Only Old Men Are Going to Battle Page #5

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Ready!

- Grasshopper, translate it to German.

- Yes!

Do it quickly, but make it

sound like belle-lettres.

Ready.

- Is that all?

- The rest is untranslatable.

Don't drag it out, or you'll get it

coming.

Come out to fight one on one, we

won't shoot you on a takeoff. Maestro.

And it took us a whole day to write.

A stylist. Not funny, but to the point.

You'll be an editor after the war.

And a flyer during the war.

Commander, allow me to fly.

We'll talk later.

The letter goes in there.

They'll translate this themselves.

- Will all the squadron fly?

- No.

Will you fly yourself?

My number 2 will be

senior lieutenant Skvortsov.

Yes!

Yes!

Seryoga, they took the challenge.

don't fall back, come in from the sun.

Yes!

- Seryoga, my gun's jammed!

- What do we do?

Imitate an attack.

Cover me, I'll attack!

Got you, Lyosha!

What chivalry!

Get the second squadron up.

Lyosha, a Messer at your tail.

Hold on, Lyosha!

You're on fire, diamond!

Ninth, pull back,

your boys are in the air.

Roger, Pop.

Go away, Lyosha!

Let's sing a duet now, Seryoga!

- But your gun!..

- It's all right, I just kidded you.

I'll show you pedagogy!

Commander, are you all right?

Go get the paint.

- What paint?

- To paint stars.

I'll get it in a jiffy!

You'll get... Always same story.

You ought to have your own paint!

How many stars? Two?

I'm running!

Two... It's exausting enough

downing just one.

I stuck to him,

but he tosses like a fish.

Suddenly, from behind...

- I hardly managed to get out of it.

- Life is a hustle.

Yeah, we taught those diamonds

a good lesson.

Well, this suit suits me alright.

What do you say, Romeo?

- Me?

- Yes, you.

I saw the fight. I saw everything.

Sure, all to the last bullet.

But missed it all.

Missed.

What is Juliet going to say?

Commander, the women's

regiment will be based here.

The second squadron has been

invited to a party tonight.

Stop being gross.

Go, go. She's been looking for you.

Comrade Commander,

may I go for a minute?

And right away the enamored mate

revved up his plane

and rushed on to a date.

- Commander.

- Quiet.

The cranes.

It's too early for them.

They survived.

- Listen, Lyosha...

- Seryoga.

No need for words, please.

Yes, Commander.

- The Messers!

- The Junkerses!

The enemy approaching!

Where're you going, kid? Follow me!

To the forest!

Where are you going?

Get down, Grasshopper!

They'll kill you, kid!

Come back!

- Start'er up!

- Yes, start'er up!

He's crazy.

He took off! Grasshopper took off!

- Who took off?

- Titarenko!

- Start'er up!

- Yes, start'er up!

It's something, guys!

Grasshopper's shot down a Messer.

What a devil!

Let's lift him up, guys!

My dear boy!

No ovations, please.

Guys, Grasshopper's coming.

Right face!

Attention! Center dress!

By the way, where's my vodka

ration for the downed plane?

Why just a ration, my dear? You

deserve a barrel of Georgian chacha!

Cool it.

I don't drink,

but it's a matter of principle.

Way to go! Thanks, you've saved

the regiment!

And how he hit him!

Why are you laughing? Learn from him!

What a style!

Against all laws of physics!

Listen, it wasn't me.

Shut up.

Prepare a report for a decoration.

Not for me. For Lieutenant Grasshopper...

It's Alexandrov who shot him down.

- Grasshopper?

- Exactly.

- You're kidding me.

- No. He did.

- You shot him down?

- Yes.

I could've shoot down more,

but you, Comrade Commander...

scared off all Germans

with your underwear.

Oh, those kids! What an expert.

May we come in?

I got on his tail...

The getters are already here.

Good evening.

- Gifts of the forest.

- For our girls-in-arms.

- You got settled all right?

- All right.

For this they

could go to the can.

They stole the birch-tree twigs

the sergeant had provided for the bath.

Don't pay attention to them.

They're an okay boys, but somewhat

underdeveloped aesthetically...

Zoya, who are these boys? I think

they're not from our neighborhood.

- They're not even from our street.

- That's right.

Quiet, comrades!

Please, be quiet.

Our lecturer, Grasshopper,

asks for two more minutes.

If he goes beyond the time-limit, we'll

turn him out of the tent. Go on.

I'll speak about love.

Seriously, I'm not kidding.

You see... people...

Humankind should

come to understand

that hatred is destructive.

Only love is creative.

Only love.

Yes, love...

Seryoga and I have gone all the way

from Brest to Stalingrad, with love.

And from Stalingrad to the Dnieper

here, also with love.

Even a hundred years later, I'll be

able to fly this route without a map.

Because all along there are graves

of the boys from our singing squadron.

And not just a squadron, a whole

division have fallen there.

And how many more...

Some day in Berlin,

on the tallest

surviving wall,

I shall write lovingly:

"Satisfied with

the Reichstag ruins. "

And then I can go home, even if

I'll have to spray the gardens.

Commander, while leaving

your autographs in Berlin,

i'm kindly asking you:

please, pay attention to our

signatures, those of the first squadron.

What difference does it make,

friend, yours or ours.

Actually, the first to sign there

will be infantry private Vanya.

And it's only right.

That's how it is.

Commander.

Everything passes, only music remains.

We'll live on.

Start'er up!

Listen, shall we ever hear

the best soloist

of the First Ukrainian?

The future soloist of the Bolshoi

Theatre?

No problem!

Seryoga, jump!

Jump, Seryoga!

We'll live on, guys!

The regiment is to be lined up in

Vano, they're just kids,

but you're an old man. How come?

- Sorry.

- What's the score, anyway?

- The second squadron was winning.

- Good.

May I address you

on a personal matter?

Okay, Romeo, but shortly.

What is it?

- I want to get married. Asking for permission?

- Yes.

Yes...

A great idea.

And just the right time.

I know what you're going to say.

It's war, they may shoot you down.

- And they may.

- But they may shoot her down, too.

- They may.

- Therefore, asking for permission.

But remember, Romeo...

It should be

for life,

a short or a long one, but...

Will you ever get yourself a map case,

or shall I give you one?

- In battle, a boot is more reliable.

- That's in battle...

Don't forget to invite me to your

wedding.

- What?

- "Thanks" in Uzbek.

- (speaks in Ukrainian)

- Pardon?

"You're welcome" in Ukrainian.

Wait!

Stand there.

You softy.

We've waited for this moment for

a long time.

We've waited for a thousand days

and nights.

Comrades-in-arms! Pilots of the Guard!

Our ground forces are coming out

onto the borders of the Union of

Soviet Socialist Republics!

Our regiment has got

a mission to carry out...

Your boy is a real eagle. As if he's

commanded a regiment all his life.

From now on, the whole

regiment will be singing.

And if he gets a division,

where shall we get so many balalaikas?

No talking while in line!

The enemy won't

give up the sky to us.

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