Command Decision Page #12

with a lot of guts.

I know, but he gave me

a kind of personal slant.

There's no room in this job

for a personal slant, Cliff.

He told me he was going to be married.

Yes, I know.

You can only hope you don't have

to kill him before he does.

It's your baby, Cliff.

I found out long ago to let

the chaplain handle those.

He's our liaison with headquarters

that decides that.

Casey, what's happened to you?

The same thing that's going

to happen to you.

And the sooner I get out of here,

the sooner you'll get to work.

Yeah, but when you first came over here,

you had Ted to talk to.

- At least...

- Yes, I had Ted.

That's one thing I've done for you, Cliff.

I've killed Ted.

You won't have to do that.

Casey, you've hated this.

Every minute of it, haven't you?

Oh, I've had worse commands.

You can be glad

you didn't have to run a group.

That is personal.

You see them at meals,

and you get to know a lot of them.

It's rough enough when you start

counting in...

...the really bad ones

you ordered yourself.

You'll find that you get their faces

all mixed up sometimes.

The kids just coming in

on the replacement trucks...

...and the ones you've already killed.

But then when you start feeling sorry

for yourself...

...think of what

they've got to go through.

There's only one thing you can really do

for them, Cliff.

Make every one of them count.

See that they're not used up for nothing.

Maybe you can keep their kid brothers

from coming over here.

Here's the list prepared for you, sir.

A list?

Yes, sir. You ordered it, sir.

Read it.

"Expectancy of losses from flak against

naval targets at French channel ports.

Brest, 4.9, Cherbourg, 3.4...

...Calais, 2.2, Dunkirk, 1.6...

...Dieppe, 1.4..."

- That's enough.

Earnie, how did my goodbye present

to the boys finally average out?

The losses were 24 percent Friday,

26 percent yesterday...

...and 29 percent today, sir.

Quite a difference between those

and the channel ports, Casey, huh?

Many differences, Cliff.

Haley...

...notify the divisions

and all our groups...

...that tomorrow, the 5th division

will attack Fendelhorst.

Yes, sir.

General, good luck.

Save me a job in that training

command, will you?

Change of orders for General Dennis, sir.

- Oh, no, you don't.

- From Washington, sir.

I've got my orders. I've gone. Home.

Sorry, sir. This is from the chief.

We're instructed

to relay the message to your plane.

"With immediate effect, General Dennis

will proceed via Gibraltar...

...Cairo, Karachi, Calcutta,

and Chongqing to..."

Casey, this is the biggest thing

that could happen to any of us.

It means a B-29 command.

No. They can't.

They can't.

Cliff, does it say

"with immediate effect"?

I'm afraid it does, Casey.

Think you could fix Sergeant Evans up

with emergency travel orders?

I'll walk them through myself, sir.

General, all the best.

Thanks, Brockhurst.

- So long, Casey.

- So long, Cliff.

- Goodbye, Casey.

- Goodbye, Earnie.

- Goodbye, sir.

- Goodbye, sergeant.

If the strike photos on Fendelhorst

are good tomorrow...

...why don't you send him one?

I already thought of that.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes