna fight for every square inch,
because it's their home,
but we're gonna take it away from 'em!
Yeah! Kill me some Japs!
We're gonna be in front
of the whole damn division.
We're gonna be the eyes and the ears.
We're gonna be
sniffin' out enemy positions,
coordinating the naval gunfire -
exactly what we've been training to do
for the last four months. All right?
Now, we got some new radiomen
from headquarters.
There's a Private Whitehorse...
and Yahzee...
and a couple of sergeants,
Enders and Henderson,
who, if I'm understanding
these orders correctly,
will be covering our Navajos' asses.
Goddamn you, Joe Enders!
...but I'm tellin' you, we'll be steppin'
into our share of the shit nonetheless.
Any questions?
Sounds like you're dying.
These might help get rid of the taste.
Charlie and I, we both lost it
on the boat ride from San Diego.
Not many bodies of water in Arizona.
Life Savers really helped.
You want a Life Saver?
What are you doin' here?
Just trying to help.
Not what I meant.
You mean what am I doing
in this uniform?
It's my war too, Sergeant.
I'm fighting for my country,
for my land, for my people.
Not your people I'm worried about.
Listen, Enders, I'm a codetalker.
It takes me two-and-a-half minutes
to do what used to take an hour.
Now, somebody wearing
a lot more stripes than you
thinks that's worth something.
Remind me to time you when
you got bullets flying over your head.
What the hell's wrong with you?
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Early in the morning!
From the halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We will fight our country's battles
On the land and on the sea
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines
Hi.
How's that ear?
Not that you'd ever admit it, but if
it starts aching, take a couple of those.
And call me in the morning.
You're not gonna be here
in the morning, are you?
Shipping out without even
buying me a drink.
Ought to be ashamed of yourself,
hustling a... hustling marines.
What's your poison?
Jeez, might as well go all out.
I'll get a shot of something.
Rum.
Eddie, give me a shot of Bacardi.
Make that two.
May as well join me, huh?
- Why not?
- OK.
Thank you.
Well... to war.
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Get those men spread out!
Charlie, come on, come on, come on!
Come on, keep up!
Let's go, let's go, let's go! Come on!
- How am I doin'?
- You're good.
Let's go!
Stay on my ass.
I told you to stay on my ass!
- Stay low!
- Get out of there!
Go!
Get him outta there!
Get me outta here!
- Hold still, damn it!
- Get him outta there!
You sons of bitches!
Fortino! Cover me!
Whitehorse, get down!
Get down!
Pappas!
Corpsman!
Helmet goes on your head! Corpsman!
Take care of him.
Put a hand on this.
Tank! Tank! Tank!
You ready? Go! Go!
Harrigan, light it up!
Let's go, boys! Keep up the fight!
Are you hit? Are you hit?
You're OK. You're good, you're good.
- Are you OK, Chick?
- Still in the hunt, Gunny.
- Harri?
- You ain't gettin' rid of me that easy.
- Stay low!
- Nellie? Pappas?
Yeah, we're good.
Greek's predisposed to hyperventilate.
What?
I can't breathe when I get excited.
Goddamn! Must be hell on your gal!
Enders, get the navy on the horn
and tell 'em to dig out those guns.
Target reference... dog one...
right 700.
Elevation zero-five-zero.
Relay the damn coordinates!
Arizona! Arizona!
Target reference, dog one,
south 700, elevation zero-five-zero.
Right 200!
Up 50. Fire for effect.
Let's go!
Move!
Harrigan!
Torch the box!
Kill him!
Goddamn it!
Shit.
Nellie. Take the satchel charge.
You hear me? Move!
You're gonna cover me, right?
I'll go with you. We flank left.
I'll cover you. Smoke and cover.
I can do this.
I can do this.
Smoke 'em up!
Cover up.
Shit!
Shit. Goddamn Nipponese touchdown!
Biscuits? How can you ruin biscuits?
You are a whiny son of a bitch
right now, aren't you?
that make it on the East Coast?
How the fucking hell should I know?
Just seven...
It's 8am, Sunday morning.
I hope my side of the bed
didn't get taken up Saturday night.
Nell, you'll give yourself an ulcer,
you keep worrying about her.
Might get my ass
sent back to Rhody, though.
There's plenty of dollies outside
of Rhode Island, Nell. Many plenty.
- Well, there sure as shit ain't any here.
- Ain't that the truth.
That's cos they're all in Daytona Beach.
The most beautiful women in the world.
This one time, before the war,
I'm lyin' on the beach and this sweet little
thing named Molly comes out the water.
She walks straight up to me
and asks me if I'm hungry...
cos she's havin' a weenie roast.
Shit! Damn.
Yeah, me and Molly, oh boy.
Now I'm on Saipan with this
giant Zippo strapped to my back
and I'm roastin' human beings.
Why I volunteered... beyond me.
Damn, I'm proud to be here.
My whole family's been in the Corps.
My old man, he's a lifer.
An ass-kicker on the land and on the sea.
Around the house too.
Maybe now he'll back off.
Pappas, I...
I want you to do me a favor.
If anything should happen to me,
you make sure that my wife gets this.
I mean, she picked them out and all.
Don't talk like that, Nell.
You don't even joke about shit like that.
Now you put that ring back on.
You're goin' home.
Hey.
Don't thank me till you've tried it.
You missed mail call.
What the hell are they doin'?
I don't know.
They've been doin' it since sundown.
Sounds like some kind of prayer.
Maybe they know our orders.
Think you could do it, Joe?
Give it a rest, Henderson.
Give it a rest? I keep tryin', but...
I'm here to kill Japs, not marines.
What the hell you think you're doin', boy?
Getting on my uniform.
You know the difference
between you and a Jap, Yahzee?
It's that uniform.
That's it.
See, I know you people.
I know what kind
of slanty-eyed savage you are, boy.
You ought to be careful out here all alone.
No baby-sitter.
I might just take you for a Jap.
You gonna let me get dressed, Chick?
Or keep demonstrating
what an ignorant fool you are?
How's that for an ignorant fool?
Go ahead, try again.
You gonna do somethin'?
Chick! Come on!
Get off me!
- You OK, Ben?
- Yeah.
Ben? Shit.
I thought he was a Jap. You know,
killed some marine for that uniform.
Sure you did, Chick.
Damn Injun looks just like
a Jap, don't he?
Look, I'm no damn Injun.
I'm Navajo, of the Bitter Water People,
born for the Towering House clan.
But you do look like a Nip.
Next time you decide to take a bath,
Private, let me know, or I'll kick your ass.
Fuckin' shitbird.
Supposed to be with a baby-sitter
all the time, I thought.
Out here huntin' salmon and shit.
That ceremony you saw last night?
It's called a protection ceremony.
Navajo believe, until a body's given
a proper burial, the spirits stay near it.
Chindis - that's what
we call evil spirits. Demons.
I haven't thought much about it
since I was a kid.
Till I saw those dead bodies.
You telling me you saw ghosts, Private?
No, Sergeant. I'm telling you
I won't freeze up again.
Because your buddy
smeared ash on your forehead?
That's right. Cos my buddy
smeared ash on my forehead.
You ever see ghosts?
No more stupid questions today, Private.
That's an order.
Sounds beautiful.
You, uh, you self-taught?
My dad was always playing.
You know what they say:
if you can't beat 'em...
No shit. My dad, he...
he gave me this thing.
Used to call me the Pied Piper of the Pigs.
Used to bring 'em in for feeding
with this little tune I played.
I know I ain't gonna get you
to quit playin' that thing, so...
like you just said, if you can't beat 'em...
I don't think it's gonna work.
Well, we ain't got much else
to do out here. What the hell?
OK.
All right, you lead off. I'll follow you.
Dear Joe, how the hell are you?
Or, given that you're not much of a
writer, should I not expect an answer?
The newspapers say
our boys are doing great.
But I don't think the reporters
have been to Kaneohe Bay Hospital.
I found a stray dog
the other day on Waikiki.
I gave him a bath and took him in.
He reminded me of you - but cuter.
At least he keeps me warm at night.
I try not to think about you. About
what might be happening over there.
But sometimes, when I'm lying in bed,
I can't keep myself
from wondering where you are.
How you're doing.
What the hell you doin'?
Writing a letter to my son.
Forget your orders? No letters out.
Command don't want postmarks
going to the reservation.
Hey! You hear me?
I thought that he might read 'em
when I get home.
What's his name?
Your son.
It's George. George Washington.
George Washington Yahzee.
It's got a bit of a ring to it.
My wife wasn't so sure.
She's a little more traditional.
- Nice-looking family.
- Let's see, Yahz.
Yeah, that George, he's quite a character.
He's got a mind of his own.
Can I try one of those?
- You smoke?
- Not really.
- Dismount!
- Get out of the truck!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Follow me!
- Let's go!
- I'm hit!
- Yahzee!
Yahzee!
I'm hit!
Take it off! It burns!
You're not hit. Just shut up.
You're not hit.
- Spread out!
- Move!
- Where the hell are they comin' from?
- From us.
- What?
- They're not Jap guns.
- We're getting shot at by our own guys?
- We're supposed to be on road 04.
- Get the regiment on the horn.
- I can't!
- Tell 'em they're shelling...
- I can't! The radio's out. It's been hit.
- They're firing too short!
- The Japs gotta be way ahead of us.
Do somethin'.
Shit... Follow me!
- We're on the wrong fuckin' road!
- Goddamn it!
God.
Son of a bitch!
I got you, mac!
Corpsman!
Corpsman!
Corpsman!
Nellie!
Corpsman!
You were right, Joe.
I do look like a Nip.
What the hell are you talking about?
Putting on that Jap uniform. Trying to get
one of their radios, call off our guns.
- That's stupid.
- Shut up. Let him talk.
- He's not goin' out there.
- You're not in charge here, Enders.
I got orders, Gunny.
He's my responsibility!
He's just a kid! You killed your own!
What's wrong with you?
You killed your own! Sons of bitches!
You killed your own!
- Sure you're up to this?
- Find out soon enough, sir.
- What the hell are you doin' there?
- I'm goin' with him.
If that's OK with you.
Give me the rifle.
Horyo-da.
It's Jap for prisoner.
Horyo-da.
Horyo-da.
All right, everybody be ready.
Horyo-da!
Now!
Hit me. Hit me.
Please don't hit me!
Yahzee!
Kill him!
Goddamn it, kill him!
Get on the radio!
Bowie White, Bowie White,
this is Carson Red!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
You're shelling marines!
Sergeant!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
Add 325, fire for effect!
Redirect fire. Add 325, fire for effect.
Let's go!
Crank it up! Let's go!
Commence fire!
Fire!
Yeah!
Well, I'll be.
Colonel. Can I help you, sir?
I'm looking for Sergeant Enders.
Joseph F Enders.
Enders.
Yes, sir.
Report I read claims
you went above and beyond.
Sir?
You've been recommended
for commendation.
And I concur. But I don't see any point
in you having to wait around
for all those formalities
to work themselves out.
Not when I got one of these handy.
Congratulations, Enders.
You saved a lot of marines.
I wasn't alone in that, sir. I couldn't have
done it without Private Ben Yahzee.
Oh... Right.
The, uh, Indian.
Begging the colonel's pardon,
he's a Navajo, of the Bitter Water People,
born for the Towering House clan.
Of course. Navajo. Towering House clan.
You keep up the good work, Enders.
Send that to Nellie's wife.
You ever not miss mail call, Enders?
My mom says somebody
takes the time to write a letter,
you should read the letter.
Does she let you drink, your mother?
No. But she's not here.
- What is it?
- Well, it ain't Chianti, I'll tell you that.
It's rice wine. It's Jap sake.
But it does the trick.
How much of this crap
do you have anyway?
You have a little trouble with that ear,
don't you, Joe?
Ah, real problem's the inner ear.
It's anvils and stirrups and shit.
I'm a little out of balance.
You done good on that hill today, Yahzee.
Yeah, I did, didn't I?
I bet I surprised the shit out of you.
It was a noble thing that you did, Joe.
To give your Silver Star to Nellie's wife.
I don't give a shit about medals.
The first one they gave me...
I threw it into the ocean.
What'd you get that one for?
For not dyin'.
The 15 men who fought with me
got decorated too. For dying.
So...
Lieutenant was killed
the night before and...
none of the sergeants even made it
out of the landing craft, so...
that left me in charge.
It was my first command.
Orders were to hold some shitty swamp
marsh on the ass-end of nowhere.
And I did.
All of the men under my command...
men who trusted me...
who begged me to pull back...
not one of them made it.
Just one stupid asshole.
And for that, they gave me the Silver Star.
What were their names?
It might be good to tell a story about 'em.
You know, who they were
and what they were like.
What a magical pile of Navajo horseshit.
What the hell for?
To honor them.
Their memory.
You know, it wasn't your fault, Joe.
You were just followin' orders.
Yeah.
I'm a good fuckin' marine.
That's why they gave me this detail.
Yeah.
I'm a good fuckin' marine.
- Joe!
- What?
Goddamn you, Joe Enders!
Really.
It's all right.
Come on, Joe. I got you.
What the fuck?
I ain't that drunk, Yahzee.
You cut that horseshit out.
I'm gonna mix my daddy's strawberries in
this Swedish concoction called yoghurt.
God willin', America
will develop the taste.
What about you, Charlie? What's life
got in store for you after this mess?
Sheep.
Sheep? As in Chick's girlfriend, sheep?
Charlie's family owns the biggest flock
in the Four Corners area.
No shit?
- You a rich man, Whitehorse?
- We do OK.
Taxis. A whole stinkin' fleet of 'em.
That's how I'm making my millions.
And then I'm goin' back
to the motherland.
I'm gonna build myself a villa
on the cliffs of Santorini.
Ah, Santorini, my friends - that's living.
Sounds nice. What about you, Zee?
Thinkin' about teaching.
Ah, teaching. Bring a little something
back to the reservation?
Actually, more interested in bringing
some of the reservation back to the world.
Hoping to teach college.
American history.
Oh, that's just what we need.
Yahzee teachin' college boys about
Custer's scalpin' at Little Bighorn.
And what about Kit Carson, and what
they did to the Navajo in the Long Walk?
You ever read about that, Chick?
Didn't think so.
How about you, Joe?
- What?
- What are you doin' after this mess?
It's gotta end sometime.
Dear Joe, we got great news today.
President Roosevelt announced
the end of blackouts on Hawaii.
We thought the day would never come.
There's still a ten o'clock curfew,
but it doesn't matter to me.
After a 12-hour shift I'm too tired
to do anything but write letters.
There is a real sense that the war
is going well, and could be over soon.
I think about you more and more.
If you're alive or dead out there.
I check the mail every day, knowing
there's going to be an answer.
Are you reading these, Joe?
Are you listening?
- We're secure on the left side.
- Area's secured.
Set up defense positions.
Chick, bed 'em down for the night.
Harri.
That's startin' to sound like something.
I didn't know you were an artist.
Oh, it's stupid.
It's just something I would do as a kid
on my grandmother's kitchen table.
Well, it's nice.
You Catholic?
I used to be.
I was thinkin' about
when they confirmed me.
I was eight, and they anointed me
with the holy water.
And I remember...
they told me I was a soldier of Christ.
I guess somewhere along the way
I must have switched units.
It's oil.
They don't use holy water to confirm.
They use oil.
I was raised Catholic too.
Mission school on the reservation.
It's funny. Fathers didn't like us
talking Navajo at Mass.
Of course, one Sunday I forgot.
They punished me by tying me
to the radiator in the basement.
For two days.
I think I was eight too.
Well, they're sure
lettin' you talk Navajo now.
Yeah.
You know, when this is over, maybe
you should come out to Navajo country.
Monument Valley is a beautiful place.
It's peaceful.
You know, we could do some things
that you don't do in the Corps.
Like ride horses, eat fry bread,
do some hunting...
Horses.
I don't know.
It's a pretty long drive to Arizona.
But it might be worth it.
You know, you could meet my son.
And he could meet Joe Enders,
the guy who watched
over Daddy's scrawny ass.
You must be a very good father, Ben.
Ben. You know,
you've never called me that before.
Enders. What kind of name
is that anyway?
It's Italian. Used to be Endrolfini before
some asshole at Ellis Island got hold of it.
Captain needs to code a message
back to command post.
You the Indian?
Yeah, I'm the Indian.
It's just a few minutes' drive.
We'll get you back in no time.
- I need to speak with you, Gunny.
- Yeah. Give me a second.
Got this with the mail today.
You ever had pickled herring?
I need out.
What the hell are you talkin' about?
This detail.
My duty.
I can't do it.
Well, I need you, Enders.
Yeah. You've been saving
a lot of marines.
I'm requesting mast with
battalion commander. I want out.
Oh, yeah? You and me and every
other mother's son. We all want out.
Well, as long as there's
a Tojo and a Hitler out there
we have to keep on fighting.
Is that understood?
- You're not hearing me.
- I'm hearing you just fine.
Now, there's a war goin' on worldwide,
and it ain't bein' waged
on your wants and wishes.
Now you get some sack time.
That's an order.
Goddamn it! I can't do it!
I can't perform my duty!
Hey there, sweetheart.
Hi. It's OK.
You don't have to cry.
You're gonna be all right.
Got a present for you.
This is chocolate.
You see, you eat it... and it's good.
It's good.
You want some?
You'll have to chew it next time. Here.
Harrigan, go!
Incoming!
Run!
Go! Run!
Harrigan! Make her run!
Come on! To me!
Harrigan!
Come on, keep moving!
Fall back!
Help! Help!
I can't let 'em take us.
What are you talking about?
Enders!
I can't find Ox or Whitehorse.
Have you seen them?
He's over there.
Oh, shit...
This was supposed to be a secured area!
What happened?
I killed him.
You... you what?
I took my grenade and...
and I threw it and I blew him up.
What the hell is wrong with you?
Yahzee!
Yahzee! Yahzee, no!
Get up!
Come on. You can do it.
- Yahzee.
- Let him go.
Yahzee, no.
Go on. Why can't... Come on. Do it.
- Do it!
- No.
You know, Whitehorse...
he saved my bacon.
Wonder what George Armstrong Custer
would make of that.
I remember my granddaddy sittin' on
the porch talkin' about huntin' Indians,
like he was talkin'
about gophers or somethin'.
About gettin' paid three dollars
per Comanche ear.
I know. Gets you thinkin'.
Another 50 years, who knows, we could
be sittin' down with the Nipponese.
Drinkin' their sake, shootin' the shit...
lookin' for somebody else's ass to kick.
You think too much.
First time I ever been accused of that.
Thought I told you not to go
traipsing around on your own.
You know, Charlie blessed my son
in the Navajo way the day he was born.
He wondered about cowboys
watching Indians' backs.
Something about it didn't seem right.
I thought it was Charlie just being Charlie.
He didn't even want to come
to this damn war. I talked him into it.
Maybe you made a mistake.
Maybe we all did.
I was following orders, Ben.
My orders were to protect the code.
If one of you got caught, talked,
the code would be useless.
I was following orders, Ben.
Course you were, Joe.
You're a damn good fuckin' marine.
The Viking wants to see you.
He says right away.
I want you to brief everybody,
make clear what's happenin'.
All right. Got no problem
with point, Gunny.
- That's good.
- You wanted to see me?
Yeah.
The 8th is moving out already
and we need to be ahead of 'em.
The destination is that big piece of rock
you see over there.
The last defensible ridge on this island.
Now, thinkin' is, we take the mount,
Saipan is pretty much ours.
Yesterday, bombers
beat the shit out of that rock.
The brass is nervous. They expected
more resistance over there.
Now they want us to go over
and check it out.
So where the hell they got us now?
Goin' up the mountain.
Have ourselves a little peek.
That codetalker is out front for a reason.
That's exactly where I need him to be.
If there's still a problem
between the two of you,
I would like to straighten that out,
right here, right now.
- No problem here, Gunny.
- That's good.
But there's still one here.
You just do what you're
supposed to do, Sergeant.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Enders.
You got another letter.
Freeze!
Jesus Christ! We're in the middle
of a goddamn minefield!
Chick's gonna get us out. Right, Chick?
Sure I am.
One line after Chick.
Pappas.
Pappas.
Move, Greek.
I'm gonna get my fuckin' balls
blown off out here!
Yahzee! Stop!
Move out!
Yahzee!
Hey!
Nice shootin', Pap.
The 8th's movin' in.
We'd better check out the other side.
Got it. You all right?
Chick, take the left flank. Enders,
go right. We'll cover you with a 30.
- On it.
- All right?
OK, let's go!
Move!
Hjelmstad!
- Help him up!
- Gunny!
Come on. Come on.
- Christ.
- Joe! Joe!
Tear him open.
You want morphine?
- You want morphine?
- Yeah.
You'll be all right, sir.
Goddamn it, Yahzee, get over here!
Fuck!
Chick... Stay with him.
I got ya.
I told you to stay with Gunny.
Gunny's gone.
We're not gonna make it
out of here, are we, Joe?
I'm runnin' out of ammo here, Joe.
I don't wanna die in this shithole.
You're not gonna die.
Nobody else is gonna die.
We're gonna make it.
We're gonna make it out of here.
We gotta call in the flyboys.
I'm gonna get that radio. Cover me.
He got the radio, Yahzee!
Cover me! I'm going!
Stay back!
Fuckers!
It won't bring your friends back.
What do you know about friends?
Get us some air support!
Bowie White, this is Carson Red, Arizona.
I say again, Carson Red, Arizona.
Coordinates!
Two-twenty, Mike, three-six.
All right, let's go.
We're gonna make it outta here.
Damn it, Joe.
Just get it over with.
Shut up, Ben.
Do it, Joe.
Do it!
No one else is gonna die, Ben.
No one else is dying.
Joe, we did it.
God...
God!
Oh, God... Oh, Joe...
We saved a lot of marines today.
Yeah, we did, Ben.
Charlie...
You know I didn't want to.
Right?
Hail... Hail Mary...
full of grace...
our...
our Lord is with thee...
Holy Mary, mother of God...
pray for us...
I got the last of 'em, Joe.
His name was Joe Enders...
from South Philadelphia.
He was a fierce warrior.
A good marine.
If you ever tell a story about him,
George...
say he was my friend.