Destination Tokyo Page #7

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Don't take any wooden yen.

- Say, Wolf, how come they picked you?

- I don't know.

Strong arms, strong back, weak mind.

- Pass the word, battle stations.

- Battle stations.

Battle stations.

Stand by to surface.

- Soundman, make another check.

- All clear, sir.

Blow negative.

- Put a bubble in safety.

- Bubble in safety.

All ahead one-third.

Plane up to periscope depth.

Once you're in the boat, we'll submerge

and proceed north to Tokyo...

...to get the necessary information.

If all goes well, we'll return

to this position tomorrow night...

...and surface at 0130.

One of you will come out to meet us in the

boat to get the Tokyo and Yokohama data.

We'll submerge again and await completion

of your shortwave to the Hornet.

- Is that clear?

- Yes, sir.

At 0330, we'll surface again.

If you've completed your transmission

and are ready to return to the ship...

...what letter will you flash?

- C if it's clear.

- And if a Jap patrol is onshore?

- J.

Right. Then you return to cover

until the next night.

We won't respond to your signal,

but we'll be here...

...every night at the same time

until your mission is completed.

Any questions?

Vent safety. All stop.

Make another sweep, soundman.

- All clear, sir.

- Up scope.

Boat detail, stand by.

Down scope.

Surface.

Douse the lights.

Douse that hatch light.

Crack the hatch.

All clear aft.

All clear port.

All clear starboard.

Boat detail, on deck.

Load the gear. Step lively.

Get your eyes accustomed to the night.

You might get a medal

if you keep your skins whole.

- We'll work along those lines, sir.

- Sir, I'll work on keeping my skin whole.

- Good luck, Raymond.

- Thank you, sir.

- Good luck, Wolf. Good luck, Sparks.

- Thank you, sir.

Wish I were going with them.

Are you kidding? I need you onboard.

I might break a leg.

Stand by to dive.

Figured out how close we can get

to Tokyo, Andy?

Course is charted, captain.

Let's pull the cork.

Get loaded.

Head up the trail to the top.

You know, we're kind of like the pilgrims

on Plymouth Rock.

Sixty-two-point-zero.

Fifty-nine-point-five.

Eighty-eight.

You picking up anything, Sparks?

Tokyo Rose, giving out with that

nightly guff to the U.S.A. Listen to this.

- never been defeated in a war.

The sooner you Americans realize

that Japan is invincible, the better.

So perfect is the iron ring of defense

the great leaders have built...

... that no American ship dares approach

within 500 miles of her sacred shores.

The submarine menace has been removed.

The American Navy is afraid

to tell its people of tremendous losses...

... suffered at the hands

of the Japanese fleet. The American...

If you don't need me for a while,

I'll thumb a ride to Tokyo...

...and silence that dame, but good!

Two flattops

building on the ship's ways.

One heavy cruiser in dock,

three outside.

Barrage balloons over large steel plant.

Oil storage tanks on rise to the south.

Here comes a tin can. Down scope.

Take her down to 100.

Coming this way. Close now.

Let's hope they're not listening

in their own harbor.

Passing over now.

Steady on course 173.

- How's for lunch?

- Can use.

Then the captain blew up the power station,

and that silenced the shore batteries.

And then we pumped a dozen fish

into the balance of the convoy...

...and then we beat it.

I guess that was the biggest kick

of the year, eh, captain?

Well, it was a kick, all right.

But I think the biggest kick I got last year

happened on dry land. Oklahoma City.

I took my little boy to the barbershop

to get his first haircut with me.

I put him up on that little board

they use for children.

I told the barber

to give him a Navy haircut.

I just sat down and watched.

My boy asked if he'd cut it so it

would drop down in front of his eyes.

He'd like to see it fall.

All the men waiting their turns

were grinning at me.

Well, my boy just sat up there,

not saying anything, just looking at me...

...very proud.

Just looking at me with his eyes warm.

It was my turn next.

My little fellow asked the barber, could

he sit on my lap while I got my haircut?

Well, the barber knew the boy and I

don't see very much of each other...

...and he said, "Sure."

So Michael climbed up on my lap.

Oh, I guess it really wasn't much...

...but after a while

he put his head back on my shoulder...

...and looked at all the men

waiting their turns and said:

"This is my daddy."

Just something in the way he said it.

But that was my biggest kick

of last year.

Captain, there's a lad forward,

Tommy Adams, with a high fever, sir, 103.

- Well, what's the matter, son?

- I got a fire in my stomach, sir.

- I'll be all right.

- You don't look too good.

- You sure picked a fine time to get sick.

- I'm sorry, sir.

Take him to my quarters.

What have you done for him?

When a guy gets a bellyache,

I usually give him a pill, but this is different.

With that temperature,

this is more than a bellyache.

That's why I came to you, sir.

What do you think?

If it's what I think it is,

I'm afraid to find out.

Go ahead.

Easy does it. Easy.

What's the matter with me, Pills?

Just relax, kid. You'll be all right.

- Well?

- Listen, captain, I'm not a doctor.

All I know is first aid and handing out pills.

I'm not a doctor.

- All right, you're not a doctor.

- I can't be sure.

I mean, I am sure,

and I don't know what to do about it.

- It's appendicitis, isn't it?

- Yes.

- He's gotta have an operation right away.

- Can you do it?

- Do what?

- Operate on him.

- I don't know, sir. I never tried.

- I can't help it. Do you know how?

- I've seen a few.

- Remember what you saw?

- Not enough.

- Got a book?

- The Hospital Corps handbook.

- And a book on anatomy?

I can't guarantee anything.

What if I killed him?

What are his chances

if you don't operate?

He hasn't a prayer. He'll die.

Okay, then we operate.

- How do you feel, son?

- Kind of sick.

- I'm sorry, sir, l...

- Don't be.

You know what you've got?

Acute appendicitis.

- Don't worry about me, sir.

- Pills, give it to him straight.

Listen, kid.

I'm just a pharmacist's mate.

I'm all right on vitamins, sun lamps

and pills, but operations are out of my line.

You need an operation, bad.

You'll be dead in a couple of days

if you don't have it right away.

I trust you, Pills.

You know what you're saying?

I can't promise you anything.

Sure, I know.

- When do we get underway?

- You got plenty of what it takes, kid.

You rest easy.

I appreciate all you're doing, sir.

I guess you've got plenty worries

of your own.

We'll do the best we can for you, son.

So I need muscle retractors, scalpels

and clamps.

- Let's see those pictures.

- I can rig a landing light for you.

- That's good.

- These knives are made of the finest steel.

If we could just get someone

to grind them down into scalpels.

I'll grind them. Don't worry, Pills.

I can make these things.

Let me take your book with me.

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