We Were Soldiers (2002)

[bunniefuu]

The la Drang Valley
of Vietnam,

a place our country does not remember,

in a w*r it does not understand.

This story is a testament
to the young Americans

who d*ed in the Valley of Death

and a tribute to the young men
of the People's Army of Vietnam

who d*ed by our hand in that place.

To tell this story,
I must start at the beginning.

But where does it begin?

Maybe in June of 1954,
when French Group Mobile 100

moved into the same
Central Highlands of Vietnam,

where we would go 11 years later.

See anything?

No, Captain.

f*cking grass...

f*cking heat...

f*cking country...

Do we take prisoners?

No. k*ll all they send...

...and they will stop coming.

Maybe the story
begins in America

when the Army first realized
a new kind of w*r was coming its way.

The White House anticipates a buildup
and wants a victory

over cavemen in black pajamas.

We wouldn't be there if they hadn't
already beaten the French Army.

The French Army? What's that?

The problem in Vietnam is terrain.
Jungles, mountains, rivers.

Maneuver's a nightmare.

That's why we came up with a plan
to use helicopters,

leap in and out of battle.

They want you
to run the test on the idea.

It'll take a hell of a combat leader.

I know a young light colonel
named Hal Moore.

He led a combat company in Korea.

After that, he volunteered
to test experimental parachutes.

Experimental parachutes?
Sounds like just the guy.

The other side
of the mountain

Was all that he could see

Was all that he could see
Was all that he could see

The other side of the mountain

Was all that he could see

The bear went over the mountain

How about we go back to Bingo?
What do you say? Bingo.

B-I-N-G-O

B-I-N-G-O

And Bingo was his name-o

Tom, how much you know
about our new colonel?

He was in Korea,

has a master's
in International Relations from Harvard.

Harvard?

He's not one of those
academic pussies, is he?

Hal Moore?

Want me to get one of those?

Come on, Too Tall.
Give me your best sh*t!

Did you see that, sports fans?
Did you see that?

Snakeshit drives that one
to the moon, baby!

Hit the cutoff man! Hit the cutoff man!

And he's coming around!

Here he comes!

No, he's not.

You're out, Snakeshit! You're out!

Horseshit! No wonder you can't fly.
You can't see.

I believe you're out.

- You're a pilot?
- Too Tall, sir.

- Yeah, I can see that.
- You call, we haul.

- Can I speak to you a minute, Crandall?
- Yes, sir.

- Out.
- Safe.

- Can I buy you a drink?
- Sure.

Thanks.

So, your men call you "Snakeshit. "

That's an affectionate appellation
of my comrades-in-arms, sir,

'cause I fly lower than snake sh*t.

Well, I got a problem, Snakeshit,
and I think you're the solution.

I've been called a lot of things, Colonel,
never a solution.

You know what air cavalry
really means?

You fly into hostile territory,
outnumbered, 10,000 miles from home.

Sometimes the battleground's
no bigger than a football field.

And if the choppers stop coming,
we all get slaughtered.

Now, I figure chopper pilots
won't fly into hell for strangers,

so, I'm Hal Moore.

I know, sir. Why us?

Well, you guys look like sh*t,
but your equipment is immaculate.

Yesterday was Sunday. You didn't
have to be training, but you were.

And you got pilots
like that Too Tall character.

He's way outside the limits
of army regs.

They wanna fly with you
for some reason.

I guess it's 'cause they think
you're the best.

It's 'cause I only recruit
the dumb ones, sir.

I don't suppose
I have a choice in all this.

You sure don't.

Wouldn't miss it for the world.

To the Air Cav.

Good morning, Sergeant Major.

How do you know
what kind of g*dd*mn day it is?

Group! Atten-hut!

At ease, gentlemen.

Welcome to the new cavalry.

We will ride into battle.

And this will be our horse.

You don't have to catch it.
You don't have to feed it.

But I can assure you

that neither the new technology
nor your status as officers

will keep you above the danger.

Sergeant Major Plumley and I
come from the paratroopers

where the officer is always
the first one out of the plane.

Because to follow your instincts

and to inspire your men
by your example,

you have to be with them
where the metal meets the meat.

Sergeant Major Plumley
made all four combat jumps

in the 82nd Airborne
during World w*r II.

Sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Holland,

plus one more in Korea.

He answers to me and to me alone.

Now, I hope you gentlemen like training,

'cause me and the Sergeant Major,

we love it.

Three strikes and you're not out!

There is always one more thing
you can do!

Here we go, boys.

Move! Move! Go! Now!

- Two.
- Let's go!

Three.

We're out of here!

- Pretty good, huh?
- Pretty good.

There's only one thing wrong.

Be sharp, men! We will be
the best platoon in this battalion!

Be ready in there! Let's go! Let's go!

All right! Your officer's dead!

- What do you do? What do you do?
- First...

All right, he hesitated. He's dead.
What do you do?

- Get off the chopper!
- Get off of the chopper.

All right, hold off the third one.

Come on in.

Savage, you learn the job
of the man above you

and you teach your job
to the man below you in rank.

That goes for every man in this outfit.

- Understood?
- Yes, sir!

We'll be landing under fire, gentlemen.

Men will die.

Have you said your prayers?

- No?
- No.

Come on. I'll say them with you.

- Fall in.
- Give me that bear.

No.

All right. Ready. Set.

In the name of the Father,
and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women

and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners...

Cecile, I don't hear you praying, honey.

I don't wanna be a Catholic.
I wanna be a "Nethodist" like Mommy.

You do?

And why is that, honey?

So I can pray whatever I want.

That's a sin.

No, no, no, no, that's not a sin.

God just made you hardheaded.
It's not a sin.

I'll tell you what. You wanna...

You wanna pray
and thank God for our family?

- Yes, sir.
- That's good. Well, then, let's do it.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women

and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.

I can hear you laughing,
you know, even in here.

I'm not laughing, I'm marveling.

Marveling? At what?

That you can find stubbornness
in your children

and think it comes
from anybody but you.

Yeah?

I'll give you something to marvel at.

He's a wild man.

When I pray

whatever I want,

I thank God for you.

Beautiful morning, Sergeant Major.

What are you,
a f*cking weatherman now?

Look what I found
for the new baseball player.

Sent us
another bunch of officers.

Real green. Got to train them up.

Makes me think I'm starting a new unit.

They sent new r*fles, too. The M-16.

That's supposed to be
a pretty good w*apon.

Lots of plastic.

Feels like a BB g*n to me.
Believe I'll stick with my p*stol.

You think we're gonna get close enough
to the enemy to use that?

What do you think, sir?

A leader must remain cool and calm
and thinking.

He must learn to ignore explosions,

the heat and dust,
the screams of the wounded.

This is normal on a b*ttlefield. Normal!

Colonel Tran,
you need to get a company over

to reinforce the left flank.

- Where the hell is that coming from?
- That's our advisors in Vietnam.

The new radio's picking up
atmospheric bounce.

When Crazy Horse was a baby,

he nursed from the breast
of every woman in the tribe.

The Sioux raised their children that way.

Every warrior

called every woman
in the tribe "Mother. "

Every older warrior,
they called him "Grandfather. "

Now, the point here is
that they fought as a family.

Take care of your men.

Teach them to take care of each other.

'Cause when this starts,

each other is all we're gonna have.

- Did you tune that in?
- Yes, sir.

Well, that's fine.
You're my radio operator.

You'll be fine. You'll work it out.

Any of you sons of b*tches
calls me Grandpa,

I'll k*ll you.

Godboldt,
take your boots off.

Go on.

Everybody, take your boots off.

Everybody. Socks, too.

I want you to draw
fresh socks from supply.

Keep your feet dusted with powder.

Everybody check each other's feet
like Godboldt and me.

- Now, that young man's a leader.
- Yes, sir.

That other fella,
that big, strong one there,

he wants to win medals.

Why the hell are you in the back?

g*dd*mn it, why are you in the back?

He's eager.

Ladies, I'm just really, really glad
you're here today.

I know that some of you
are new to the Army

and all of us are new to this post,

so I thought we could
pool our resources

and cover whatever questions
we might have.

So why don't we start
with item number one, food.

If the commissary is out of something,
where's the best place to shop?

Well, I tried Big Star, and it's okay.

But I keep thinking my water's
gonna break right in the checkout aisle.

That takes care of food shopping.
So item number two, laundry.

The base washing machines don't work.

They're full of sand
from the swamp missions.

All right, I'll take care of that.

- I've already complained.
- Well, we'll just go to the General.

In the meantime,
the laundromat in town's okay,

but they won't let you wash
your colored things in their machines.

- At a public laundromat?
- Didn't make sense to me either.

But I'm telling you,
they have a big sign right in the window

says "Whites Only. "

- What?
- Honey, they mean white people only.

That's awful.

Your husband is wearing the uniform
of a country that allows a place

to say that his laundry's not
good enough, when he could die for...

- I'm sorry. I just...
- That's all right, honey.

But I know what my husband's
fighting for, and that's why I can smile.

My husband will never ask for respect,

and he'll give respect to no man
who hasn't earned it.

The rest of his family is the same way.

And anybody who doesn't respect that

can keep his
g*dd*mn washing machine

'cause my baby's clothes
are gonna be clean anyway.

Well, I guess that takes care
of item number two.

Are you all right?

I think... I think my water just broke.

Okay. Okay!

We're all calm. We're all calm.

A car! A car!

- Colonel.
- At ease. At ease.

I heard one of my new lieutenants
just became a father.

- I came to say congratulations.
- Thank you, sir.

So, I didn't wanna disturb you.

No, no, it's fine. It's all right. Please.

- Well, how's your wife?
- She's okay. She's okay. She's sleeping.

So is my daughter.

I just wanted to be here for a while
before I held her.

Well, tag her already? What's that say?

Camille. Yeah, I'm sorry about this, sir.

No, don't you take that off.
You leave that on where it is.

That's an order.

- Colonel, may I ask you a question?
- Sure.

What do you think about
being a soldier and a father?

I hope that being good at the one
makes me better at the other.

Why? What about you?

I don't know, sir.

Between college and here,

Barbara and I spent a year in Africa.

We helped build a school for orphans.

They were orphans
because the w*rlord across the border

didn't like their tribe.

I know God has a plan for me.

I just hope it's to help protect orphans,

not make any.

Well, why don't we ask him?

Come on. Let's go ask him.

Our Father in heaven,
before we go into battle,

every soldier among us
will approach you, each in his own way.

Our enemies, too,
according to their own understanding,

will ask for protection and for victory.

And so we bow
before your infinite wisdom.

We offer our prayers as best we can.

I pray you watch over the young men,
like Jack Geoghegan,

that I lead into battle.

You use me as your instrument
in this awful hell of w*r

to watch over them.

Especially if they're men
like this one beside me

deserving of a future
in your blessing and good will.

- Amen.
- Amen.

Yes, and one more thing, dear Lord.

About our enemies,

ignore their heathen prayers

and help us blow
those little bastards straight to hell.

Amen again.

Amen.

Thank you.

There's one about the kid
with the apple tree, or the flying horse,

or the fairy tales
with the deer and stuff in them.

Daddy, what is a w*r?

Awar is a...

Well, it's...

It's something that shouldn't happen,
but it does.

And it's when

some people in another country
or any country

try to take the lives of other people.

And then soldiers like your daddy
have to, you know...

It's my job to go over there
and stop them.

Are they gonna try
to take your life away, Daddy?

Well, yes, Cecile, they're gonna try.

But I'm not gonna let them.

Okay?

Can't sleep?

No.

The men are so young,

and now they sent me a new crop
even greener.

When I look at them,

I see our boys.

Well, then you're just the man
to lead them.

I guess.

The m*ssacre

We intend to convince the Communists

that we cannot be defeated
by force of arms.

I have asked the commanding general,
General Westmoreland,

what more he needs
to meet this mounting aggression.

He has told me

and we will meet his needs.

I have today ordered to Vietnam
the Air Mobile Division

and certain other forces
which will raise our fighting strength

from 75,000 to 125,000 men

almost immediately.

Additional forces will be needed later.

Get out your best dresses, ladies.

They're gonna want to celebrate.

Don't you ever be sad

Lean on me when the times are bad

I didn't hear the President
mention a state of emergency.

No, he didn't.

Well, without that declaration it means
our enlistments won't be extended.

I'm sorry, Hal.

Forgive me, sir,
but let me get this straight.

We form a division using techniques
that have never been attempted in battle

against an enemy with 20 years
of combat experience on his ground

12,000 miles away from our ground.

And right before the Army
sends us into the fight,

they take away a third of my men,

the most experienced third,
including the officers.

I don't like it any better than you do, Hal.

Hell, no, sir.

You saw this coming, didn't you?

Yes. That's why you gave me
that new crop of platoon leaders.

Korea didn't teach them anything.

- Politicians?
- Politicians.

Hold me, Hold me

Never let me go

Until you've told me, told me

What I want to know
and then just hold me

Hold me

Make me tell you

I'm in love with you

Thrill me, thrill me

Thank you, sir.

By the way, Hal,

since we're being deployed
they're renumbering the units.

You're now the commanding officer
of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry.

The 7th.

The same regiment as Custer.

Thank you, sir.

Be sensible with your new love

Don't be fooled

Thinkin' this is the last you'll find

But they never stood in the dark

With you, love

When you take me in your arms

And drive me slowly out of my mind

Kiss me, kiss me

And when you do

I know that you will miss me

Miss me

If we ever say adieu

So kiss me, kiss me

Make me tell you I'm in love with you

Look around you.

In the 7th Cavalry

we got a captain from the Ukraine.

Another from Puerto Rico.

We've got Japanese, Chinese,

Blacks, Hispanics, Cherokee Indians.

Jews and Gentiles.

All Americans.

Now, here in the States,

some men in this unit

may experience discrimination
because of race or creed.

But for you and me now,

all that is gone.

We're moving into
the valley of the shadow of death,

where you will watch the back
of the man next to you

as he will watch yours.

And you won't care what color he is,

or by what name he calls God.

They say we're leaving home.

We're going to what home
was always supposed to be.

So let us understand the situation.

We are going into battle

against a tough and determined enemy.

I can't promise you

that I will bring you all home alive.

But this I swear,

before you and before Almighty God,

that when we go into battle

I will be the first to set foot on the field

and I will be the last to step off.

And I will leave no one behind.

Dead or alive,

we will all come home together.

So help me God.

I love you.

- Hal.
- Sir.

Last night the enemy hit our camp
at Plei Mei.

- How many casualties?
- None.

The enemy forces withdrew
toward this mountain

near the Cambodian border.

How many men do you have
battle-ready, give or take?

- Sergeant Major?
- Three hundred and ninety-five, sir.

Exactly.

What do you estimate
the enemy strength?

We appraise their numbers
as manageable, Colonel.

You have no idea.

We have no idea. Simple orders, Hal.

Find the enemy and k*ll him.

They att*ck us, no casualties.
They run and hide in the mountains.

So naturally we chase them, of course.

Smell like an ambush to you?

They get close enough to k*ll us,
we'll be close enough to k*ll them.

Round trip by chopper, 30 minutes.

That means the first 60 men
on the ground

will be there a half hour alone.

Son of a bitch.

I think maybe you ought
to get yourself that M-16.

Time comes I need one, sir,

there'll be plenty of them
lying on the ground.

Well, let's go do
what we came here to do.

Yes, sir.

Garry Owen!

It was a Sunday.

November 14, 1965.

Before that day,
the soldiers of North Vietnam

and those of America

had never met each other
in a major battle.

Two miles out.
Dropping to map of the earth.

First Platoon, let's move!

This is Trojan-Two.

All units maintain perimeter contact.
Over.

It's a scout! Let's take him prisoner!

Hey! Lieutenant!

Lieutenant!

There he goes! Come on!

Come on!

Captain, I want you to keep in contact
with all patrols.

Every five minutes
I want you to update me...

Hey. Hey.
Hey, I got something here. I got a boy!

Boy, hell. That ain't no boy.

- He say he deserter.
- Bullshit, he's a lookout.

Ask him where his friends are.

He say this is base camp
for whole division.

- Four thousand men.
- Where?

That mountain.

Same army destroyed French.

And he say they want k*ll American
very badly.

Just not been able to find any yet.

Captain Metsker, tell all patrols
to hold their positions.

You, take the radio!

- Where the hell are they?
- Sir, we gotta get that guy!

Captain, you call in all the patrols.

We have to regroup
and engage the enemy

as far away from the LZ as possible!

Net call, net call, this is Trojan-Two.

Grab the wounded! Break contact!

Fall back! Get to high ground!

Cover fire! Get to high ground!

Come on!

Watch your back!

Come on!

Come on! Get up here!
Bring the wounded up to the middle!

Move it, move it!

Cover fire! Cover fire!

Everybody down! Down!

Check your a*mo!
Everybody check a*mo!

Come on! I'll get us out of here!

Grab the wounded! We'll make a run...

- Sarge!
- We gotta get out of here!

Stay down! Don't anybody move!

Bungum, stay down!

You're gonna be okay.

Stay down.

Form a perimeter!

Conserve your am

What's happening with those patrols?

I'm trying to reach them, sir!

This is Trojan-Two! Come in! Over!

Hey! Hey! Calm down!

Understand the situation
and communicate clearly!

Pull the chain on all the firepower
you can get onto that mountain!

Alert Crandall! We have a hot LZ!

Agent Serpent-Six, this is Trojan-Two.

You're coming
into a hot LZ. We are taking fire.

Repeat. We are taking fire.

No sh*t.

This is Too Tall going down and dirty.

Roger that! Trojan-Two, out!

Herrick's platoon is cut off
and under att*ck!

Bravo Company's holding!

They're gonna try and flank us.

On the ground now! Move!

- Watch him!
- We gotta go.

We're out of here.

They're coming at us
from the back now!

Move!

Savage.

Savage.

All right, all right, I got you.

Sir?

Don't let them get the signal codes.

Roger that, sir. Roger that.

I'm glad I could die for my country.

Doc.

Bungum.

Sarge?

Tell my wife

I love her.

This is Savage.

I need a*tillery to these coordinates,
niner-3-3-0-1.

Ernie! Ernie, help!
We got more coming!

We are cut off. Copy? We are cut off.

- Fire!
- Fire!

They're getting closer!

They're getting closer!
A hundred more, sir!

They're right on top of us, sir!
Bring it in close!

It's a hot LZ! We'll be jumping!
We will not touch down!

They're trying to break right through us!

I want you to reinforce
Alpha Company there! Now! Move!

Follow me!
Charlie Company, up on the ridge!

Doc, the wounded are over
by that termite mound! Go!

Sir, if you don't find some cover,
you're gonna go down!

If you go down, we all go down!
Come on!

Grenades!

I want the M60 right here!

Radio!

Sir, it's Captain Edwards
on the ridge, sir!

- Bob!
- Colonel, these guys are regulars!

Heavily armed!
AK-47s and pouches of grenades!

Heavy machine g*ns
and shoulder-fired rockets!

Captain Nadal!

That creek bed is vital. Vital!

Now, they'll be coming right at you!
Do not let them flank!

I repeat, do not let them flank!

Secure the creek bed!

Tom, I want you to keep trying
to raise those medevac boys.

Tom. Tom.

I'm all right.

Charlie, come here.

I want you to give me all the air support
you can get me on that mountain! Now!

Requesting immediate
close air support!

I need you to burn them out on hilltop

Alpha, shift to Alpha Bravo!

Coordinates, golf-4-5-0-9!

- Get me something higher up!
- Shifting to hilltop Bravo!

Golf-4-5-7-2!

I say again, 4-5-7-2!

Medevac Command of the 7th Cavalry,
are you inbound?

Looks
pretty hot down there.

Yeah, it's a little hot.
You can make it, though.

Just watch our approach, follow us in.

Copy that, 7th Cav.
We will follow your approach.

I want you to get over there
and reinforce Charlie Company there!

Medevac, abort! Abort! This is a hot LZ!

You see that?

My medevac guys are
bugging out and leaving the wounded!

We're going down!

- Snake, get out of here!
- Bring me the wounded!

Wounded! Get the wounded!

Come on! Come on!

Okay, here!

They're still trying to flank us!
Stretch out along the line!

Radio!

Trojan-Six! We are in heavy contact!
In danger of being overrun!

If they get into that LZ, we've all had it.
Can you hold?

We're spread thin, sir,
but we'll give them hell!

Crandall, this is Trojan-Six.
It's too hot down here.

- I'm closing the LZ.
You copy that, Too Tall?

Copy that, Snake.

All 7th Cav air units,
LZX-Ray is closed.

I don't like it. First time out,
a whole battalion massacred?

You think this is a m*ssacre?

I call losing a load of draftees
a bad week.

Losing a colonel is a m*ssacre.

Moore is still fighting.

He's under strength
against more men than he can count.

- He's got a whole platoon lost.
- They're not lost.

They're only cut off and surrounded.

Then they're lost.

- Sergeant Major!
- Sir!

We need to carve out an emergency LZ
right over there.

- Sir!
- Blow the trees down!

Fire in the hole!

Colonel, this is Snakeshit
and Too Tall.

We're coming in
with two full loads of a*mo.

Crandall, we've blown a new LZ.

When you come in,
come in from the east! Out!

Colonel, it's Brigade Headquarters.
They want you out.

- Well, we can't get out, damn it!
- Not all of us. Just you.

Saigon wants to debrief you.

- That doesn't make any sense.
- Say again.

Will you repeat that order?

Too Tall, follow the Colonel
to the new LZ.

I see him, Snake.

Right here! Let's go! Move!

Let's move! Move!

- Oh, sh*t.
- Come on! Come on!

- Grab him, I'll give you a hand!
- Get the wounded onboard!

All right, get that a*mo out
and get the wounded on!

Come on, bring them on!
Get them on, boys!

Come on!

No, no, we're overloaded!

- Leave him!
- I'll get out! It's Ray!

He's hurt worse than me!

You hang on!
I'll see you back there, Ray!

You, me and Ouellette
are all we have in reserve.

Yeah, but it's slacking up a little.

No, they're just regrouping
for another as*ault.

Distribute that a*mo.

Ouellette, you tell Crandall he's got time
to get one more flight in here.

Yes, sir.

Doc, you give this water
to the wounded.

Running out of water.
Must be terrible for them.

Those guys are cut off out there.

Running low on a*mo, Sarge!

Pick your target. One sh*t, one k*ll.
All right?

- Roger that, Sarge.
- How we doing, Doc?

What? Ernie, we're out of water.

That's the last of it.

My face is on fire! Help!

It's phosphorus! Hold still! Hold still!

I'll cut your face! Hold still!

Doc, Doc, it's phosphorus!

Okay!

Does anybody have
any more bandages?

Ernie!

Ernie, you hit, too?

- You hit?
- No, no, I'm okay.

Our guys are gonna come for us,
aren't they?

Yeah.

When?

Plug his wound.

That's the main LZ, but it's closed.

Go! Move!

- Go, Parker! Get up in there!
- This is Too Tall. I'm clear.

Crandall's clear.

Colonel!

I want you to go over there
and reinforce that company!

- On that ridge there! Look!
- Yes, sir!

Okay! Keep your head down!

To the top of the ridge! Move it!

Come on, let's move! Move!

Run! Come on!

Captain Nadal, we've got to
break through to that cut off platoon!

We got an American platoon out there.

An Air Cav platoon cut off out there!

Air Cav! Air Cav!

Garry Owen!

He said, "Really? Me, too. "

I said, "I know.
Your mama asked me to give you $600."

Hey! Good luck to you.

Hey, you got enough room
for one more?

- If you're crazy enough, get in.
- Yes, sir.

Hey, what are those lights down there?

Enemy soldiers.

They use candles on the trail.

They're moving into position to att*ck.

Here we go!

Unload that sh*t!
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!

You and your boys have done
a hell of a job today, Snake.

It's the last flight
for the night, Colonel,

but you need us, you call us.

- Who the hell are you?
- I'm a reporter, sir.

Yeah.

Joe Galloway, UPI.
How's it going, Colonel?

Well, we've been flat to the boards
since last night,

and we're greatly outnumbered.

You got more enemy coming, too, sir.

I saw a whole chain of lights

coming down the mountain
on the way in.

- Is that so?
- Yes, sir.

Well, I can't guarantee your safety.

Yes, sir, I know.

- Where you from, son?
- Refugio, Texas, sir.

Well, that's the first thing I heard all day
that makes any sense.

Captain Dillon, do you see those lights

coming down the trails
on the mountain?

- On it right now, sir.
- You fry them sons of b*tches.

Whiskey-Six, this is Trojan-Three.
Fire mission.

Tango Foxtrot, 4-niner-6-5-6-niner.

All operations
are suspended for the evening.

Morning operations
will be scheduled for 0530 hours.

Where's Crandall?

- Where's Crandall?
- He's right there, sir.

Crandall, you led my men into a hot LZ.

Yeah, somebody had to fly out
the wounded.

No, no, don't you play hotshot with me.

Now, you know the rules.
You suckered us in there.

If you ever do it again,
I'm gonna have you busted!

You got the balls to face me,
but not the balls to face the enemy?

Hey, hey, hey!

- Get out of here.
- Whoa!

I ever see you again, I'll k*ll you.

That's right.

Hey.

Quite a day, huh?

Tomorrow will be worse.

If they make it to tomorrow.

Ernie,
it's pitch black.

I can't see anything,
but I can smell them.

Dead bodies stink, Bungum.

No, it's not the dead ones.
I can smell them crawling up on us.

I'm telling you.

I need illumination, 6-5-0-1-5-0.

I need a*tillery
on previously established targets!

Alpha, Bravo and Charlie!
Fire for effect!

Fire for effect!

Save your a*mo! Cease fire!

Is anybody hit?

Captain, if you guys are coming,
you gotta let us know.

It's pitch black out here.

I don't wanna sh**t
any of our own guys. Copy?

Savage,

we can't make it tonight.

Don't worry. You're gonna make it.

We'll come get you in the morning.

Yes, sir.

Out.

You're doing a fine job, son.

Don't worry. We gave them
more than they gave us today.

Keep it up.

- How you boys doing?
- Fine, sir.

You keep doing what you're doing,
we'll be fine.

Your men have done a hell of a job
today, Lieutenant Geoghegan.

They won't get through us, sir.
You can count on it.

I know that, Jack.

Keep it up, son.

It's Rear Headquarters.

How is it out there, Colonel?

We're surrounded,
but we're holding on, sir.

Sir, I need a confirmed count
of our dead and wounded.

I got to know where all my boys are.

You'll get it, Hal.

Here they come.

Captain Edwards.

We need illumination on the perimeter.

Whiskey-Five,
this is Hot Wire-Six-Alpha.

We need illumination now.

Cathy?

A telegram.

A cab delivers a telegram.

"The Secretary of the Army

"regrets... "

Mrs. Moore?

Colonel Moore's wife?

Yes.

I need help finding an address.

- I'm looking for...
- You jackass!

Do you know what this is?
Do you know what you just did to me?

I don't like this job, ma'am.

I'm just trying to do it.

Wait.

I'll take it to her.

And tell the cab company,

if there are any others,
just bring them to me.

Julie.

I just went by to see Catherine.

Everybody knows.

No chaplains or counselors?
Cab drivers?

The Army wasn't ready.

I'll go with you.

- Thanks.
- Who's it for?

Mmm-mmm.

No.

Mmm-mmm.

I thought she would hate me.

Your husband didn't start the w*r.

They all knew this could happen,
and so did we.

I'll take care of this.

I'll go with you.

We'll do one at a time. Okay?

- We won't look.
- Okay.

Julie, do you think
there'll be more telegrams tomorrow?

If there are, come and get me.

In the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Ghost, amen.

"Out of the depths I cry unto thee,
O Lord.

"Lord, hear my voice:

"let thine ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications.

"If thou, O Lord,
shall mark our iniquities,

"Lord, who can abide them?

"But with thee there is mercy. "

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,

and may perpetual light
shine upon them.

And through the mercy of God,
may they rest in peace. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and the Son
and the Holy Ghost.

You got a death wish, Galloway?

No, sir.

Well, then why are you here?

'Cause I knew these dead boys
would be here, sir.

Why aren't you a soldier?
You got the guts for it.

My daddy was a soldier.

My granddaddy,

two of my great-granddaddies
were soldiers.

Hell, that's how I came to be.

See, each of them lost a leg
in the Civil w*r.

My Great-Granddaddy Galloway,
he lost his left,

and my Great-Granddaddy Reid
lost his right.

They met in a shoe store in Galveston.

Every year after that, same date,
same store, they'd get together

and pick out a brand new pair of shoes
for the two of them.

- You are sh1tting me.
- No, sir.

I swear to God.

Anyway, one had a daughter,
one had a son, my grandparents.

What the hell do you suppose the odds

of them having
the same shoe size was?

I don't know, Colonel.
It was meant to be, I guess.

Yeah.

Meant to be.

You know, sir, Galloways have been
in every w*r this country's ever fought.

When it came to this one,
I didn't think I could stop a w*r.

You know,

I just thought maybe
I might try and understand one.

Maybe help folks back home
understand.

I just figure I could do that better

sh**ting a camera
than I could sh**ting a r*fle.

Well...

I sure hope you make it
through this one.

You, too, Colonel.

Right 20!

Put it right on them!

Colonel, sir.

- Captain Nadal.
- Sir.

What is it, sir?

Nothing's wrong,
except there's nothing wrong.

Best get back to the termite mound.
You'll be fine. Go on.

Roger that, sir. Come on!

All right, pass the word on.

Every man fire three rounds
at anything that looks suspicious to him.

On my signal.

They're gonna hit us like this
along the whole perimeter.

We gotta get back
to that termite mound.

Better hang here a minute, sir!

sh*t.

We need a medic!

Sir! Sir!

Captain Edwards, Charlie Company,
on the ridge.

Bob.

They're inside the a*tillery!

I need...

Bob. Bob!

Godboldt, I need a grenade!

Go, Willie! Come on, let's go!

Godboldt's down!

I'll get him!

Willie!

Get those guys some help over there!

Captain Dillon,
I want you to get Bravo Company

to send a platoon across the LZ
and support Charlie Company.

Bravo-Six, this is Trojan-Three.
Bravo-Six, this is Trojan-Three.

And tell Charlie Company
to get real small in their holes.

I'm gonna drop some a*tillery
right on top of them!

Charlie Company, get small.

We got AT coming
right on top of your position.

We're being overrun!

Nah, boys! We're gonna win this fight.

Yes, sir, they brought a main force
VC battalion against us, too.

Colonel, I request that you dispatch
another company of reinforcements

for movement
as soon as it can be accomplished

without undue risk.

Done. How bad is it, Hal?

It's getting pretty sporty down here, sir.

Get out of the way!

Medic! Get a medic over here!

- Hey, what's your name, soldier?
- Jimmy Nakayama.

I got a baby being born today.

- Oh, wow! Congratulations!
- Thanks!

Medic!

Can't take no pictures
lying down there, sonny.

Down, right there.

Sir, how... I'm a noncombatant, sir.

Ain't no such thing today, boy.

sh*t.

Why aren't those mortars f*ring?

What's the problem here?

These tubes are red hot, sir.

I'm afraid we're gonna cook a round off
and blow us all up.

And we can't cool them off
'cause we're all out of water.

Come on!
What are you waiting for?

Jimmy, come on.

Go, go, go.

Yeah, come on.

Gentlemen,

prepare to defend yourselves.

Grenade!

Negative! Negative! Stand by!

My pilots do not see the enemy.

They cannot pick out our friendlies.

Bravo-Six, say again. Do you read?

You gotta tell your company commander
to pop smoke now.

- They need to mark the lines right now!
- We have no lines!

We have enemies and friendlies
mixed in all over the place right now.

Sir, our perimeter is collapsing.

Alpha Company
and Bravo Company cannot hold.

Charlie Company is being overrun.

Net call! Net call!

Keep this net clear!

Hastings!

Broken arrow!

I say again! Broken arrow!

Broken arrow!

Confirm. Broken arrow.

Broken arrow confirmed.

Broken arrow?

That means that an American unit
has been overrun.

It calls in every combat aircraft
for support.

My God, there's no hiding it now.

- Charlie Company, report!
- Signal is out!

Bravo Company, report!

Roger that!
Planes are on their way, Colonel!

Sir!

Roger that!

We have planes
stacked up at every 1,000 feet

from 7,000 to 35,000.
We'll get them, sir!

Advancing north
on our position at 1-5-0.

9-6-2-5-0-7...

Bring it in closer in on 3-1-5 degrees!

That's 0-5-0! Repeat, 0-5-0!

g*dd*mn it.

Company sights enemy in the open,
advancing north on our position.

They're advancing on 5 degrees
at 1-5-0.

Bring it in closer in
on 315 degrees at 0-5-0...

Charlie, call that son of a bitch off!

Call an abort now!

Pull up!

Get down!

Charlie!

Charlie, listen to me.
You're keeping us alive now.

You forget about that one
and you keep them coming in.

You're doing well, son.

7-0-2, att*ck against the tree line.

Medic! Medic!

Medic!

- Oh, God! Jimmy.
- You know this guy?

You know him? Talk to him.
Just talk to him!

Jimmy, do you hear me?

It's Joe. It's Joe Galloway.

Doc's giving you morphine.
We're gonna get you out of here.

We gotta get him to the landing zone.
Grab his legs!

You gotta get him out of here. Hey! Hey!

I can't help you!
You gotta do it by yourself!

- Get him on that chopper, okay?
- Yes, sir.

Tell my wife I love her

and my baby!

You tell them!

- Captain Nadal.
- Sir.

Now that we put them back on their
heels and we got us a lull,

I want you to att*ck.

I want you to go over there
and rescue that cut off platoon.

Yes, sir! First Squad, move out!

Come on, guys. Move it!

Add 50.

Keep moving the a*tillery forward!

Keep walking the a*tillery forward!

Spread it out!

Move it!

Move it! Keep moving forward!

Sergeant Savage, you guys still here?

We have 40 KIA, we have two MIA.

Those are the latest numbers. Over.

That's a nice day, Sergeant Savage.

Forty dead, two unaccounted for, sir.

Right.

All right, boys, let's get them up
and get them out.

Let's get them out of here
and get them on the chopper!

Since most of the men
being loaded on the choppers

are from Charlie Company,
I want you to take their place.

I'll show you where after dark.
Follow me.

Yes, sir! Let's go!

Captain, you ought to have your men
dig some f*ring steps in these holes.

Throw some dirt on those bodies,
keep the smell down.

Roger, Sergeant Major.

Kind of makes you wish you'd
signed up for submarines, don't it?

Colonel, Brigade Headquarters
wants you lifted out

on the first chopper at dawn.

Now, what idiot would keep ordering
that in the middle of a g*dd*mn battle?

General Westmoreland
wants a briefing.

Give me the horn.

I am in a fight

and I object to this order
to return to Saigon.

Now, I will not leave my men.

Is that clear? Out.

There's two of my men
unaccounted for out there

and it's where the worst
of the fighting was,

so I figure
they'll be out there someplace.

Let's go out and get them.
What do you say?

- I'm with you, sir.
- All right.

Let's go.

Julie?

They brought another.

- Oh, God. Julie. Julie, it's yours.
- No.

He d*ed keeping my promise.

Sir, they're ordering us all out.

All of us.

They're gonna march reinforcements in.

They don't understand
a damn thing, do they?

Can't get out.

He's waiting up there in a cave,
and that's what he wants.

The minute he sees live soldiers
hopping on a helicopter,

he'll be all over us
and then he'll get what he wants.

He'll get his m*ssacre.

Requesting permission
to rejoin the line, sir.

All right, son.

Garry Owen, sir.

I wonder what was going
through Custer's mind

when he realized
he'd led his men into a slaughter.

Sir, Custer was a p*ssy.

You ain't.

g*dd*mn.

Hell.

Right now they're planning
their final att*ck,

the one that's gonna finish us off.

They'll nibble at us all night,

then come dawn,
they'll hit us with everything they got.

I know that's what I'd do if I was him.

Sergeant Major,
hand out the last of the amm*nit*on.

Yes, sir.

Fix bayonets.

You were wondering
how Custer felt, sir.

You ought to ask him.

Sergeant Savage!

Checking the dead enemies
for documents

and I found this on the guy
that tried to bayonet you.

Translated some of it, mostly personal.

Thought you might wanna
have a look at it.

- Joe!
- Joe!

- What was that?
- It's American a*tillery.

Friendly fire.

Hey,
how many casualties?

What the hell happened here, Joe?

- Hey, Joe.
- Hey, Joe.

Colonel Moore! Colonel Moore!

Colonel! Colonel Moore!

Colonel!

What was the key
to your victory, Colonel?

Sir, tell us how you feel.

Do you feel the United States
will be forced

to take the North Vietnamese
more seriously now?

How do you feel
about the loss of your men, sir?

Have you notified the families, sir?

I'm glad you made it, son.

Thank you, sir. You, too.

Yeah.

I'll never forgive myself.

For what, sir?

That my men...

That my men d*ed and I didn't.

Sir, I don't...

I don't know how to tell this story.

Well, you got to, Joe.

You tell the American people
what these men did here.

You tell them how my troopers d*ed.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

All of our men, living and dead,
are off the field, sir.

Well done, Sergeant Major.

In Saigon, Hal Moore's
superiors congratulated him

for k*lling over 1,800 enemy soldiers.

Then ordered him
to lead the men of the 7th Cavalry

back into the Valley of Death.

He led them and fought beside them

for 235 more days.

Kids, go to bed.

- Isn't there someone at the door?
- Go to bed!

Children, your daddy's home!

Daddy! Daddy!

Some
had families waiting.

For others, their only family
would be the men they bled beside.

There were no bands, no flags,

no Honor Guards
to welcome them home.

They went to w*r
because their country ordered them to.

But in the end they fought
not for their country or their flag.

They fought for each other.

Dear Barbara,

I have no words to express to you
my sadness at the loss of Jack.

The world is a lesser place without him.

But I know he is with God
and the angels.

And even heaven is improved
by his presence there.

I know you, too, are sure of this

and yet this knowledge
can't diminish his loss

and your grief.

With abiding respect and affection,
Hal Moore.

We who have seen w*r,
will never stop seeing it.

In the silence of the night,
we will always hear the screams.

So this is our story,

for we were soldiers once,

and young.