No Time for Sergeants Page #2

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to flush him out of them hills...

...so see that he don't get away.

Come on in my office, Dave,

I'll give you your money.

Whew.

You hear what he said, Plowboy?

I don't want any trouble, you understand?

- Me, neither, Irving.

- My name's Blanchard to you.

It's a real pleasure.

You getting smart with me, Plowboy?

I don't wanna hear one peep out of you.

Not one peep.

All right, I ain't had my morning coffee,

so I ain't gonna wait around to see you off.

Now, Irving here's in charge.

Callville is proud of her sons in uniform...

...so show them

what kind of men we raise here.

And be good.

And if you can't be good, be careful.

[LAUGHING]

Rosabelle!

Pa.

Get on home!

Yes, Pa.

I told you to stay home this time!

Dang it.

All right, all right,

into the bus when I call your name.

- Deroy, Richard S.

- Here.

- Farnum, Robert E.

- Here.

- Hooper, Junior C.

- Here.

- Lemon, Henry P.

- Here.

- Stockdale, Will.

- Uh... Here.

I'll get around to you.

- Swineburn, Armand A.

- Here.

Whitledge, Benjamin B.

Whitledge, Benjamin B.

Here, here. Whitledge, here.

- Benjamin B. Is Mr. McKinney here?

- Who?

Mr. McKin... Mr. McKinney, the man

on the draft board. I got a letter for him.

Take it easy, sonny. You just missed him.

- Oh, I gotta find him. I got a letter for him.

- He left me in charge.

Hey, give me that. That's a private letter.

It's official business for Mr. McKinney.

Don't you understand English?

I'm in charge.

And here, fill out that form.

- That's a private letter, you big...

- Hey.

Don't get sore at Irving, feller.

He's had ROTC.

That doesn't give him the right

to push me around.

Hey, you put your last name first,

and then your first name.

Like this.

Stockdale, Will. Will Stockdale.

Stockdale. Stockdale?

All you need is one of each.

Is that all?

Wise guy. Oh.

Much obliged.

What's the matter with you?

Oh, they think I'm a draft dodger,

but I ain't.

Here, give me.

You can't write good with handcuffs.

Thanks. Can't write much good

without them. Heh.

- "Ever had measles?"

- No.

- "The mumps?"

- No.

- "Chickenpox?"

- No.

- "Any other communicable diseases?"

- I reckon not.

You figure

they gonna make me go back home?

- "Ever break any bones?"

- Broke a leg bone once.

- "Which leg?"

- The r... No, it was the left.

Yeah, left. Left.

"Any member of your family

belong to groups...

...planning to overthrow the government

by unconstitutional means?"

No, we're pretty satisfied.

- He still limps a mite.

- Who does?

That fellow whose leg bone I broke.

He hit me first.

You ever have ROTC?

No.

Hey, Irving had it. Close to a year.

He's so jumpy and all,

I figure he's still got a touch of it in him.

- Listen, Stockdale, ROTC...

- Will's my name.

- Will, listen, ROTC ain't...

- What was yours again?

- Ben. Ben Whitledge. ROTC...

- Howdy.

Hi.

Look, Will, ROTC ain't a disease.

It's training.

Reserve Officer Training, uh, Corporation.

- Heh. Is that the truth?

- Oh, sure. There's different kinds.

There's cavalry ROTC,

artillery ROTC, infantry ROTC.

- Infantry's the best.

- Yeah, that's what I always thought.

- Ben, Irving ain't sick?

- No.

And he don't rank no higher

than we do.

Because ROTC don't mean nothing

unless you finish the course.

IRVING:

Hey, get this.

"So I beg of you, Mr. McKinney.

Please get my enclosed letter

to the commanding officer in the Air Force."

Hey, you can't read that.

"So that my son Ben

will be put in the infantry...

...the same as his six brothers

before him."

Give me that, you big... Let go.

Let... Let go of me!

"All his life, little Ben has been dreaming

of being a real infantry soldier...

...like all the men in our family."

Little Ben

wanna be a great big soldier?

[MEN LAUGHING]

Irving?

That letter belongs to Ben.

Now, you give it to him.

I told you

to keep your mouth shut, Plowboy.

"lt'll break his poor heart if he's put

in the Air Force instead of the infantry...

...so his brothers will be proud of him."

[MEN LAUGHING]

Irving, you ain't sick like I thought,

so you give Ben his letter.

Listen, Plowboy.

Yeah, sure.

I imagine it's time for us

to get going, ain't it?

So I'd thank you

if you'd take these off, Irving.

- They're beginning to chafe me a mite.

- Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

All right, let's stop kidding around here.

Climb aboard there. Snappy now.

Why, sure, Irving.

All right, move along. Move along.

So long, boys.

Don't take any wooden nickels.

[LAUGHS]

I appreciate if you write me how much

it cost to get it fixed, Mr. McKinney.

Bye.

WILL:
It sure was interesting

when we got to the classification center.

They took us around

from one building to another.

And they stuck needles into our arms...

... and whomped us on the knees

with a little rubber hammer...

... and mashed down our tongues

with an ice cream stick.

Then after a real nice supper...

... I never had such a fill of beans

in my whole life...

... we was all setting

around the barracks...

... in our snappy new uniforms

learning how to salute...

... everybody talking and joking

and feeling the back of their necks...

... where they had these horse clippers

run over them...

... when this nice fella,

this here sergeant, come in.

[BLOWS WHISTLE]

MAN 1:
Hey.

MAN 2:
Why, there's the sergeant.

[MEN CHATTERING]

Please, let's keep it quiet.

On behalf

of the president of the United States...

...Secretary of the Air Force, commanders

of this base and this squadron...

...I wanna welcome you, gentlemen,

to the United States Air Force.

This is a classification center where you will

undergo tests, both physical and mental...

...designed to determine your abilities

so that you may be trained...

...for the position

from which both you and the Air Force...

...will derive the greatest benefit.

Tests are for you own good,

so do your best in every test.

My name is King.

K-l-N-G, Sergeant King.

I'm in charge of the barracks

where you will be billeted for two weeks.

During that period,

the barracks will be kept spotlessly clean.

This may be a stopping off place for you,

but for me, it is home.

Before turning in tonight, every one of you

will write a letter to his nearest of kin...

...informing them that you have

arrived safely and are in the best of health.

If any problem should arise,

feel free to consult me about its solution.

I am here to help you...

...during these first difficult days

of military service.

These are my quarters.

Knock before entering.

- That understood?

MEN:
Yes, sir.

Roger.

Wilco.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Seemed like a right friendly fella.

Be right back.

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Come in.

Private Blanchard...

...delivering forms on 12 inductees

from Callville as ordered.

You keep standing like that,

you're gonna pull a muscle.

Just put them down.

Not on the bed, please.

Anything else?

Sergeant, I feel it's my duty to tell you

about one of the Callville inductees.

Fella named Stockdale. A draft dodger.

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