Charlie!
I wasn't so sure you'd be on the bus
Didn't want your white brothers thinking
you were the best we had
SOLOMON ISLANDS
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!
Joeˇ­ 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
Noˇ­ No!
No!
Raise your right hand
- Iˇ­ State your full nameˇ­ - I, Ben Yahzeeˇ­
CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA
..do solemnly swear to support and defend the constitution of the USˇ­
..against all enemies, foreign and domesticˇ­ ..against all enemies, foreign and domesticˇ­
Jap Ha-Go. Who can give me the code word for ˇ°tankˇ±?
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?
KANEOHE BAY US NAVAL HOSPITAL
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
Joeˇ­
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'sˇ­ 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
ˇ°Request fire support. We have target at one-one-niner, Baker one-five.ˇ±
ˇ°Pillbox with heavy machine gun. Fire at will.ˇ±
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 batteryˇ­ 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
Wellˇ­
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 codeˇ­
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
Heyˇ­ 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 2nd Joint Assault Signal?
No fuckin' idea, mac
Thanks. Thanks a bunch
I've never seen so many white men
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
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
How's your white man?
Hungry
I'm in for a couple more
You writing to your son?
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
OKˇ­ 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 ˇ°next weekˇ± 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!
- Fuck it. I'm out. - Yeah. I'm gonna go write the missus
God knows what a girlwill 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 waysˇ­
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 upˇ­ 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 Whitehorseˇ­
and Yahzeeˇ­
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 aˇ­ 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
Wellˇ­ to war
THE JAPANESE ISLAND OF SAIPAN JUNE 16, 1944
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 referenceˇ­ dog oneˇ­
right 700
Elevation zero-five-zero
Relay the damn coordinates!
Arizona! Arizona!
USS CALIFORNIA
It sounds like they're underwater. Is it English?
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
Smoke 'em up!
Cover up
Shit!
Shit. Goddamn Nipponese touchdown!
Heads up around 0500
You're going to have replacements and ammo coming up. Over
Roger. Make sure they have the new password
Challenge: ˇ°Wind.ˇ± Answer: ˇ°Talkers.ˇ±
That's what one of our Navajo brothers calls us
What do you think? Over
ˇ°Windtalkers,ˇ± I like it.
OK, Kemo Sabe, keep your butts down tonight. Over
Biscuits? How can you ruin biscuits?
You are a whiny son of a bitch right now, aren't you?
2200 hours in jungle hell - what does that make it on the East Coast?
How the fucking hell should I know?
Just sevenˇ­
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 hungryˇ­
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 volunteeredˇ­ 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, Iˇ­
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
Don't thank me till you've tried it
You missed mailcall
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', butˇ­
I'm here to kill Japs, not marines
I saw you a warrior, Yahzeeˇ­
You will make your family proud
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, untila body's given a proper burial, the spirits stay near it
Chindis - that's what we call evilspirits. 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 'emˇ­
No shit. My dad, heˇ­ 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, soˇ­
like you just said, if you can't beat 'emˇ­
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
2nd Recon Company will move out at 0600
and scout along road 04
You can expect light resistance northwest of the palm grove. Over
Roger. What do you mean, light? No resistance is light! Over
Remember, marine, Ours is not to question why,
ours is but to do or die
Semper Fi. Over
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 shellingˇ­ - 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'
Shitˇ­ Follow me!
- We're on the wrong fuckin' road! - Goddamn it!
God
Son of a bitch!
I got you, mac!
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
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!
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
Ohˇ­ 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 mailcall, 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 meˇ­
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
Soˇ­
Lieutenant was killed the night before andˇ­
none of the sergeants even made it out of the landing craft, soˇ­
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 commandˇ­
men who trusted meˇ­
who begged me to pull backˇ­
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
What's your expected arrival to the village? Over
Around 1500. Aerial Reconnaissance reports
no movement, looks secure
Request hot chow and mailif possible. Over
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? 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 mailevery 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
What's wrong?
I'm hurting
Here's some pain reliever
Don't worry, you'll be fine
Thank you, Uncle
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 rememberˇ­
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 huntingˇ­
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 mailtoday. 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 itˇ­ 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?
Don't kill him
He's important
We need to interrogate him
Enders!
I can't find Ox or Whitehorse
Have you seen them?
He's over there
Oh, shitˇ­
This was supposed to be a secured area! What happened?
I killed him
Youˇ­ you what?
I took my grenade andˇ­ 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'tˇ­ Come on. Do it
- Do it! - No
We heard about Whitehorse, Yahzee. We shall honor his name and his memory
Farewell, Charlie, farewell
Yes, Charlie, farewell
You know, Whitehorseˇ­ 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 shitˇ­
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
- 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
Move, Greek
I'm gonna get my fuckin' balls blown off out here!
Yahzee! Stop!
Move out!
Yahzee!
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!
Chickˇ­ 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
8th's caught out in the open. 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
Godˇ­
God!
Oh, Godˇ­ Oh, Joeˇ­
We saved a lot of marines today
Yeah, we did, Ben
Charlieˇ­
You know I didn't want to
Right?
Hailˇ­ HailMaryˇ­
full of graceˇ­
ourˇ­
our Lord is with theeˇ­
Holy Mary, mother of Godˇ­
pray for usˇ­
I got the last of 'em, Joe
His name was Joe Endersˇ­
from South Philadelphia
He was a fierce warrior
A good marine
If you ever tell a story about him, Georgeˇ­
say he was my friend
The Navajo Code was vital in the victory at Saipan and every major battle in the Pacific
It was never broken