Transcript: (2x2) Saigon Part Two

From Bravo 3/44th

Directed by: Bill L. Norton

Written by: Rick Husky

See the Episode Guide

[1:33] Explosion Aftermath

DEVLIN: That kid left his shine box.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, VC'll create havoc any way they can. They'd put a grenade in a baby's blanket with the baby still in it if they thought it'd do.

DEVLIN: Come on, I wanna file this story.

[2:03] Rock 'N Roll Chopper Ride

COPILOT: You're gonna have Charlie boogieing in the rice paddy before you're done, McKay.

MCKAY: That's what I like about these milk runs; gives you plenty of time to entertain the natives.

RADIO: Blue Velvet, this is Golden Eagle Three. Over.

MCKAY: Make it good, Three. You're interrupting The Temps. Over.

RADIO: Say again, Blue Velvet? Over.

MCKAY: You wouldn't understand, Golden Eagle. What can I do for you? Over.

RADIO: You can pick up a squadron of rifles we've got under fire. Over.

MCKAY: Give me the coordinates, Three. Over.

RADIO: That's Echo-Lima-one-five-niner-seven-zero-four. Over.

MCKAY: Blue Velvet on the way, Three. Out.

[3:11] Lay Down Some Fire

MCKAY: Lay down some fire, boys!

MCKAY: Let's go, let's go!

COPILOT: Go, go!

COPILOT: I'll buy you a beer after that one.

MCKAY: Not a chance, buddy. I got a date with an angel.

[3:58] Tan Son Nhut Airport

PA SYSTEM: Flight 806 from Tokyo will be arriving at Gate Six. (?)

ANDERSON: There you go.

CAROL ANDERSON: Zeke, I-I just want you to know how much you mean to me.

ANDERSON: Hey-hey, listen. It's just you and me here. We never kidded each other before, not even when things got real bad. And, really, I'm the one should be grateful. I mean, look at it like this: what other wife would come all this way just to keep her husband from gettin' a "Dear John" letter?

CAROL ANDERSON: God, if there's one thing I'm gonna miss about you, it's your sense of humor.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I might miss that my own self. Oh, I promise—I swear—I will not forget Katie's birthday again. I-I'm gonna have it tattooed on my forehead.

CAROL ANDERSON: Don't worry about Katie, about us. You've got enough to do worrying about your men, Zeke. Just... keep yourself alive.

ANDERSON: Okay. Carol, I've seen some things over here; I'll tell ya it's, uh, it's just like everythin' you hear. It's, it's death and destruction; it's hell on earth; it's a twisted limb. I just want it to be over.

CAROL ANDERSON: You can't win this war all by yourself.

ANDERSON: I realize that. I'm just livin' one day at a time. I've been havin' these nightmares; it's like a bad double feature or somethin', and I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, I just see more of my people goin' home to their mamas in body bags.

CAROL ANDERSON: Zeke, if I could do anything...

ANDERSON: There is, there is. There is somethin' you can do for me, and it's real important to me. Look, baby, I just want you to be happy. God, I just, I-I just want you to live your life and be happy. Get on that plane today with a smile on your face and just don't look back.

CAROL ANDERSON: Oh, Zeke.

ANDERSON: I love you, girl. I-I love you, and I know you love me, and that's all I need to carry me through.

CAROL ANDERSON: Zeke...

ANDERSON: Hey, hey. Hey. Where's my smile?

[6:37] Debate In The News Room

DEVLIN: Newsweek bureau chief was tossed out of Saigon for writing articles critical of the ARVN forces and South Vietnamese government<ref name="FrancoisSully">In an article for Newsweek on August 22, 1962, American correspondent François Sully wrote that the war was "a losing proposition," quoting historian Bernard Fall's criticism of the Diem government and the American training of the South Vietnamese army. The Diem regime subsequently expelled Sully from South Vietnam. (source: Knightly, Phillip. The First Casualty. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, rev. ed. 2002, p. 414.) (more on news media in Vietnam at Wikipedia)</ref> and yet the press still has a responsibility to report the truth–even when they won’t tell us what that truth is.

GOLDMAN: But the problem being that some of your people wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit them.

MCKAY: Look, I’m starving. Is anybody else here starving?

DEVLIN: What we get is canned releases and staged briefings about structures destroyed, acceptable casualties.

GOLDMAN: Alright, ARVN’s a poor excuse for an army, and sometimes we’ve gotta second-guess the strategy that our guys run by us, but the press is not helping win this war, and I’m not about to get excited one way or another whether they get it right or wrong.

MCKAY: Well, I heard you got a little excited about Rivera’s death and didn’t want it reported.

GOLDMAN: I’d say that’s none of your damn business, McKay.

[7:24] When Alex Gets Excited

MCKAY: Well, you know what I get excited about? Is when Alex gets excited–passionate–about just any old thing. It’s only because of my undying respect for you that I would ever ruin a dinner date like this.

DEVLIN: Were having dinner.

MCKAY: Mm, we a different agenda and some excess baggage.

GOLDMAN: Thing is, McKay, I remember seeing your name on the duty roster, and I wouldn’t want you to blow that for a night on the town.

MCKAY: Oh, no, that’s my chopper that has the duty, not me. One of the generals uses it to ferry orders of pizza out to his commanders in the field.

DEVLIN: Pizza?

MCKAY: Mm, pizza. Last time it happened, I’d just evacked some wounded from a bad situation, and I got my butt chewed because I had blood and vomit all over the chopper right before the pizza run.

GOLDMAN: Ain’t war grand?

[8:08] VC Getting Restless

DEVLIN: [on phone:] Devlin. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks. [to Goldman & McKay:] My source at MACV. Something’s happening up north; there’s now reports of increased VC activity in the Highlands, Da Nang, and Qui Nhon. I think the VC are gonna violate the cease-fire and Saigon’s gonna get hit.

[8:35] Brothers Meet The Widow

LISA: You are looking for Jake Bridger?

JOHNSON: Are you Miss Kwan? My name’s Johnson–Marvin Johnson, Sergeant Bridger’s new partner in the hotel.

TAYLOR: Yeah, where is Bridger, our idol, purveyor of the American Dream? Where is my main man?

LISA: There.

JOHNSON: Excuse me, where?

LISA: The urn. Bridger is in the urn.

LISA: He was killed last week.

JOHNSON: Killed?

STACY BRIDGER: Oh, God! No, it’s not true!

LISA: He was killed by the VC. Who are you?

STACY BRIDGER: Stacy Bridger.

JOHNSON: Bridger?

TAYLOR: Jake Bridger was your father?

[9:36] Three's A Crowd

JIMMY: …enjoy yourselves. Alex, it is so good of you to come.

DEVLIN: Why, thank you. Lunar New Year’s Eve, why would I stay home?

JIMMY: Ah, yes, the Year of the Monkey. Down in Dogpatch they would be shooting up enough fireworks to drive away the evil spirits for another year.

DEVLIN: Jimmy, Lieutenant Mc– Lieutenant Goldman and Lieutenant McKay.

JIMMY: Gentlemen, welcome to my humble establishment. I have the greatest respect for you and what you are trying to do for my country.

DEVLIN: Jimmy’s a genuine philosopher.

MCKAY: Well, I’m glad somebody appreciates us. I gotta stop by the men’s room.

JIMMY: Yes, but I am afraid the masses are not as attuned to the Americans as I am. But you can’t blame them; they have seen the Chinese, Japanese, French come and go in their time.

GOLDMAN: I suppose they think we’ll be leaving, too.

JIMMY: One difference. The Americans come and crusade to improve our standard of living, our lives. But we cannot afford what you all want to give to us: motor cars, television, better homes, air conditioning. You know the prices of food has doubled and redoubled since you arrived. So what do the people do?

DEVLIN: Oh, but war is good for business, Jimmy. Right?

JIMMY: Depends upon the clientele.

[10:48] Bridger Was A Passing Acquaintance

DEVLIN: Listen, what’d you hear from Jake Bridger before he went to that great PX in the sky?

JIMMY: I heard he was killed a week or so ago. He was merely a passing acquaintance. Please, sit down and enjoy yourselves. Excuse me please.

DEVLIN: Thank you.

DEVLIN: Jimmy’s heavy in the black market. This Bridger owed his soul to the company store, and in Saigon, Jimmy owns the store.

GOLDMAN: Well, Bridger put in his twenty, and he was on his way out when I was on my way in, but some of the guys in my outfit had an investment going with him.

DEVLIN: Whatever it was, they can kiss it goodbye.

GOLDMAN: So how’d Bridger die?

DEVLIN: Well, the word on the street is the VC killed him. I talked to him about five or six days before it happened, and he knew he was in deep.

[11:45] Myron, Telephone Call

JIMMY: Excuse me, Lieutenant Goldman–telephone call for you.

MCKAY: Don’t rush. Alex, you work too hard. You’ve gotta learn how to relax.

DEVLIN: Yeah right.

[12:36] I Am On My Way, Sir

GOLDMAN: [on phone:] Lieutenant Goldman. Yes, sir, Captain Judson. Yes, sir, I’m aware of the story and of the– Ye– Yes, sir, if you could just wait until– Yes, sir. Tell the Colonel I’ll be there right away.

GOLDMAN: I thought I told you not to write the story about Rivera.

DEVLIN: What are you talking about?

GOLDMAN: You agreed not to use Rivera’s name.

DEVLIN: I didn’t use his name.

GOLDMAN: Well then something you put in that story tipped off the brass.

DEVLIN: Look, Myron, I know how to do my job, alright? I changed enough details to totally obscure his identity.

GOLDMAN: Why the hell does Colonel Phillips want to speak to me right away, then?

DEVLIN: I don’t know. Look, something’s wrong here, Myron.

GOLDMAN: Yeah, something is wrong: your holier-than-thou attitude and pontifications about the war, about the Army, and about people’s right to know. You can kill somebody in print just as easily as you can with an M-16.

DEVLIN: Myron!

MCKAY: Look, I knew the guy had a short fuse, but I think he was a little tough on you no matter what happened.

DEVLIN: I’m telling you, Johnny, there’s no way they could have gotten Rivera from what I wrote.

MCKAY: Look, I’m sure you’re right, but let’s not let it ruin our evening, okay?

[13:25] The Bridger Woes

JOHNSON: You mean Bridger didn’t mention anything about our partnership? He wouldn’t do this to me, he was my buddy.

LISA: He was anybody’s buddy when he smell a scam. I was his wife. I run the hotel for him.

JOHNSON: Then what about my money I invested?

LISA: There is no more money. Bridger gambled it all away. Sorry.

[14:21] Check This Out

TAYLOR: Johnson, my man, I’ve been scopin’ the establishment here, and this place is full of hot and cold running hookers.

JOHNSON: What are you talkin’ about?

TAYLOR: I’m talkin’ about I think you bought yourself into a piece of a cathouse–or at least thought you bought yourself a piece.

JOHNSON: That damn Bridger! "Purveyor of the American Dream," huh? Well your main man just stole all my money.

TAYLOR: Yeah, well, that serves us right for trusting a honky.

JOHNSON: Wait, look, maybe Bridger had a will. Yeah, a will! And he mentioned the partnership in it.

TAYLOR: Yeah, and maybe I’m Ann-Margret over here to entertain the troops. Look, the money’s gone, forget about it. But come here, I gotta show you somethin’. You’ve gotta check this out.

TAYLOR: Check this out. Poker game. Our stake from the base dice game. We’re gonna get your money back, Johnson, and then some.

[14:39] Street Gang Prey

THUG: Where you going? You wanna party?

STACY BRIDGER: Please let me by.

THUG: We’re number one guys. We’re party guys.

THUG: Hey, what you have in your bag?

STACY BRIDGER: Please, just leave me alone, okay?

[15:17] Sarge To The Rescue

ANDERSON: Hold it right (?)

STACY BRIDGER: Please leave me alone.

ANDERSON: Darling… honey. Sweetheart, where did you go? I mean, I’m standing in the lobby of the hotel, look around, and you’ve gone. Oh, this is my little daughter, and we were havin’ an argument, and she took off–and you know, fellas like you, you can understand something like that. Now honey, this is not the neighborhood to go wanderin’ off in. So, you stay right here, now, and I’ll get your bag, and we’ll be on our way.

ANDERSON: I take it y’all ain’t from the Chamber of Commerce, are you?

ANDERSON: Alright—alright.

STACY BRIDGER: Zeke, please, I don’t care about the bag.

ANDERSON: Alright, tell you what, let’s be reasonable. You make an offer, name your price, and you’ve got it. Then we’ll take the bags and be on our way.

THUG: (?)

ANDERSON: No, we would like the bags first, but we’ll make an adjustment.

THUG: (?)

ANDERSON: Welcome to Saigon.

[16:24] Welcome To Saigon

STACY BRIDGER: So you didn’t make out much better with your meeting than I did.

ANDERSON: No. I did one tour too many. Job in the military’s not like a job at the local plant, nine-to-five. I mean you see your buddies get killed, one by one. And each time a little bit of you gets killed along with them. This is my third tour now, and I’m probably tempting fate myself.

STACY BRIDGER: You loved your wife a lot.

ANDERSON: Oh, yeah. I remember the day our daughter Katie was due. I was comin’ in off maneuvers and I got word that Carol was in labor. I drove like a wild man to get to the hospital–I did. When I got there I was runnin’ down the hallway, knocking people aside, and there Carol was, holding our baby girl. I’ve never seen a more beautiful (woman?) in my entire life. The trouble is, I can remember every single thing about that day—I can remember every single detail—but I can’t for the life of me, remember the date. Was it the sixth or the eighth? I don’t have a head for some things.

STACY BRIDGER: Maybe some things aren’t meant to be.

ANDERSON: Mmm. Stacy, I’m sorry about your dad. I mean, aside from tryin’ to con me and every other GI in the hemisphere out of our life savings, your ol’ man wasn’t such a bad guy.

STACY BRIDGER: I had to go through a lot to get over here. But I came to thank him for a letter he had sent. Now it’s almost as if he knew what was gonna happen. He wanted to make contact with me after all those years.

ANDERSON: The safest thing for you to do now is get on a plane and go back to Minneapolis.

STACY BRIDGER: I wanna go back to the hotel. At least find out who he was; that’s why I came here to begin with. And I wanna take his ashes back home with me.

[18:34] Meanwhile Back At MACV Base

RADIO: It's been a gorgeous day here in Saigon, boys. So how's it been where you are? Vanessa wants to know.

PERCELL: Wow, there she is again, Roo. I'm tellin' you, that's the sexiest voice I ever heard.

RADIO: Then we'll didi back to the Club Savoy, where we're locationing every night this week.

PERCELL: The Club Savoy. You know maybe ol' Taylor's right. When we get into Saigon, I ought to be looking this woman up.

RUIZ: Come on, man, there's more to life than somethin' soft and warm, you know.

PERCELL: Oh, yeah right, like what? Voodoo?

RUIZ: You know, you shouldn't knock what you don't understand, man. You know, I've got an uncle who they call "the Chicken Man." That's 'cause once a year he bites the head off a chicken, he drinks the blood, then he eats the raw liver. Gives him great strength.

PERCELL: You're right, buddy. I don't understand.

[19:27] Johnson At Hotel Paradise

ANDERSON: What’s the matter with you, Johnson?

JOHNSON: It’s Taylor. He’s into a heavy-duty poker game downstairs, and he’s playin’ with some bad customers.

ANDERSON: Alright, then, let’s just go down, get him out of the game, get him back to base.

JOHNSON: He ain’t buyin’ that. You know, I tell you, there’s something weird about this place. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say we’re sittin’ right in the middle of VC country.

[19:49] Marine, Gun, And A Baby

GI: I’m getting the MPs. There’s a Marine in there with a gun and a baby.

ANDERSON: Hold it now, hold it now. It’d be a natural crime for you to waste all your ammo on me instead of Charlie.

KRUSAK: Don’t come in here.

STACY BRIDGER: There’s a Marine in there with a gun; he has a baby.

LISA: That would be Krusak. Bridger tried to help him, but he’s a crazy kid.

JOHNSON: Tried to help him like he helped me, right?

LISA: Don’t judge Bridger until you know all the facts.

[20:39] Where's Kim

ANDERSON: Looks like a pretty little girl there. Am I right? Now, listen to me, I’ve got a little girl of my own, too. When’s the last time she had something to eat?

KRUSAK: Eat? I don’t know. Where’s Kim? You take her away?

ANDERSON: No–no. Now, you’ve gotta believe me, I didn’t do nothing like that. Somebody find out if anybody knows a Kim.

LISA: She’s one of the girls who works here.

ANDERSON: Is that the baby’s mama? Her name’s Kim?

KRUSAK: I love her–so much, it hurts.

ANDERSON: Yeah, well, love’s a mighty powerful notion.

KRUSAK: It’s not her fault, oughta be gone from here, but Bridger never showed with what we needed.

[21:47] Hand Me The Pistol

KRUSAK: I don’t wanna hurt anybody.

ANDERSON: I know you don’t. I know you don’t wanna hurt anybody, so you’ve gotta listen to me. I’m gonna walk across the room now–real slow, and I want you to hand me the pistol. Just real slow. No problem. Real slow.

[22:08] Kim Are You Home?

LISA: Kim?

JOHNSON: Does she always leave her door open like this?

LISA: Are you in there? Kim?

STACY BRIDGER: Oh my God!

[22:30] I Am An AWOL Marine

KRUSAK: I was stationed at the embassy, but I’m AWOL. I was gonna take Kim with me if Bridger got the forged passports. Why would anybody do something like that? Kill her like that?

ANDERSON: Why’d you go AWOL?

KRUSAK: I wanted to marry her, adopt the baby. But they jerked me around with the forms I have to fill out. So Commander got upset, was transferring me to a rifle platoon up north by the DMZ.

[23:12] The MP's Are Here

JOHNSON: Hey Sarge, there’s MP’s outside in the lobby.

KRUSAK: MP? No way, I can’t deal with that man—no, no way.

ANDERSON: Alright—just calm down, now. I’ll go downstairs, I’ll talk to 'em, I’ll help you any way I can.

KRUSAK: They’re gonna take me, right?

ANDERSON: Yeah, they might take you, but as long as you didn’t have anything to do with Kim’s death, you’re gonna be alright.

KRUSAK: No, man, they’re gonna say I’m AWOL and that I killed her. I can’t take that!

STACY BRIDGER: I’ll take the baby to the other room.

[24:51] You Are Another Victim

KRUSAK: I killed her. I killed her. I loved her and I killed her. Because she was using what I told her. Her brother’s VC. She wanted to know about the embassy: the layout, where the guards were, the defenses. And she just kept pumpin’ me and pumpin’ me. Just couldn’t take it anymore.

ANDERSON: So you did tell her things?

KRUSAK: I told her everything, I told her everything.

ANDERSON: Alright—alright. Look—listen to me—listen to me. I hate what you did, but I just figure you’re another victim of this whole mess that we’re all involved in over here. So, now, you try to hold it together while we sort things out here, alright?

KRUSAK: Hold it together, man? This whole place is crawlin’ with VC. MPs don’t get me, VC will.

ANDERSON: Alright, Johnson, you stay here and keep him company, now. I’m gonna go downstairs and talk to the MPs. Maybe I can get 'em to keep it under wraps—

ANDERSON: No!

ANDERSON: That’s all I can tell you.

ANDERSON: Oh, man, that was a damn shame.

JOHNSON: You tell him about the girl askin’ about the embassy?

ANDERSON: No, I wanna get back to base and tell command. Johnson, you go yank Taylor out of that card game and let’s get goin’.

LISA: May I speak with you for a moment? It’s important.

[26:04] Sexy Voice At Savoy Club

VIETNAMESE DJ: That was the fabulous Supremes and “Where Did Our Love Go,” and you’re listening to the uptown sounds of yours truly, Vanessa Brown, live from the Club Savoy in beautiful downtown Saigon.

PERCELL: I wonder if she’s a blonde, brunette, maybe a redhead. I’m telling you, buddy, a voice like that–this girl’s gotta be from the Midwest, strictly class. Probably from Chicago.

RUIZ: Look, I’m telling you, Danny, this isn’t where we oughta be, man. Let’s just get out of here, alright?

PERCELL: Roo, you know, buddy, I’m getting fed up with this hoodoo voodoo crap of yours.

RUIZ: Danny, I’m a marked man.

PERCELL: Fine.

PERCELL: Oh, buddy, there she is.

RUIZ: She ain’t from Chicago.

PERCELL: She is gorgeous. Hey, I’m in love.

[26:59] Danny's In Love

VANESSA: Hello.

PERCELL: Hi there.

VANESSA: Are you a soldier?

PERCELL: What tipped you off? That’s right, yeah, and proud of it.

VANESSA: Well, you should be. We’re proud of all you boys here. So where are you stationed?

PERCELL: Well, I just got transferred in to Tan Son Nhut.

VANESSA: Really? I have some friends who work there.

PERCELL: You do? Well, maybe I know 'em.

VANESSA: Well what do you do?

PERCELL: Well—well, me and my buddy... Well, actually, right now we’re working on some stuff that’s— Well, it’s top secret. It’s classified and all that.

RUIZ: Lieutenant McKay, Ms. Devlin. Great place, huh?

MCKAY: Yeah, it’s a great place.

RUIZ: Uh, sir? Is there any chance I can get a ride with you back to base when you leave?

MCKAY: Not a chance Ruiz, but no offense.

RUIZ: Yes, sir.

DEVLIN: Listen, you see that lieutenant of yours, tell him I’m looking for him, alright?

RUIZ: Yeah, sure.

DEVLIN: Thanks.

[27:40] You Talk Too Much, Dano

PERCELL: Hey, Roo. Roo, it’s all set, man. Let’s get a beer.

RUIZ: What’s all set?

PERCELL: I’ve got a date with Vanessa as soon as she gets off her shift. And she’s got a girl for you.

RUIZ: Forget it, Percell. I told you, I’ve got a bad feeling about Saigon. I just wanna get out of here, alright?

PERCELL: Look, man, I’ve got it all greased. You know what I told her? I told her the stuff you and I are doing at the base is totally strategic and completely classified.

RUIZ: There you go, man; you’re lyin’ again.

PERCELL: I’m also here killin’ people, Roo, but that doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?

[28:32] Alex & Johnny At Savoy Club

MCKAY: You okay?

DEVLIN: You know, Myron didn’t want me to file that story. Maybe I should’ve listened to him.

MCKAY: Well, believe me, he’ll be alright. He’s not in any trouble with anyone, just on a little snipe hunt on the Phu Loc highway.

DEVLIN: Snipe hunt? What are you talking about? Myron didn’t say anything about the Phu Loc highway.

MCKAY: Yeah, well, we were told it was dead out there, anyway.

DEVLIN: You don’t listen to a thing I say, do you? What you’re told sometimes has nothing to do with the way it is. Now, what’s going on?

MCKAY: What can I say? The call Goldman got was staged.

DEVLIN: Staged?

MCKAY: So hate me. Look, I wanted to be with you, okay? Alone. When I left you at the restaurant, I went to go to the men’s room; I set it up.

DEVLIN: That call was phony?

MCKAY: Yeah, buddy who owed me impersonated Captain Judson.

DEVLIN: Why the Phu Loc highway?

MCKAY: I figured the further the wild goose chase, the better. My buddy told Goldman that Colonel Phillips was out there with a Swedish news team.

MCKAY: Wait, where are you going?

DEVLIN: Where the hell do you think? There’s VC activity all over there.

MCKAY: Hold on, hold on, hold on. Okay, I’ll take you.

[29:45] Myron Is In Danger

MCKAY: I never would have sent Goldman out there if I knew there was any real danger.

DEVLIN: That was a stupid thing to do.

MCKAY: Hey, he’s probably back at base by now, short-sheeting my rack.

DEVLIN: Or tying a grenade to it.

[30:42] Shootout On The Road

DEVLIN: Look, there he is.

[31:35] Sneaky VC

No dialogue

[32:40] Taylor Bets $500

TAYLOR: Five hundred dollars.

MONEY PLAYER: (?)

MONEY PLAYER #2: (?)

JOHNSON: Taylor, come on, I gotta talk to you.

TAYLOR: Not now, breeze, I’m on a roll. Four nasty nines meet four lovely ladies.

VOICE [o.s.]: Go round back…

TAYLOR: Hey, what’s goin’ on?

JOHNSON: That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell you. There’s been a shootin’. There’s White Mice and MPs all over the place.

MONEY PLAYER #2: MPs (?)

[33:21] Catch That Girl

JOHNSON: Hold up.

TAYLOR: She’s got all my money!

JOHNSON: Dammit, Marcus, would you listen to me?

TAYLOR: You told me; there’s been a shootin’, but it ain’t more important than gettin’ this money back.

GIRL [o.s.]: You give me more. I did it. You give me more.

[33:51] I Ain't Dead

JOHNSON: Bridger!

BRIDGER: Go ahead…

JOHNSON/TAYLOR [?]: Hey, you’re supposed to be...

BRIDGER: Yeah, dead, right? I know, but that ain’t exactly the truth.

JOHNSON: Oh, you will be when I get my hands around your neck.

BRIDGER: Hey, man, Johnson, lighten up.

JOHNSON: Bridger, that investment was every penny I had in this world.

BRIDGER: Look, I was gonna make good, until the VC moved in. They got the hotel and (they’re gonna get me?).

ANDERSON: He’s tellin’ the truth, for the first time in his life.

BRIDGER: Zeke a Deke! You got the papers from Lisa?

ANDERSON: Yeah, I got the papers from Lisa. You know, I oughta let Johnson have you for what you put him through.

BRIDGER: Listen, man, I don’t blame you if you did, but first take a look at the papers.

TAYLOR: A coffin full of AK-47s.

BRIDGER: Obviously, he doesn’t read Vietnamese. They’re VC operational orders, tells you where the weapons caches are, satchel charges…

JOHNSON: Yeah, and more AK-47s. So what?

BRIDGER: That’s what I’m talkin’ about. I mean, they’re storin’ them in graves, and not just cemeteries in Saigon–all over, man. Zeke, this is a major move.

ANDERSON: Keep talkin’, Bridger.

BRIDGER: No. Next time I talk will be right in front of that big air conditioner at MACV.

ANDERSON: You son-of-a-bitch. You know the only reason you know anything about what Charlie’s doin’ is 'cause you’ve been working with them.

BRIDGER: No, I just sold the rooms. It’s not my fault if some dumb GI's gonna tell those hookers their whole life stories.

ANDERSON: Yeah, well, the least you could’ve done was tell the dumb GI the hookers were VC.

BRIDGER: I did my twenty years, and I’m done educating GIs. Besides, you think MACV cares where I got my information?

ANDERSON: I don’t like the smell of any of this, and I definitely don’t like you.

[35:43] Bridger Is Prepared

ANDERSON: The best thing to do is just to get him back to MACV.

BRIDGER: You’re right, and I got the jeep downstairs.

ANDERSON: I’m tellin’ you, he’s incredible. Johnson, get the jeep.

BRIDGER: Wait a minute–whoa—whoa. It’s already past curfew. We need something. Here, take this.

STACY BRIDGER: Dad?! They told me you were dead.

BRIDGER: I know they did, and honey, I’m sorry about that.

STACY BRIDGER: What do you mean? You mean you knew I was here, and you let me believe...?

BRIDGER: Look, I was gonna tell you, I was–believe me.

STACY BRIDGER: When? When were you gonna tell me?

BRIDGER: Stacy, you gotta understand something. Your old man, he makes big mistakes, and I had to make people think I was dead. And if you knew that, you would’ve been in danger.

ANDERSON: Bridger, let’s go.

BRIDGER: Zeke, this is important. Let me bring her to the hotel—

STACY BRIDGER: No! I’m going with you.

BRIDGER: Look, you came a long way to find your father. You didn’t find much.

STACY BRIDGER: I’m still glad I found you.

ANDERSON: Let’s do it.

[36:36] Rescue Chopper Lands

DEVLIN: Myron—Myron, look, the whole thing was stupid, and Johnny’s admitted it.

GOLDMAN: I damn near got killed out there.

MCKAY: Hey, Goldman, I’m sorry, what can I say? Right here if you feel like it.

MCKAY: I guess I deserved that.

GOLDMAN: I don’t like playing games.

DEVLIN: Neither do I. You gonna deck me, too?

GOLDMAN: Alright, fine. You want a story on Tet? This is a map outlining the defenses of Tan Son Nhut. These are blank civilian ID cards so you can get on the base. I took them off the VC that I killed.

MCKAY: Damn!

GOLDMAN: Charlie’s gonna be paying us a visit.

[37:29] Percell & Ruiz On A Date

VANESSA: You know, Danny, you’re a real disappointment.

PERCELL: (I am?)

VANESSA: I thought you were gonna tell me more about that exciting job of yours.

PERCELL: Why is it all you seem to want to know about is my exciting job at Tan Son Nhut? You know, you never one time asked me where I was from. Roo, ol’ buddy, did anyone ever ask you where you were from?

RUIZ: I don’t care where I’m from, just where I’m headed, huh.

PERCELL: Hey, hold up. Geez, Roo, we’re in no man’s land. Where are we?

VANESSA: I told you, I live here. Don’t you want to come to my house?

RUIZ: Percell...

PERCELL: But it is after curfew. Oh, buddy, tell me that was firecrackers.

RUIZ: Firecrackers, hell. That was gunfire. We’d better get back to base. Percell!

[38:26] Roo's Been Hit

PERCELL: Dammit. Roo! Roo, buddy, tell me you’re okay. Come on, sit up.

RUIZ: Another bullet with my name on it. I told you– I told you, I’m a marked man.

PERCELL: They were VC. We’ve got to go, c’mon.

[38:44] Tan Son Nhut Incoming

[39:17] Street Shootout

ANDERSON: That ain’t fireworks for the Tet New Year, I can tell you that.

ANDERSON: Take cover!

ANDERSON: Alright, LT beyond the bridge. Taylor!

TAYLOR: Yo.

ANDERSON: Can you cover us?

TAYLOR: Yo.

ANDERSON: Right, let’s go.

ANDERSON: Okay, Taylor, let’s go.

ANDERSON: Alright, we’re moving up. Watch the rooftops. Let’s do it.

ANDERSON: What the hell’s goin’ down here?

MP: Fighting’s going on all over the city including the American embassy and government radio station.

ANDERSON: Alright, we’ve got two American civilians here. Where do we take 'em?

MP: There’s an Army headquarters–about two blocks that way. We’ll cover you.

ANDERSON: Alright–going across.

[40:44] Bridger's Been Hit

BRIDGER: Zeke!

STACY BRIDGER: No!

BRIDGER: I tried, huh? ( I messed up huh Stace?)

STACY BRIDGER: No.

ANDERSON: Hey, you saved my butt.

BRIDGER: Yeah?

ANDERSON: Yeah.

[41:26] Cattle Trucks Full Of Grunts

ANDERSON: Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Look alive, stay alive.

GOLDMAN: Alright, the 199th has everything from Thong Nhat Boulevard south. We’ve got everything from here to the embassy.

ANDERSON: Marines got that situation under control?

GOLDMAN: Well, they took the VC off the grounds this morning, but they took some casualties. I don’t know how many.

ANDERSON: Alright, well, LT, do me a favor. Next time that lady correspondent tries to tell you somethin’, you listen.

GOLDMAN: Sergeant, I told her I would listen. She told me she would buy me dinner.

ANDERSON: If you live till dinner.

GOLDMAN: I’ll just take the high ground.

ANDERSON: LT, in Saigon there is no high ground.

GOLDMAN: I know that.

ANDERSON: Alright, let’s go. Let’s do it, let’s do it. Watch the roofs, watch for booby traps. Keep your intervals–stay alive.

[42:29] Dateline Saigon

DEVLIN: Dateline Saigon. The bold, massive attacks on Saigon and nearly every province and district capital across South Vietnam were shocking. For years the North Vietnamese and Vietcong have fought in the rice fields and jungles. Now, for the first time, they’re fighting in the cities in their biggest offensive of the war, demonstrating an ability to plan and coordinate a nationwide attack. This raises new questions about enemy strength and the prospects for American victory. To say we are now closer to the light at the end of the tunnel is to fly in the face of all evidence.

End

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