None But the Brave Page #3

What page did he say?

I don't know what the hell happened

to that damn handbook.

I lost it somewhere.

But I'll take my chances he's faking.

Come on.

I smell a grenade.

Those Yankees,

slippery as snakes.

Of the two men in me,

only the hard-nosed soldier

can be understood by Sergeant Tamura,

defying my order, risking lives

on some crazy night adventure.

To him, patience is weakness

and a rational man is a fool.

I was trained for combat, sir,

and no flight officer's got a license

to keep me out of action!

I may sound impertinent, sir,

but I have more combat experience

than you have.

Diddly-squat!

What the hell would a pilot know

about infantry tactics?

What's wrong with my trying to

destroy the enemy?

Corporal Craddock,

you're a witness to armed defiance...

- Armed defiance!

- Yes, sir, they're sure armed.

Why, that's crazy! We only came here to...

Now you take your gravel crunchers

back up that hill

- and be thankful I'm a lenient man!

- Yes, sir.

And I would do likewise again, sir,

at any sacrifice.

You fool!

I had planned to attack them tonight,

but your disobedience ruined the plan.

Next time I will

have your head chopped off.

Yes, sir.

Who the hell you working for,

us or the Japs?

How long you been cutting hair?

You're my first customer, jughead.

I wonder where our big military brain

from the wild blue yonder is.

Probably out studying geography.

Yeah? I hope to hell he knows

what he's doing on the ground.

He does, pal. Didn't he tell you

he used to be a ground pounder?

Yeah, so he didn't like fighting

and took to the air.

Me? I don't recognize no C.O.,

except Lieutenant Blair, here.

Mouth-fighters.

- What do you want us to be, scared?

- Yeah. Better you should be, boot.

They transferred me to this nursery

to learn you that.

Say, I hear you killed your share at Guadal.

Yeah. And I was scared all the time.

That's why I'm still here, kiddies.

- Halt! Who goes there?

Daniel Boone.

Lieutenant, the captain was right, sir.

We'd have been real dead

trying to get at that camp.

How big is their outfit, Craddock?

Well, I can't say for sure, sir.

I was too busy ducking their outposts.

But they got a smart location

with a supply wharf

that don't look

like it's been used much lately.

You have to swim to get at 'em

on the bay side

and they got a big old lookout hill

over on the east.

Brambles at the other approaches

are worse than poison ivy.

Ah.

There's something else

mighty interesting, sir.

- What's that?

- They're building a boat.

Well, that is interesting.

Maybe they're building it for us.

Yeah.

They can keep it.

The kind of boat I'm looking for

is one of those gray buckets

with a big fat stars and stripes on it.

Now listen. Our lookout has just reported

that he had seen an enemy ship.

We will go into the emergency

operation immediately. Ando?

- Yes, sir?

- You know your orders.

- I do, sir.

- Carry on.

Right face!

Well, I ain't been drinking.

It must be your power of suggestion.

No, sir, my boy,

that's genuine American Navy.

Looks mighty good to me, Corpsman.

Take a look at that, that's a ship.

What the hell are you doing about it?

Well, we just now identified her as U.S.

- We got to try and signal that ship. Keller.

- Yes, sir.

- Improvise some smoke pots.

- Right away, sir.

She's searching for us

because we're overdue.

Searching the water

because I plowed in that airplane

clean out of sight of the ocean.

Now, Lieutenant, you pick some men

and come with me.

- Yes, sir. Ruffino, Dexter...

- Bleeker, you stay here

and guard the camp

with the rest of the men.

Right. Move out.

Hold it. All right,

spread out and move slow.

Don't let them get off a signal to the ship.

Shoot anyone who pops out of the jungle.

Get in there and light those pots

on the double.

You see anything, Captain?

- No.

Is it a sniper?

Must be, I don't see anybody.

Yeah, you learned young, Marine.

Now let's go.

Now let them come out. Let's go.

Wait a minute. They got to have

something more than that going for 'em.

They could have pinned us down

on this beach for a week.

Hit the deck!

You stupid bums,

you're firing at your friends!

Lieutenant, over here!

They can't see the color of your eyes,

but they can see that.

Well, I guess we've had it.

They don't even think

this island's worth much shooting at.

- I guess we'll be here forever.

- It'll seem longer than that.

So now it appears that we

and our enemy are about even

in men and weapons.

And bad luck. They, too, are marooned

with no means of communication.

It was plain they couldn't radio their ship.

To adjust to our stone-age standard

of living will not be easy for them.

Evidently they have no provider

like my good simple-minded Okuda.

I been waiting for you, Mac.

You're sure a slowpoke.

I want you to answer me

a few questions, boy.

First off, how many men you got

scattered around this island?

Come on, boy, you're being interrogated.

Can't you talk a little English?

You listen to me.

If you're just giving me a dumb act,

I'm gonna ream your belly button.

Oh, shucks. I never could stick a guy

when he was smiling at me.

Fact is,

where I come from we don't shoot nobody

who's got a knack for catfish or sour mash.

How you like 'em cigarettes, Tojo?

The fish?

Good hot wampum from PX.

See you again, boy,

and we'll talk some more.

Hey, this is good.

Yeah, baby.

How strange are these barbarians.

Ferocious yet capable of human reasoning.

"And we don't shoot nobody

who's got a knack for fish. "

So this afternoon

I undertake an intelligence mission.

Finally I discover

what I am really looking for.

Their commander.

My colleague in the game of death.

Oh, yes, I know him at once

by his lonely detachment from the others.

Captain, I think it's my duty to tell you

these men are fed up

with your kind of war!

I didn't choose this kind.

- You claim you're in command!

- I'm in command!

Then attack!

Sir.

Lieutenant, a frontal attack on their

terms would sure accommodate 'em.

Yes, indeedy.

Begging the Lieutenant's pardon, sir.

If we hit that camp

they'd chop us up into dog meat.

- Corporal Ruffino.

- Yes, sir?

What is your opinion on that matter?

Well, sir, I'd say they're too smart

to attack our hill position,

so I guess it's guerrilla

tactics all the way.

They've got the advantage there, too.

Food and water.

We're on short rations with very little

to wash 'em down with but coconut milk.

Well, I spotted their water supply.

It's a spring well over to the west.

But they sure got it secured.

My men could take it, they're Marines!

No, they're not Marines

till they start growing some brains!

You tell 'em, Captain.

He was in boot camp

before they invented the airplane.

Well, who am I to contradict an old salt

who was with Decatur at Tripoli?

Has-beens.

Has-beens!

What was it he said about jungle law?

Well, we finally got it, ain't we?

Now, you guys

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