Command Decision Page #6

Why does everything

have to happen at once?

We go to Schweinhafen where we had

no business going, and then we don't hit it.

We wait for good weather all year,

and we get it now...

...just when this committee's

on top of us.

If my own wife were to walk in here now,

I wouldn't be surprised.

- What is it now?

- Mr. Brockhurst is outside.

No, not now. We're up to...

- May I come in?

- You are in, Mr. Brockhurst.

We're rather occupied for the moment.

What can I do for you?

Straighten me out a little.

I was pretty interested in what you told me

about that Schweinhafen place.

But now the boys over at the 32nd

have me confused.

- It seems they...

- There's been a mistake. We just found out.

Yes, I know. The Nautilus torpedo factory

at Gritzenheim.

But Homer tells me it's okay.

That this Gritzenheim plant

is just as important.

Naturally, some targets

are more important than others...

...but a blow like this against Germany's

submarine campaign can affect the war.

Any more than an attack with fighter cover

on the sub pens across the Channel?

Now, don't misunderstand me...

In view of the fact that

we didn't hit our planned target today...

...the Gritzenheim torpedo factory

was considerably better than nothing.

Does that answer your question?

- You can do us a tremendous service.

- What is it?

- Sit down and write this story.

- What story?

From the standpoint of interservice

cooperation alone...

...the importance of naval targets

is beyond dispute.

- Take Gritzenheim...

- May I, sir?

- Yes, go ahead, Homer.

- How about this caption, Brockie?

"The eagle's answer

to the U-boat wolf packs.

Doom of an Axis torpedo factory."

Well, that's the rough idea anyway.

And then with two more days on naval

targets, we can average down losses.

Put the Navy under obligation to us,

right at the meetings.

- Right.

- And that washes up Operation Stitch.

Operation what?

Oh, that's a special project,

Mr. Brockhurst.

I'm sorry, gentlemen.

I'm afraid I knew beforehand you were

gonna give me the runaround.

I may as well tell you now,

I'll write this story straight or not at all.

The loss of a thousand boys

is still quite a news item back home.

Wait, Brockie.

You know I've always trusted you.

I'm going to trust you now.

Remember what I told you

off the record...

...about the possibility

of enemy secret weapons in the future?

Casey, let me have

that memorandum on Stitch.

Here. Go in there and read this,

then forget what you've read.

- Major Lansing's outside, sir.

- Who?

My intelligence officer.

You wanted to see him.

- You say this fella's pretty good.

- He's honest and has sense.

- What is he, a synthetic?

- Retread.

Artilleryman in the last war,

insurance broker since.

Probably a good husband too.

- Have him come in.

- Yes, sir.

Shall I put the chicken back in the oven?

Oh, let's not bother about that now.

We'll be out of here in a few minutes.

That's fine, sir.

- Do you want me, sir?

- Come in, Lansing.

General Kane, my A2, Major Lansing.

Good evening, sir.

Major, do you think the Germans will be

able to put on as tough a show tomorrow...

...as they did today?

- They will if we go into Germany.

But how can they? We've claimed

over 180 enemy fighters...

...in the last two days.

- We've claimed that.

- You don't believe them?

- No, sir.

- Then why do you report them?

- Orders from your headquarters, sir.

Well, you understand that's necessary

for the boys' morale.

Do you think the German command

knows what Stitch is about?

- It's my personal opinion that they don't, sir.

- Why?

The Germans don't like to give

their superiors bad news.

How can they help reporting that?

Their information goes up

through channels too.

- Is that a sarcasm, major?

- It's a fact, sir.

The German radio just announced

they destroyed 160 of our bombers today.

Doubtless for the German boys' morale.

You evidently don't think

their high command likes to face the truth.

Well, my observation

is most professional soldiers think more...

...about their political problems

than the enemy.

So when war comes, they ask amateurs

like me what to do with their weapons.

When the results are bad,

they fire the amateurs...

...and make the commanders field marshals.

- We don't have field marshals.

- I'm speaking about the Germans.

What will their reaction be if we go back

to Schweinhafen tomorrow?

They'll have to face the truth, sir.

And concentrate every fighter they have

in defense of Fendelhorst?

We'd have to expect that, sir.

That's what I think, major.

- I'd like to ask you a personal question.

- Yes, sir.

Facing the facts ourselves...

...do you think it's sound

to continue Stitch right now?

If you wish to continue

precision bombardment, sir.

You mean you think it's feasible?

I think it's imperative.

Thank you, major.

Mighty independent major

you keep, Casey.

Of course, he's really only a civilian.

"Precision bombardment imperative."

The man's not even checked out on

a Piper Cub, he tells me what's imperative.

- He's right, sir.

- I've spent 20 years...

...working for bombardment.

The chief, 25.

- You kids don't know how we fought.

- No?

No. You're giving your youth.

We've already given ours.

I was 12 years a captain. The chief, 14.

We took Billy Mitchell's side

when it meant Siberia...

...and they sent us to a cavalry school.

I was the second-best pilot in America...

...and they assigned me

to keeping records of manure disposal.

But we never gave up,

we never quit trying.

We wrote anything we could get printed.

We went down on our knees

to Hollywood for pictures...

...and we risked our necks every day

to get publicity to educate the public.

And we kept our own funds

for the widows.

We tested without parachutes.

We flew the mail through solid glue

in obsolete training ships.

And the year Hermann Gring

dominated the Munich Conference...

...our appropriation still wasn't as big

as the New York City public-safety budget.

- Why didn't you tell the story?

- You don't tell stories in uniform.

We were promised 50,000 planes...

...and our boys were never

gonna fight again in a foreign war.

So the country went back to sleep...

...and we were called from the stables

to make a modern air force out of promises.

They told us the experience...

There was no experience

in daylight precision bombardment.

Both the Germans and British tried it

and said it couldn't be done...

...but the chief said it could.

And we'd just begun to get the tools to get

started, when we were in it ourselves...

...with a double war

and a 50,000-plane paper air force...

...that didn't add up

to 50 serviceable bombers.

Casey, if we'd had in 1941,

the planes you've lost this week...

...we'd have had a Munich with the Japs

that would of made Hitler's...

...look like International Rotary.

- We've fought all our lives.

Now we've got to protect

our beginnings.

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