Red Tails Page #2

"nor the proper reflexes

for such a complicated task"

"as fighter pursuit.

The great Tuskegee..."

"The great Tuskegee experiment"

"to allow the Negro type

to fly airplanes has failed."

And you all thought what?

You'd sign up.

You get shiny boots, a uniform,

and that'd be the end

of 100 years of bigotry?

You're colored men

in a white man's army.

It's a miracle you're

flying fighters in Italy,

and not mopping

latrines in Milwaukee!

You want it straight?

Yes, the old man's stateside,

fighting the good fight.

And when he

comes through for us,

we better be damn sure we're

ready to do the same for him.

Any of you feel otherwise, any of

you want to wash yourselves out,

well, Negro, please do so,

and I'll have you on the

next thing smoking back home

to make room for the men

who want to stand and fight.

Get your head up, son.

You're fighter pilots.

Watch the rest of the film.

Learn something.

When we came under

your command, Colonel,

you stated very clearly that

we would never find Negroes

who could pass a pilot's exam,

make it through flight school,

survive basic combat.

A combat record which,

to this point...

We've done all of that.

To this point,

I don't believe your boys

have scored

a single aerial kill.

Because you have not assigned

us a single forward mission.

It's damn hard to

shoot down the enemy

the front lines.

As a matter of fact,

when will we be

assigned to

bomber escorts, Colonel?

There have been any number of

reports of poor discipline.

Which is in every newspaper

and magazine in the country.

We have enough

race troubles as it is

without these sons of b*tches in the

press throwing fuel on the fire.

How an unofficial assessment

of the Tuskegee program

made its way to

newspapers and magazines

may be worthy of

its own hearing, sir.

Colonel Tomlinson,

you've been supporting

this experiment

from the beginning,

but I'm afraid you're just gonna

have to suffer its failure.

We're given

hand-me-down planes.

Ordered to attack targets that

have already been bypassed.

Fly patrols where the enemy

hasn't been seen for months.

Now we've clone every lowdown,

dirty job you've handed us,

hoping that we would just

limp along and go away.

We will not go away.

We have a right to

fight for our country,

the same as

every other American.

So you shut us down,

or you let us fly.

Soldier boy

Oh, do you think about me,

soldier boy?

How could you ever...

What?

Don't give me that look.

What the hell were you

doing up there today?

Beating up on Hitler. Winning the war.

I got the train, didn't I?

I love you like a brother, Joe.

But you disobey

my orders again,

I'm gonna have to write you up.

For what?

For being right?

I told you those

guns were there.

You almost got yourself killed.

No, I followed protocol.

You went for the glory.

There's a difference.

Now you may not need me to get

you through this thing alive,

but Joker, Junior, the rest

of the squad just might.

Okay. You're right,

I'm wrong. I'm sorry.

What you in such a

hurry for anyway?

I saw a girl.

The most beautiful

I have ever seen.

Just can't let them

alone, can you?

No more than you can

let that bottle alone.

You got your way of getting

through the war, and I got mine.

I wonder what your

pops'd say to that.

We can just leave

him out of this.

He's got you in a pressure cooker, man.

Graduating college at 20,

Pushing yourself mighty

hard to please him.

Didn't I just say we can

leave him out of this?

All right.

Besides, I drink 'cause I got

to bunk with your crazy self.

You bunk with me 'cause I'm the

best pilot in the whole damn Army,

and you're just hoping

you're gonna learn something.

If I'm not mistaken,

I'm the flight leader,

which would make you

my wingman.

Smarter doesn't

make you better.

Better at what? Busting

up Coffee's planes?

Romancing the ladies, for one.

Now if you're done whining,

I have got a pass to do

that very thing right now.

Lightning.

Can I ask you something?

What?

What's going to happen when you go

home and the women speak English,

and they understand just how

full of bullshit you are?

What's this?

Something to celebrate you being

old enough to know better.

Ha!

"Italian for Beginners"?

How many cartons of smokes

this set you back?

A simple "thank you"

wouldn't hurt.

And a "happy birthday"

would have been fine.

Knowing you,

you're just tired of me

embarrassing myself

in front of the signorinas.

Yeah, that might be it.

How you feel?

A whole lot more

than one year older.

Thank you.

Happy birthday.

It's tight.

Pilots got you all hot and bothered.

Come on.

Coffee!

We got three planes, the

hydraulic pumps are shot.

Two more got bad governors.

Grab a piece of that tape

and put it over that hose.

What are you doing, Lightning?

What?

What did you say?

Come on, Lightning.

I need it back by nightfall!

And ask if she's got a sister!

Yeah, a blind one!

I'm sorry to bother you.

I flew around your

house this morning.

Okay. Uh...

Right, you...

Si.

That was me.

I'm Joe.

Joe.

Yeah.

D'accordo. Sofia.

Sofia, right.

Nice to meet you.

Thanks.

Mama.

Little.

Joe Little.

I hope I'm not

intruding, ma'am.

Thank you.

Ah!

Ah!

Hold on. I want to

ask you something.

How?

Oh, how? I got a Jeep. You

want to come for a drive?

Dove?

What's dove?

Dove.

Is that a yes?

You want to bring your mother?

It's going to be

tougher than I thought.

What you going with?

I got two pair.

And three of clubs.

I don't care what you have,

you'll never be

able to beat me, son.

You ain't got

enough in the head.

I can't lose. I don't

even know why y'all try.

You just got here, Maurice. I

hope you're learning something.

Hope at least

you're learning by now

not to play poker

with people that cheat.

I ain't cheating.

You cheat.

I don't want to learn

how to play cards,

I want to learn

about combat flying.

Dogfights and tricks for

switching it up on them Jerries.

What the hell you think it is

we know about dogfighting?

The white boys are

the only ones get to

tangle it up with

the Jerries around here.

But they don't

talk to us much, so...

Experience is a cruel teacher. She

gives the exam first, then the lesson.

You know what?

I decided when I get home...

Yeah.

...people ask me

about the war,

I'm going to

just make stuff up.

Hell, I already do! Ask me what I

killed, seven trucks, five Jeeps,

and one of those motorcycles

with the sidecar on them.

My record look like the inventory

down at the motor pool.

How the hell am I

gonna go back home

and tell my dad all I

killed were traffic?

He'll whup my ass!

What's that?

It's my Buck Rogers

X-38 disintegrator pistol.

Makes me feel like...

You know,

like I can't lose.

Here, try it.

No. No, thanks, Junior.

I don't really like to fool with

other people's good luck charms.

What's the matter?

Nothing. Um...

Look, I don't like

being called Junior.

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