A Soldier's Story Page #7

He reported me to the captain.

- How'd you feel?

- Well, I...

You and the Sarge were good friends.

- He was a nice guy.

- Yes, he...

- Didn't you tell me that?

- Yeah...

- Would a nice guy get a friend busted?

- Well...

No, speak up.

- You lied when you said he was nice.

- No.

- What I said was he...

- Was Waters a nice guy or not?

No! He wasn't a nice guy.

You don't turn somebody in for that.

You give extra duty.

You chew 'em out. But three stripes...

It took me 10 years to get them stripes.

That's right. That made you mad, didn't it?

Yes. All the things I did for him.

That's right.

You were his boy, weren't you?

You took care of the team.

You ran his errands.

You policed his quarters.

You listened to his stories.

Put the gun under CJ's bunk.

Yes. No, I...

Sit down!

It was you Henson saw that night.

You lied about Waters, you're lying now.

You were the only one out that night.

Who else could've found

CJ's bunk in the dark? It was you.

No, it was Sarge. He ordered me.

Said I'd get my stripes back.

He wanted to teach CJ a lesson.

Put him in jail for a few days.

Scare him. But CJ hit him

and he had CJ where he wanted.

And then CJ, he hung himself.

He died like he was spiting the Sarge.

And then the Sarge...

...he didn't figure that.

What did he have against CJ?

He despised him,

but he hid it 'cause everyone liked CJ.

Underneath, it was a crazy kind of hate.

A crazy kind of hate. You won't believe it.

I mean, sometimes you could just feel it...

He's the kind of boy that seems innocent.

Got everybody on the post

thinking he's a strong, black buck.

White boys envy his strength. His speed.

Power in his swing.

Then this colored champion lets

those same white boys call him...

..."Shine" or "Sambo" and he just smiles.

Can't talk. Can barely read

or write his own name...

...and don't care.

He'll tell you they like him...

...or that colored folks ain't supposed

to have but so much sense.

Do you know the damage

one ignorant Negro can do?

We were in France in the First War.

We'd won decorations, but the white boys

had told all them French gals...

...that we had tails.

And they found this ignorant

colored soldier.

Paid him to tie a tail to his ass and run

around half-naked making monkey sounds.

They put him on a big round table

in the Cafe Napoleon.

Put a reed in his hand,

a crown on his head...

...a blanket on his shoulders

and made him eat bananas...

...in front of all them Frenchies.

The white boys danced and passed out

leaflets with his picture on it.

Called him "Moonshine,

King of the Monkeys."

When we slit his throat,

you know that fool asked us...

...what he had done wrong.

My daddy told me,

we got to turn our backs on his kind.

Close our ranks to the chitlins,

collard greens, cornbread style.

We are men, soldiers.

I don't intend for our race...

...to be cheated out of its place

of honor and respect in this war...

...because of fools like CJ.

You watch everything he does. Everything.

And I watched him.

But Waters couldn't wait.

He wouldn't talk about nothing else.

CJ this, CJ all the time.

Why didn't he pick on Peterson?

They had the fight.

He liked Peterson.

Pete fought back. Sarge admired that.

He was planning to promote Pete.

You imagine that? He thought

Peterson would make a fine soldier.

What did Peterson do when CJ died?

Everybody blamed the Sarge.

Pete put together that protest

that lost our last game.

Afterwards, he kept to himself

or with Smalls.

- I didn't mean to do what I did.

- Ellis!

- It wasn't my fault.

- Ellis!

Yes, sir!

- What's going on?

- We're shipping out.

They finally letting us Negroes fight!

Hitler ain't got a chance.

And after what Joe Louis did

to Max Schmeling...

24-hour standby alert.

It's the invasion of Europe, boys.

Look out, Hitler, the n*ggers is comin'

to get your ass through the fog!

We gonna "goose" the goose step, daddy!

Heil Hitler!

We gonna turn them Nazis around, sir.

We're gonna teach them a thing

or two about them Schwarze.

- Ellis.

- Yes, sir.

Private Wilkie is under arrest.

Take him to the stockade.

Sir?

You heard me.

Private Smalls, as you requested, sir.

Leave us alone, Sergeant.

Yes, sir.

Why'd you go AWOL, soldier?

Private Anthony Smalls, sir.

Answer my question!

I didn't go A-W-O-L, sir.

See, I got drunk in Tynin and I was just...

Weren't you and Peterson

supposed to be on detail?

Where was Peterson? Speak up.

I don't know, sir.

You just walked off your detail

and Peterson did nothing?

No, sir. See, he warned me, sir.

"Listen, Smalls," he said.

"Now, if you..."

Are you trying

to make a fool out of me, Smalls?

No, sir.

You two went over the hill together,

didn't you?

Answer me!

Yes.

Yes. You went over the hill

together because Peterson knew...

...I'd find out the two of you

killed Waters. Didn't you?

What? I can't hear you!

You killed Waters, didn't you?

I want an answer!

Did you kill Waters?

It was Peterson, sir.

It wasn't me.

People are blind.

Smalls, look who's drunk on his ass.

Leave him be, Pete. He ain't worth it.

No.

I'm gonna enjoy this.

Big, bad Sergeant Waters

down on his knees.

No, sir, Smalls.

No, I'm gonna love this.

Sarge, need some help?

Hi, Pete.

Here, come on now, here we go. Yes.

- That's the help I'll give you.

- Peterson!

Shut up!

Smalls, some people...

If this was a German, would you kill it?

If it was Hitler or that f***ing Tojo,

would you kill him?

There's a trick to it, Peterson.

It's the only way you can win.

See, CJ could never make it.

He was a clown. A clown in blackface.

A n*gger.

See, you got to be like them.

But the rules are fixed and...

Listen.

Hear it?

It's CJ.

"Low-down, low-down dirty shame"

I made him do it.

But it doesn't make any difference.

They still hate you.

- Peterson.

- It's justice, Smalls.

It's for CJ.

Everybody.

They still hate you.

And you call that justice?

No, sir.

Then why the f***

didn't you do something?

I was just...

...scared of him, sir.

He said everybody would think...

...white people did it.

God, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I was just so scared that I...

Caught this one on Old Bridge Road, sir.

That'll be all, thank you.

You told it, didn't you?

I didn't kill much.

Some things need getting rid of.

A man like Waters never did

nobody no good anyway, Captain.

Who gave you...

...the right to judge?

To decide who is fit...

...to be a Negro...

...and who is not?

Who?

Sergeant!

Sir?

Get these goddamn men out of here.

Yes, sir.

I hear they caught Peterson.

I guess that's it. Got your man.

Yeah, I got him.

I was wrong.

So was I.

Charlie, look, I could do with a lift.

Well, hop in.

I guess I'll have to get used to Negroes

with bars on their shoulders, Davenport.

You know, being in charge.

You'll get used to it, Captain.

You can bet your ass on that.

You'll get used to it.

Eyes...

...front!

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