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- ♪ And under the sunrise ♪
♪ I think I will have to rise ♪
♪ And I know we will meet again ♪
♪ But I'm hoping we shared ♪
♪ The things mattered and no one cared ♪
♪ I just want to see your face again ♪
- Norman Francis Vandivier.
Right where I left you.
- Didn't you promise never to walk through that door again?
- Yeah, well, you make a lot of promises
when you're puking up a gallon of Mai Tais.
- Good to see you. - Good to see you too, Jim.
Back from your exile in Panama?
- As a matter of fact, I am.
We asked the Navy real nice if we could come back to Pearl.
Surprisingly, they said yes.
- Yeah. You always were persuasive.
- It wasn't just me.
When I told the brass that Norman Vandivier
wasn't having any fun without me,
they signed the orders right away.
- Well. - Yeah.
Wish I had known about my amazing
influential name before.
Welcome home.
- It's damn good to be back.
I swear, Panama must be what hell is like.
- Hmm. - It's hot.
There are mosquitoes the size of birds.
And crocodiles. Goddamn crocodiles.
- Hmm. So where's your band of misfits?
- Uh, well, they hit the Hotel Street
as soon as we hit the dock.
I came here on account of the fact
that you owe me so many drinks.
Well, you're way behind.
- What'll it be, Lieutenant?
- Let's get a whiskey and soda.
- That I can do.
- Who's the letter to?
Some beautiful hula girl?
- Aw, shucks, Lieutenant, I'm just writing my ma.
- Hmm. Yeah.
- The only girl in my life is the Big "E".
- Right. Big "E".
She is one hell of a lady, huh?
She's got men inside of her 24 hours a day.
- Ah. Jealousy, such an ugly thing.
- No. No. It's not jealousy.
- It's just that I happen to have a new lady
in my life as well, thanks for asking.
- Ooh. - Yeah.
- Okay. - Brand-new PBY Catalina.
- Well, congratulations.
- Thank you. You know, she's a real beaut.
Faster and sexier than the old model.
- Hmm.
- Who's jealous now?
- Well, the Dauntless is no speed demon, but...
I'm pretty sure you wouldn't wanna race me.
- I'm sure she's fast in the dive,
but how fast is she in the water?
- Well, let's hope I never find that out.
- Agreed. - ...attacked the Wake Island.
- Cheers, bro. - And this morning,
the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
The United States of America
is suddenly and deliberately attacked
by naval and air forces
of the Empire of Japan.
I have,
with the Congress, declare
that since the unprovoked
and dastardly attacks by Japan
on Sunday, December 7th, 1941,
a state of war
has existed
between the United States
and the Japanese Empire.
- You tell the ladies you're a helldiver,
and they just swoon.
- I haven't flown a biplane since training.
- That's not the point. They hear helldivers,
and they think of the movie. They think of Clark Gable.
Then you're in. - I don't even know
what this movie is about besides helldivers.
And I can't dance. - There wasn't no dancing in it.
You're thinking of Gene Kelly.
- No, I'm not.
He danced in that movie.
That big number with Norma Shearer.
"Idiot's Delight"? You saw a stinker like that,
but you didn't see a classic like "Hell Divers"?
- I guess not. - That's a damn disgrace
of a naval aviator who hasn't seen "Hell Divers."
- Prepare to launch plane. Prepare to launch plane.
- We've completed our turn into the wind, sir.
We're ready to launch on your word.
- Get the planes in the air.
- Aye, sir.
- Yes, sir? - Launch. Launch. Launch.
- Aye, aye, sir.
- Clear the flight deck.
- When we get back to Pearl, I'll have to catch
that Hell Diver flick. - You'll love it.
You'll be using it to pick up the clean girls in port
before you know it.
- Can't wait.
Good hunting, Ramsay. - Good hunting.
- Pilots, start your engine.
- Morning, Lee. - Morning, sir.
- Don't tell me you've been sitting here since reveille.
- No, sir.
Well...
not entirely, sir.
- So you did the preflight checks then?
- Twice, sir.
- Why twice?
- There's been some mechanical problems
with the SBDs this morning.
I didn't want to be one of them.
- That's good thinking.
I'd hate for us to get all dressed up
and have nowhere to go.
- Looks like we're up, sir.
- You ready?
- I'm excited, sir. Just a little nervous.
- Yeah. That's totally healthy.
I'll never forget how nervous I was
the first time I did a night takeoff.
- You serious?
You took off a carrier at night?
- Not exactly.
A night takeoff is when you throttle up off the deck
with your eyes closed.
- Really?
Sir?
- Hold on.
This is always the worst part.
- Launch plane. Launch plane.
- Just remember,
if anything happens,
don't panic, all right?
If we end up in the drink on the takeoff,
there's a beautiful destroyer there
waiting to pick us up.
- Aye, sir.
- Here we go.
- Woo-hoo!
What a thrill, huh?
- You'll always remember your first time.
- Absolutely, sir.
- Be hell a lot better once we see some Jap carriers.
Falling into formation with VB-6.
- Does it--
Does it always take this long?
- No.
That pompous ass Browning
probably hasn't crawled out of bed yet to give us
the go-ahead.
- Yeah.
I don't--
It looks like more mechanicals down there to me.
- Probably.
But I like my version better.
- Either way, it's better we're up here
than down there.
It's gonna be a shitty day to push planes.
- You're damn right, sir.
I'm--
I'm ready for some action.
- As long as the Wildcats are doing their job,
we probably won't see a whole lot.
- Sir? - I see it.
And so does McClusky.
Pulling into formation.
- Where--
Where are the Wildcats and Devastators at?
- Huh.
Must be a no-frills operation.
Don't worry.
Brass knows what they're doing.
If all else fails, that's what those shiny guns
are there for, right?
- Aye, sir.
- Please, dear Lord,
let the brass know what the hell they're doing.
- Sir. Look.
- Reducing altitude.
- Ah.
- Good news.
We can come off the O2.
Best is taking us in.
- Thank God.
How long were we up there?
- About an hour and change.
- Oh.
Yeah, an hour and change of my face itching
and my head swimming.
Don't let one of the heavy bomber boys
hear you whining about the O2 masks.
They got to keep them on
eight, twelve hours.
- Yeah.
Better them than us, though.
- Maybe.
Those big sons of bitches certainly stay up
a hell of a lot longer than we do.
I'll tell you,
all that circling and reduced altitude
sure didn't do us any favors in the fuel department.
That's what I like about you, sir.
You always seem to find the dark clouds inside the
silver lining.
Just keep your eyes peeled for Japs
and enjoy the flight.
- Aye, aye, sir.
- Hey, Vandivier, sir?
- Yeah.
- I got, uh...
a stupid question,
but it never came up during gunnery training.
It's about the plane.
- What's that?
- Where's the head?
- Does it look like there's a head in this plane?
No, sir.
It's just that I've been staring at this water for hours,
and I had a bit too much coffee this morning, that's all.
- Well, you have two options.
You can either hold it,
or if you look down below your seat to the left,
you'll see a tube.
- Found it!
- Be careful at this altitude.
You don't want little Keaney accidentally touching
anything metal.
- Know what? I think I'll just hold it.
The mental image just dried me up.
- What's going on?
- Best just turned his ship.
- I'm seeing wake! - I see it.
- Best sees it too. He's taking us in.
Now get your ears on and be on the lookout for Zeros.
- VS-6 and VB-6,
I have spotted an enemy carrier group.
- Sir!
McClusky is reporting enemy carrier group sighted.
This is it!
- What's our target?
- Hold on, sir. I'm getting a lot of cross talk!
- Put it on.
- All divisions prepare for attack.
Carrier to the left.
- Best, you take the one to the right.
- All divisions commence attack.
- Did you catch any of that?
- Sort of!
- What's our target, the front or the back?
- I don't know!
- Shit.
- Wait, wait, wait!
Best isn't diving!
He's waggling his wings!
- Already committed!
- No. No, no, no!
- Hold on!
- Scratch one flattop!
You okay back there?
- I seem to have urinated, sir!
- Stop bragging and guns up!
We got more than soggy drawers to worry about!
Zeros incoming!
- Contacts!
Three! I see three!
- Sir, they're getting closer!
- Well, discourage them!
- What?
- Shoot them with the fucking guns!
- There's Zeros everywhere!
- Guess we found out where their combat air patrols
were hanging around.
- Two more!
Three o'clock high!
And they're really pissed off!
- Well, we did just sink their carrier.
- What?
Whose side are you on anyway?
- Hold them off of us!
- I'm dropping to the deck.
- You're gonna what?
- Go, go.
- I didn't sign up for this, sir!
Oh, no! My God!
- Hold on, Lee!
They're almost ripe for picking!
- We're hit! We're hit!
Shit!
- You okay back there?
Lee?
Lee, you with me?
- I'm okay.
I'm okay. I'm okay.
You?
- I'm rattled...
but I'm not hurt.
What's the damage?
- I don't even...
know where to begin.
- Oil pressure is dropping.
I'm fighting the controls!
- How far are we from the "E"?
- I don't know!
Far. Why?
- Fuel leak!
- Relay and transmit!
- Go!
- This is SBD...
6-B-14.
Open tank and dead stick.
We're making a water landing 10 miles west
of enemy force.
- Sent! - Hold on.
This is gonna be rough!
♪ I'm reliving the day that - ♪
♪ You're right beside me, holding me dear ♪
♪ I'm rarely feeling lonely, you are always there ♪
♪ I'm day dreaming - ♪
- What the hell?
Which one of you jokers glued my rations shut, huh?
- Oh, yeah. Very funny.
Word of advice. You all better sleep lightly.
Yeah.
- Hey.
- Picking up some chatter.
- Did they get another flattop?
- Yeah, hold your damn horses. I'm listening.
- It's chatter from some SBDs.
They can't find their carrier, and they're all low on fuel.
- Sounds like things went a little pear shaped
and now they're gonna have to ditch in the sea.
- Which carrier and how far from it?
- They didn't say.
Japs could be listening, I guess.
- Well, let's get in the air.
- You got it. - Nus, see if you can figure out
where we think the Jap fleet was
and where the carriers are. Best guess.
We'll see if we can find these guys.
- Aye, sir.
- All right, boys, listen up.
Lunch time's over.
Mansfield, report to Midway Station
that we're gonna continue our scouting operations
for Jap forces. - On it.
- Nus, I want you to plot a course in such a way
that we might be able to find one of these guys.
- You got it. - Mansfield,
I want you to keep those ears on, all right?
I want you to write down anything that you pick up--
names, positions, anything. - On it, sir.
- Nus, I need a heading and waypoint soonest.
- Uh-hmm. - Smokey, let's go.
Did you miss me?
- Always.
- Open the tail flaps.
- On it.
- Everybody's accounted for.
- Contact.
All right, everybody,
heading out.
Norman!
- Sir!
Get out of the plane!
- Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
- Get out! Fuck.
Get out!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Come on! - You ain't destroying.
- Shit! The raft! The raft!
- Shit!
Fuck!
Lee.
- Did you think...
we got it, sir?
You think we hit the flattop?
- Yeah.
There's no way I missed.
There's no way.
- Win-win, then. Yeah?
- Yeah.
- We stuck it to the Japs,
and I don't have to clean up
a piss-soaked gunnery compartment.
- I'm sorry about the raft.
- It's okay.
About a dozen planes saw us go down.
We'll just float here
and watch the show,
and we'll get picked up by breakfast.
- Breakfast, huh?
What do you think they'll be having?
Shit on a shingle, that's my favorite.
What about you?
- Got to raise your standards, Keaney.
I'm thinking steak and lobster.
- Steak and lobster.
Let me see that wound, - Yeah.
I don't know. Oh.
- All right. Let's get you patched up.
- All personnel, incoming friendly aircraft.
- Incoming aircraft, starboard, 301 on approach.
- Initial reports are very promising, sir.
We sunk three carriers.
1400 hours, and enough time to refuel, rearm,
and send out a second sortie to finish the job.
- We have men in the water.
- Yes, we do, sir.
- Sailor, did you see that plane go down?
- Aye, sir. - Redirect the Phelps
to collect that crew. - Aye sir,
redirecting to Phelps.
- We've been very successful so far, sir,
but we can't let ourselves be distracted
with rescue missions.
- Successful?
We launched 32 planes.
All of six have returned.
- And that is unfortunate,
but what an excellent ratio of return for three carriers.
- Yorktown reporting inbound enemy aircraft.
Battle stations. Battle stations.
- This complicates things a bit.
I'm gonna go adjust the op plan.
- Unidentified aircraft inbound.
- Tell the bridge I'm on my way.
- Aye, sir. - All hands, general quarters.
General quarters.
- That's what I'm telling you, there isn't any
radio navigation beacon from anywhere but the island.
- Right. And then so we use the island,
find where we are, and then where the enemy fleet is.
- Which we don't know because they ain't filing
no navigational plans with us.
We know where they were, so that's where we're going.
- But we don't know where our carriers are.
How are we gonna triangulate
with only two points of reference?
Bi-angulate, is that even a thing?
- Just gonna have to go in a search pattern.
- Search pattern? There's got to be,
like, 200 miles of water.
- Every damn day.
- Pags, could you hop down here
before I put my 45 in my mouth, please?
- You got it, sir.
- All right. Why don't we just ask
where to search?
- We're already outside our mission search area.
If we ask where to search,
they're just gonna tell us to search
the mission search area.
Besides, if the beacon's off, they ain't gonna answer anyways.
- Christ, Mansfield, will you shut up and make some coffee?
Listening to you is making everybody in this boat stupider.
All right, Nusbaum,
where's the enemy fleet's last known?
- Right here.
- Right there?
If we sunk three carriers, we're gonna see smoke,
we're gonna see debris, we follow the party,
we head back to Midway in circles,
we won't see any Jap carriers,
but we might find a pilot or two.
- Good idea. - I'm full of them.
- Be a doll, send the coffee up when it's done, yeah?
- On deck, starboard 1.
Leave the wheel and look out.
- The situation on Yorktown is still developing,
but they've taken at least two torpedoes amidships
and listing to port.
Buckmaster's considering abandoning her.
- That'll be up to Fletcher.
What about her planes?
- They took a shellacking, same as us.
But luck would have it Fletcher sent the remaining SBDs
out on patrol right before the attack.
- Well, obviously there's a carrier or two
still lurking about.
- Let the scouts find the enemy.
McClusky did not have kind words to say about Captain Browning.
- No, I don't expect he would.
I want the planes on standby, ready to go.
- Scouting 6 and the rest of the Bomber remnants
are being fit for action.
Earl Gallaher is eager to get in the fight.
- When the scouts find them,
I want you to point the "E" into the wind
and get the planes in the sky.
- Aye, aye, sir.
- All stations report when manned and ready.
- Hey, Bennett, sir, turn to starboard 30 degrees.
The guys are spotting oil slicks and debris.
- Yeah, I see 'em too.
- All right, boys, keep your eyes peeled.
Look for anybody happy to see us.
- Lee, wake up.
Lee, get up.
Lee,
wake up, buddy.
- I got two more minutes left.
- Wake up, buddy, come on.
- Wait your turn.
- Sorry. Sorry.
Sorry.
- I'm sorry.
Sorry. - I was having a dream.
I was in a bath
with a beautiful Hawaiian girl.
- No kidding?
- It was hot...
with bubbles.
- You're in a piss-warm ocean with me.
Let me get that patched up.
No offense, sir...
but I'd prefer my dream.
- I liked your dream better too.
- I'll have what you're having.
- Any sign of a pickup?
- No. I saw a few aircraft flying overhead,
but I think it was just a PBY.
I don't know.
- No Japs out looking?
- No, we sunk their carriers.
They got bigger problems.
Well, the Japs never know
when they've been licked, though, so...
we're gonna have to just sit here tight for a while, okay?
- Okay.
- The aid kit went down with everything else.
We got to make do.
- It's fine until the salt hits it,
and then it burns down to my fingers and toes.
- All right.
I'm gonna tie it up real tight, okay?
- Okay. - All right?
- Okay. - All right.
All right. Here.
Bite down on this.
All right. All right.
This is gonna sting just a little.
All right.
All right on three, here we go.
One,
two.
- Aah!
- Okay. Is that better?
Feel better?
- Mm-hmm.
- You okay?
- Think they'll let us go home after this?
I just--
I just want to go home.
I just want to see my mom again.
- You will.
They'll send us home.
A little shore leave,
we'll be good as new.
They'll send us back...
we'll have a parade.
There'll be hula girls...
poker chips.
There'll be leis
all the way down Hotel Street.
It's gonna be great.
- First round...
is on me.
- Nah, nah.
To hell with that.
First round's on McClusky.
- He owes us that much.
- Fine, then.
- Are those ours?
- Definitely. Definitely.
At least 20 of them.
- Hey!
- Lee, Lee, Lee.
- Down here!
- Hey.
Lee, Lee!
They're too high.
They can't hear us. They can't see us.
They can't hear us.
They're probably too busy.
- Another flattop, you think?
- Yeah.
I hope so.
- They got it.
Yeah.
- They got it.
- ♪ And the home ♪
♪ Of the brave ♪
- Holy Christ on a T-bone steak!
Hey, boys, I think we got one.
- English, Mansfield. - Man in the water
floating on his back. We just flew over them.
Boys are cheering about needles in a haystack.
- One of ours? - Uh, it's hard to tell.
- Spread the word.
Turn her around and bring her down.
- It's a little too rough to set down.
- Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.
Let's do over-under. - Yeah.
Not good. I just hope we don't hit those swells
like a sack of crap against the wall.
- I'm not particularly comfortable
leaving that guy behind. - Me, either.
Just pointing out we might not be taking off
for a while once we pick him up.
- It'll give you a chance to work on your tan.
I'll let the boys know.
All right, boys, listen up.
Water is looking a little rough down there.
- Break. I got some bad news too.
We got a bogey back here, coming right up our tailpipe.
- What is it? - Don't know.
It's flying slow, might be a Dave.
- Oh, that's a biplane.
Can you not tell that's a biplane?
- It's in and out of clouds. Hold on.
- It's a Zero. It's a Zero.
- Nus, mark where we are. - Got it.
- Mansfield, make yourself useful
and drop that guy a boat and some crackers.
- Aye, aye. - Everybody else hang on,
whatever prayers you were saving for a special occasion,
now would be a good time to use them.
- Oh, Jesus Christ.
- I can't see him. Bogey coming on at six,
- I can't get a bead on him. - No. I can't--
I don't know where he is, I can't see him.
- Smokey, you got him. - He's gaining on us.
- How's that boat coming, Mansfield?
- Working on it.
Just make another pass.
Boat's away, skipper. Not sure
if we dropped it anywhere near that poor bastard.
- That's why they invented swimming, Mansfield.
- We may be racing him for it
if we don't get the hell away from that Zero.
- God damn it, where is he?
- I just spotted him headed upstairs.
That asshole's gonna hit us from above.
- That's not good.
All right, boys, eyes to the skies.
You see a meatball, you set your sights right on him.
- Whoo! He's breaking off! Way to go, Smokey!
- Hey you scared him off, Smokey.
- Champion machine gunner of Honolulu,
you're damn right I did.
- Skipper.
We took a few rounds in the wings,
maybe a pontoon.
We should check it out while we still got sunlight.
Set us down, yeah?
- I'll get some distance to put her down.
- Banks, you okay?
- Yeah.
Got any clean drawers back there?
- I'll take a look.
Hey, Champion Machine Gunner of Honolulu
ain't got dick to do with that.
That Zero had us dead to rights.
He chose to go play somewhere else in a real hurry.
- Oh, yeah, we know.
But let Smokey have his moment.
- If you say so.
- What's that noise?
- I don't know.
Maybe a ship alarm.
It sounds that, kind of, funny on the water.
Sound travels real far,
and I'm not sure.
- I wish it would stop.
- Yeah. Me, too.
- Sir.
- Norman.
- What?
- Call me Norman.
- Norman.
- Yeah.
- I'm thirsty.
- Me, too.
I guess we know what the Ancient Mariner felt like.
- Who?
- It's a poem.
It's about this sailor who shoots an albatross.
This bird leads him out of the Arctic,
and he shoots it with a crossbow.
- Well, why did he do that?
- You know, it's not particularly clear
why he does it in the poem.
The rest of the crew gets pissed at him
because they thought the bird brought the wind with it.
They tied this albatross around the neck of the sailor.
He wears this rotting bird around,
hoping it'll bring back the wind with his suffering,
but it doesn't come.
Instead, the crew starts dying one by one...
until he's the sole survivor.
I know it doesn't sound like a good story,
but it's a parable of sorts.
In the end, this poor bastard suffers and suffers.
In his suffering,
he's redeemed by God
and rescued.
Hang in there, Lee.
You're gonna be okay.
We both are.
- Admiral, sir.
- Good morning, Captain Browning.
- Last night, the submarine Tambor
reported the location and bearing of several contacts.
I can send word to Commanders McClusky and Gallaher
to ready their pilots to launch at first light.
- Let them sleep.
Midway has their scouts in the air,
and if that turns out to be a landing force,
we will need to stay put to cover the island.
- And if it is a fifth carrier?
- We will engage,
once we get confirmation.
I will not make the same mistake as yesterday and overextend.
- Yes, sir.
- Oh, good.
They remembered my wake-up call.
I haven't seen the room service to...
bring me my pancakes,
orange juice--Lee, Lee.
Lee! Lee!
Lee!
Don't go running off on me like that, Lee.
Scared the crap out of me.
- You know me,
always running off
chasing tail.
- Yeah? You found some tail out here?
- Mermaid.
- Let me check that wound.
- Hmm. It's okay.
- I'm okay.
No, it's fine. It's getting better.
- Let me check the damn wound, Lee.
Yeah. You're right.
It is getting better.
- I told you.
- Keep those eyes open, all right?
I need you to help me spot our pickup.
I'm no good without my coffee.
So I'm counting on you.
- I'm on it.
I'm on it, sir.
- You got to be cheating. You beat me four times.
The odds are not in your favor.
- Caroll, you-- - Good morning, fellas.
- Morning, Nus. - Morning, Nus,
The boys watered and fed?
- Aye, sir. You ready for another day
of being shot at by Zeros?
- Nope. - Hell, nope.
- All right. Well, boner appetite.
- Okay. This--Are you even--
- Do you even hear it? - Hey,
NAS Midway just sent orders our way.
We're to scout and report any and all enemy surface ships
we come in contact with. Relay positions.
- We're already doing that.
- And now we're still doing it,
and we got a search area defined.
- All right. Well, tell the boys to weigh anchor.
And, Nus, you just...
just keep on doing your thing.
- Okay. Here we go.
Possible main body fleet sighted
700 miles, 92 degrees off Midway
bearing 262 degrees.
Two carriers, four light cruisers,
two heavies, six destroyers,
eight troop transporters.
♪ Bring 'em all, bring 'em all ♪
♪ Bring the long and the short and the tall ♪
- ♪ Bring the long and the short ♪
- Sharks. Sharks. - What?
Where?
- It's behind you.
- Oh, God.
Please, no, please.
- It's a ray. - A ray shark?
- No.
Manta ray.
- Does it eat humans?
- Not that I'm aware of.
They're all over the waters off Pearl.
When we get back, I'll take you snorkeling,
and you can see one up close.
- Thank you.
But I respectfully...
decline.
You see,
I just saw one too close for comfort,
and I think I'm gonna swear off all things
H20 after this.
- You say that now,
but no one likes a landlubber.
- Hey.
I'm from Sandusky, okay?
Grew up on Erie.
Nobody...
is gonna call me a landlubber...
not even you...
sir.
- That's a lake, Keaney.
It doesn't count.
- Aren't you from Mississippi?
Huh?
River boy.
- Hell, no.
I'm from Hawaii.
And so are you, if anybody asks.
- Yeah.
Well...
aloha.
- That's the spirit.
Now where were we?
- ♪ Bring 'em all, bring 'em all ♪
♪ Bring the long and the short and the tall ♪
♪ Bring 'em all ♪
♪ Bring the long and the short and the tall ♪
- Obviously you don't understand.
Let me try and explain it again in simpler terms.
Suicide Mission.
Earl and I did the math the second we got these orders.
- Gentlemen, clear the room.
Commander McClusky, is there a problem?
- They're objecting to the mission, sir.
Apparently, a heavily damaged carrier
with no ability to launch aircraft
is proving to be a formidable foe.
- Maybe so,
but I believe I was asking Commander McClusky.
He has us flying 240 miles to the target
with thousand-pound bombs.
- The ordinance is to assure destruction of the target.
- Lugging a thousand pounder that far,
you're sentencing those men to ditch in the sea.
We don't have enough gas to get home.
- Per the specs of the Dauntless,
you'll have enough fuel to complete the mission.
- Sure, if the carrier sits there quietly
and allow us to slowly fly up,
drop our payload,
and slowly fly away,
but what the hell are the chances of that?
- Commander McClusky and the pilots
know the planes better than anyone.
And I'm as eager as the next guy to sink another carrier,
but not at the expense of more men in the water.
Will you work the plan?
Allow the planes to land on the deck,
not the ocean.
- Aye, sir.
Get your men ready for action.
- Thank you, sir. - Yes, sir.
- No.
No. No.
- I'm here, Lee.
I'm here.
- I don't wanna...
I don't--
I don't wanna...
be in the--
in the water anymore.
- I don't, either.
- I can't--
I can't wait anymore.
He-help me. - All right.
- I'm trying to, Lee. I'm trying to.
What can I do so you don't drop?
Please tell me.
- God, I wanna--I wanna go.
- Come on, Lee, just hang in there, man.
Just hang in there, buddy.
Just hang in there.
- I-I need to go.
- Just hang in there.
- I don't need to wait.
Back home...
to my mom.
- Don't leave me. Don't.
- Hey. Is anybody else seeing this?
- Yep! Looks like a couple of dissonance SBDs
and some Wildcats.
- Guess they found those carriers
they're looking for.
- I think that's our cue to go back to Midway.
Fuel's looking a little low.
- We got some Jerry cans left with gas,
but showers and real chow
are sounding mighty good right about now.
- Yes, sir. Let's come around and head home.
- Lee.
Look.
Lee, they're gonna fly right over us.
Lee, they're gonna see us.
Hey.
Hey. Help!
Help!
We're down here! Hey.
Help.
We're down here! Help!
They saw us, Lee.
They had to.
They flew right over us.
Good. Good.
Good.
No, no, no, no.
Lee.
Hey. We're going home.
We're going home.
We're going home now.
We're going back.
Come on.
Come on. Get up.
Get up. Okay.
Okay.
Lee, we're safe.
We're going home.
Look, Lee. Please.
- Lee, I'm sorry.
Don't leave me alone, Lee.
Don't leave me out here alone.
- Next tug up at 2130.
- Thank you, Petty Officer.
- Yes, sir.
- Admiral on the bridge!
- Henson,
turn on the running lights. - Belay that.
Admiral, we cannot turn on the running lights.
These waters are thick with Japanese submarines.
We'd be broadcasting our location
to every eye for miles around.
- Including our pilots.
- Who are not experienced
or trained to land on a carrier in the dark.
- Henson,
light the whole ship up.
- Yes, sir.
- Petty Officer,
light the ship full deck and bow.
Summon the Captain to the bridge.
- Yes, sir.
- Henry, light the ship full deck and bow.
Yes, everything.
- There they are. Thank God.
- I hope you realize what you're doing.
- I'm giving our pilots a chance to land rather than crash.
Thank you for your advice, Mr. Browning.
You are dismissed.
Good night.
- Good night, sir.
- Okay, sailors, keep your eyes open.
We have planes struggling to get home.
- Looks like the island took a few licks.
At least the dock's still here.
- Yeah. It would be damn easy to find,
even without a radio beacon.
- I think even some of the airfield was on fire.
- Eh, the island was a shit hole even before the Japs anyway.
It looks like we're all tied down.
You boys need anything else for me?
- No. I think we're good.
We're just gonna see what the skinny is
on the situation.
Go get yourself some grub.
- I wouldn't want to miss Smokey's story
how he took on the whole Jap Navy on his own, right?
- I expect the full reenactment from you.
- Yes, sir.
- Gentlemen. Boys. Skip.
- Boys, see you in the AM.
- Sir. Good to see you.
- Sir. - Good evening, chief.
We've been out sightseeing.
We miss anything big? - Not really.
Just a little trouble with the neighbors next door.
- Hmm, those little guys
with the bad decision-making skills?
- Yeah. Them's the ones.
- So what the hell happened here?
- Eh, the airfield's wrecked,
but it could've been held a lot worse.
- The Marines flew every fighter they could get in the air
and messed up their formation up there,
chased them off.
They haven't been back since.
- And the more current events?
- That's a mixed bag of good, bad, and FUBAR.
- It sounds about par for the course.
- The good news is the Navy scratched four Jap flattops.
Bad news is the Yorktown got blown to shit.
She's still afloat, but that's about it.
- And the FUBAR?
- Carrier planes were slaughtered
after they dropped their bombs,
especially the ones from the Enterprise.
- How bad?
- Let's just say that there's not enough pilots
left on the Big "E" to field a baseball team.
- You know, we were in the thick of it earlier,
and we saw plenty of SBDs in the air then.
- Those were Hornet and Yorktown birds
flying off Enterprise.
Are you okay, sir?
- Uh, yeah, I'm...
okay.
Thanks for the info, chief.
- You got it. Thank you, gentlemen.
Got it covered here?
All right. Take it easy.
- Sailor, make fast these lines.
- Are you all right there, skipper?
- Um, yeah.
I have a lot of friends on the Enterprise.
Half of them were in my class in Pensacola.
- Is that right?
- Yeah.
Tom Schneider, Frank Weber,
Bill Ramsay...
Norman Vandivier.
- Vandivier? - Yeah.
- No. I know Vandivier.
He and I got into some, uh, disagreements
over darts and billiards
back in the good old days at Pearl.
- Yeah?
Back in the good old days before the Japs bombed us?
- Yeah.
Didn't know you two were in the same class together.
How did you guys become friends?
- Um...
well, it was a positively frigid
Florida Christmas afternoon.
We had just been given holiday shore leave,
and, like all good pilot cadets,
we ended up at the closest bar
to celebrate the spirit of the season.
- A time-honored tradition. - Oh, yeah.
The place was packed.
There were aviators everywhere,
and, as it happens in such situations,
me and old Norman, well,
we got to know each other the old-fashioned way.
- Bar fight? - No.
Whiskey, a little sugar,
some bitters around the rim. Come on.
- You're a goddamn laugh riot. You know that?
- Hey. It's true. It's true. Yeah. We hit it off.
We had plans to do our time
and then fly beautiful, rich women
around the globe in a seaplane.
- Globe?
- Of course he's gonna scare the hell out of the passengers
if he brings his dive bomber experience to the endeavor.
- So I'm thinking you make a better flight engineer
at this point. - Yep.
- Which means you can have the co-pilot seat
if you can still stand me after the war.
- What about Pags?
- We'll need a stewardess.
Oh, Christ.
- Shit, man.
It wasn't supposed to happen like this,
everything going to shit in one day.
- Those Dauntless bombers are tough.
We've seen them hit rough seas at a hundred knots,
and the pilot and gunner swim out without a scratch.
- They've been out there for three days,
and we're taking hot showers.
We should be out there looking for them right now.
- It's night. We're not gonna find them in the dark.
Besides, we need to provision up, refuel,
take a look at all the bullet holes in our wings
and all that's gonna happen tomorrow morning.
- Just doesn't feel right.
Look, go get some chow and a stiff drink.
I'll go report in,
see if I can't pump the RMs for some intel.
Maybe they know where some of these guys went down.
- All right. But I'm serious.
I want to be in the air the second we're cleared.
- I hear you.
I'll see what I can do on the clearance side.
You get everybody drunk
and convince them to sleep on the boat.
- Deal.
Thanks, Caroll.
I mean it.
- Aw, skipper,
getting me all misty eyed.
- I always wanted to be a pilot.
I wanted to see the whole world.
So I joined the Navy.
When I went to Hawaii,
I knew that I was in paradise. I never wanted to leave.
Was gonna do my time for Uncle Sam,
fly around beautiful women to exotic places.
This was not how it was supposed to be.
- Still, there are worse places to die.
Crystal clear ocean
under the beautiful stars...
with a friend.
- See you on the other side, Lee.
- Admiral. - Hmm.
Hornet reports completion of their sortie,
having struck two heavy cruisers with thousand-pound bombs.
- That's good. Launch two scouts to take photographs
of what remained to the Japanese fleet.
- Aye, sir.
- George, any thoughts?
- We are running low on fuel,
and we'll need to slow to allow the Oilers to catch us.
- When does Wake become a threat?
- On our current course,
we could potentially be in range of their land-based aircraft
by sometime this evening.
- I don't feel the need to risk any more lives or planes
to sink two heavily damaged Japanese ships.
- I concur.
- Remain on course at speed
till we collect our planes,
and then break our pursuit. - Aye, sir.
- Sir, perhaps--
Aye, sir.
- And there was a Jap flag painted on the bullet shield.
- What the hell? - No, like a--like a kill.
Like, how the Wildcat pilots paint kills
on the nose of their planes? It was like that.
- Huh. - Yeah, so,
apparently, the Japs hit a hangar,
took out a few planes on the ground.
Some Marine dumbass
lugged one of the salvaged dual fifties
from, uh, one of the planes over by the latrines
and set up shop.
Shot down a Zero.
Crashed on Sand Island.
- Bullshit.
- Hand to God. Saw it myself.
- Mansfield, Nusbaum,
focus on the job. - Aye, sir.
- Sorry, skipper. We're on course.
We have a fair amount of mileage to eat up
before we course change.
- Keep me posted.
- Look, I'm sorry.
I'm still sorry.
- Not your fault.
- Well, certainly seems like my fault.
- We were the first plane back.
She's...
bad luck, I guess.
- We didn't have to be first back.
I could have checked it in the morning,
but I was so eager to get clearance.
- That's all right, Caroll.
It's all right.
Apparently, Pappy Cole found a TBD pilot
in the water yesterday, so...
I'm sure they're gonna be fine.
- Yeah, I'm sure.
Still, it feels like a bullshit order.
- You mean the bullshit order that has us following
a crippled Japanese fleet back to Wake Island
with no intention or capability of actually attacking it?
- Yeah.
- What, you don't think this is a damn fine use of our time?
I mean, what if these damaged battle-wagons leaking oil
and traveling at about 15 knots in gentle waters,
somehow by the grace of God, turned around,
made a run from Midway?
- I'm sorry, skip.
- You have control?
- I have controls.
Just fly the damn plane.
Don't worry about it, man.
- Please.
Please.
- Skip, they see us now.
- What, they raise a flag or something?
- No, watch. They're zigging.
I bet they think we're spotting for a sub or something.
- I wish. Nus, you think they're changing destination?
- No way, skipper. There's nowhere else for them to go.
- I wish they'd get to where they're going in a hurry.
They are crawling.
- Yeah, they got damaged ships they're attending.
Fleet's only as fast as the slowest ship, after all.
- Well, get comfy, then, because at this rate,
we've got a long flight ahead of us.
- You have controls?
- I have controls.
I'm gonna get some shuteye.
- Hey.
Sweet dreams, Sally.
- Ah ha ha!
Fuck!
Fuck you, ocean!
Aah!
Pew.
Boom.
Pew.
Gotcha.
Pew.
- Pulling back from a fleet.
Looks like they've picked up a little steam
and patched up some damage.
They might even take a pot shot at us.
- Copy. They probably ran their bunkers down to fumes.
- I'll keep my distance.
- Probably a good idea.
- All hands, eyes on port side.
- What do you see, Nus?
Ah, shit. Another one!
Starboard side.
- Oh, hell.
We've wandered into range of Wake's air strip!
- Dinner's over, boys!
- At least we got some altitude this time.
- Does give us a couple more options.
I don't know what those options are right now,
but we'll think of something.
- A little weather right now would be fantastic.
- Good idea.
Let's find a squall.
Hang on, boys!
Keep him off our backs, Smokey!
- I'm on it, skip.
- Left, left, left, coming through, coming through!
Here he comes. Climb low.
Watch it, though. He's still behind us.
- And where the hell are they?
- I can't spot them!
Oh, going low, going low!
- I'm going up high, going up high!
Now where the hell are they?
- A brace of them on the west side!
- Where the hell are they? I can't spot them!
- You got get eyes on them?
- I think we lost them.
- You're a damn jinx, Mansfield.
Shut your damn pie hole and get back here!
Copy. Oh, here he comes again.
Six o'clock level. Torch it, Smokey!
Get that son of a bitch!
- Yeah, we took a piece off him!
- Hopefully that'll slow him down.
- Down.
Down.
- Drop in the water and play hole in the sea?
- Getting awfully dark outside.
I'd rather hide than hope he gets bored and goes home.
- Agreed.
- We've completed our turn and are en route back to Pearl.
The galleys are serving something special tonight
for the aviators and the flight deck apes.
I'm sure they can save you some.
- I've got a fondness for Yankee pot roast.
- Admiral Fletcher will be taking command
to the Saratoga tomorrow when she arrives
with replacement aircraft.
- Yes, I know. I saw the dispatch.
- It's a tragedy
to lose a tough girl like Yorktown.
I wish we would have had the planes to help defend her.
- We lost a lot of planes sinking those carriers.
But we could've lost a lot more.
You were true to the men,
and they won't forget that anytime soon.
- I hope Fletcher doesn't use them all up,
listening to overeager men like Browning.
- I certainly will drink to that, Admiral.
Well, why don't you get started on the toasts?
And I'll begin the reports.
See you, George.
- Lee.
I'm thirsty, Lee.
I can't...
This albatross around my neck.
Water.
I have no water.
But I won't die.
I won't die.
Man.
But I'm not your puppet.
You hear me, God?
I'm not your Job.
And I can't suffer anymore.
I'm not gonna suffer.
- Hey.
- Hey, welcome aboard, Doc.
- Yeah, welcome aboard.
All we have is Mansfield there.
He's only got two techniques for medicine--
aspirin and stitches.
- I'll try and teach him something.
- Good luck. - All right, boys. Listen up.
There's at least a hundred men out there
from the Enterprise alone,
waiting to get picked up.
We've got supplies, so let's go.
We never did go look for that poor SOB
we dropped a boat to.
- Oh, yeah. No, they picked him up.
Hand to God, a destroyer picked him up yesterday.
Nearly ran him over.
Marine aviator. Go figure.
- Well, we're gonna keep on looking.
- I'm all for looking, but, uh,
how long can someone on the water last?
- Doesn't matter. We've been nearly shot down twice
since the Japs came to town,
and I sure as shit would want
somebody out there looking for us.
We've got orders to search and rescue,
so we're searching and we're rescuing.
And when we run out of fuel, we'll come back here,
we'll get some more, and we'll do it again.
Our brother's been out there long enough.
It's time to bring him home.
- I don't know, uh...
I don't know.
- Norman Francis Vandivier.
- Didn't you promise never to walk through that door?
- We had plans to do our time
and then fly beautiful, rich women around the globe.
10,000 a year to start.
It's three times more than what we get paid
flying for Uncle Sam.
- I still got four years in, though.
- That's the beauty of it. So am I.
In those four years, we will log enough hours
to get a job like that.
- They're gonna want to hire us?
- Pan Am is huge.
They're opening up routes to China and Australia,
all right? They're hiring tons of pilots.
They're dying for us.
- I don't know. Uh, four years is a long time.
- Mm-hmm. - I was kind of thinking about
settling down here in Hawaii when I get out.
- Are you still seeing that, uh, that hot number?
What's her name, um, Ellie?
So it's getting serious?
- I think she's a good fit.
- It's perfect.
Free vacations for her.
- Less competition for me. It's a win-win.
- I'll give you a maybe.
- Like I said before, that's perfect.
A maybe is three Mai Tais away from a yes.
- It's a parable of sorts.
Hey, Lee.
Poor bastard.
Suffers and suffers.
And in the end, because...
of his suffering,
he is redeemed
and restored by God's mercy.
- You know, you only mentioned one poor bastard.
Not two.
- I only-- I only meant about us.
- I know what you meant.
- I'm sorry, Lee.
- It's okay.
See you on the other side, Norman.
- See you on the other side, Lee.
Jim.
Jim, I'm here.
I'm here.
Hey.
- Hey.
- All right. Setting her down.
- Easy. Easy.
- Huh?
- Hey, Doc, you're on.
Smokey, you feel like taking a swim?
- Machine gun champion and Olympic class swimmer,
you know me.
- I got control.
Let's get him.
Go get him.
- Let's go, boys!
- You got him.
- Come on, Louie. - Be careful, man.
- You got him.
Norman Francis Vandivier,
I thought I left you back at Pearl,
black-out drunk under a table.
You still owe me, like, 10 drinks!
I have an IOU that says otherwise.
- Less talking, more swimming.
- Come on, come on, let's go.
- We got you. We got you. - Come on, Smokey.
- Hey, you're in shock. You're in good hands now.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- Yeah. Welcome aboard.
We're gonna take you home.
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