Red Tails Page #6

I got double vision.

You're slipping, Deke! Deke,

you're slipping! Steady up!

All right.

All right.

You're diving, Deke. You need

to pull back on your stick.

Pull up, Deke, pull up!

Deke, listen to me! Pull

back on your stick now!

Pull up, Deke, pull up!

Pull up?

Oh, I'm pulling up!

I'm pulling up!

Come on!

I must have passed out!

I need you to stay with me, okay?

Stay with me.

Just keep talking.

All right.

Lightning, look! German

destroyer, moving to the north!

I still got ammo.

How about you?

Nah. You need about a 500-pound

bomb to put a dent in that thing.

Plus, that baby got very,

very big guns.

Just watch me.

Lightning, no, all right?

Don't be crazy.

If the big guns don't kill you,

your plane will get messed up,

and Coffee is gonna kill you.

Relax, Smokey. Worrying

too much will kill you.

All right! That was fun! Okay,

come on now, time to go home.

Just one more pass.

How do you like

that, Mr. Hitler?

Lightning, you a damn fool!

But I love you! Come on.

Ramitelli to Subsoil Red One.

Do you read?

I got Red Four

with me, he's busted up pretty bad.

Stay alert, Deke.

Stay alert.

Ramitelli, have

a fire truck standing by.

He's leaking fuel. I

repeat, he's leaking fuel.

This is Major Stance.

Circle a half-mile out

and have Red Four bail.

Flight surgeons

will be there waiting.

Copy that.

You're gonna put it

into a left bank,

and you're up and out.

All right?

I can't get the canopy open!

Easy!

Listen, Deke,

the only thing between

you living and dying

is that canopy.

Now, get it open!

I can't open it!

I can't open it!

Red Four cannot

open his canopy.

I repeat,

he cannot open his canopy.

I'm gonna have to bring him in.

Roger that.

Sweet Jesus,

don't let this happen to me.

Okay. Okay.

All right, Deke.

Flaps down.

Flaps down.

There you go.

Level off, level off!

I'm leveling.

Help me, sir.

I'm covered in fuel!

I'm coming around

behind you, Deke.

All right,

now get your gear down.

Easy! I think I'm

coming in too hot!

I don't want to die!

I'm not ready!

Just relax.

Level off, Deke.

Too fast.

I'm going too fast!

Nose up! Nose up!

Come on!

Drop your throttle!

Nose down!

Nose down!

No! No!

Sh*t!

Deke!

Smoke cloud on the left.

You don't think

that's Deke, do you?

Who was it?

Deke.

It was Deke.

Oh, sh*t.

An engine fire.

Gas leak must have

caught on the landing.

But I talked to the medics, they

said he's gonna be all right.

Must have been a spark.

What?

You've been drinking.

You're going to

blame this on me?

Tell me you haven't

been drinking.

I got him down!

Say it!

I got him down alive! You

don't blame this on me!

I did everything I could do!

Joe! Joe!

All back, Colonel.

The good news is Lieutenant Watkins

survived the fireball landing.

He's in critical.

Do they think

he's gonna make it?

Yes, sir.

With 60% third-degree burns.

We're sending him back home.

I brought the background on the

captured flyer, Lieutenant Ray Gannon.

His mother's name is Dorothy.

Father is Thomas.

His wife's name is Thelma. They

have a little girl, Adele.

In particular,

Ray loved to fly.

More than any pilot we have,

he loved to be in the air.

You must be Lt. Gannon.

Welcome to Stalag 18.

You're the first of

your kind we've had here.

I hope your stay

will not be cut short.

Here is the new prisoner

your captain requested,

Lieutenant Ray Gannon.

A pilot with the 332nd.

Where the hell

did you come from?

Lieutenant!

Sit down.

So, I bet you're wondering why

I picked you to bunk with us.

It's not something

I care to think about.

Don't worry.

It's not so we can

hang you or anything.

I chose you because I know

you can't be a German spy,

being colored and all.

We're in the middle of a

rather delicate operation,

and we don't need

any new white faces.

You'll be treated no differently

than any other man here.

Any problems, you tell me.

Come on! Let's go!

Move, move, move!

Line it up! Let's go!

I welcome you to the 332nd Fighter Group.

You're a long way from home.

Jerry's going down!

I'm telling you,

Lightning sunk it.

That is a destroyer.

Sh*t, Lightning's crazy!

Here it comes!

Whoo!

I came around for a second pass.

Watch this.

We fight! We fight!

We fight! We fight! We fight!

Mmm.

My best friend.

He...

He almost caused the death

of one of our pilots.

I don't know what to do.

I am so glad I found you.

I want you to stop, Easy.

Stop what?

You can't drink on duty.

I told you, what happened to

Deke wasn't my fault, all right?

No one cares what you do

when you're in town.

How you relax is your business.

This coming from

a guy who flies

like he has got some

kind of death wish.

You're a piece of work, Joe.

You ignore me up there,

then all of a sudden,

you expect me to

listen to you down here.

All right, all right, all right.

Tell you what.

I'll make you a deal.

You promise to

ditch the bottle,

I'll promise to fly right.

And follow my orders.

And follow your orders.

Happy?

Very happy.

I can't wait to

hear her sweet singing!

You guys can go chase skirt.

I'm going to Sofia's.

What did you

say, about three miles?

Odds of us getting pinched?

I won't even take that action.

Hey, flyboys!

That trouble. Keep walking.

Come on.

Don't just walk away from me.

He picked the wrong day.

Let's go.

Hey, come over here!

What?

You guys.

You're the Red Tails, right?

You know, Red Tails?

Colored boy flyers?

Well, I wouldn't necessarily say

it like that, but who's asking?

Chester Barnes,

You guys flew a little top cover

for us about a month ago.

A little run over Ploiesti?

It was the best goddamn flying

I've ever seen, gentlemen.

And we guys, well, we feel that

we owe all you boys a drink.

Why don't you come and join us?

Come on.

Come and join them?

What's he saying?

Come on.

Drinks are on us.

Well, I'll be damned.

I guess the dance hall

will have to wait.

How you doing?

Much obliged.

He was a famous trumpet man

from out Chicago way.

He had a boogie style

that no one else could play.

He was the top man at his craft.

But then his number came up

and he was gone with the draft.

He's in the army now

a-blowin' reveille.

He's the boogie woogie

bugle boy of Company B.

They made him blow a bugle

for his Uncle Sam.

It really brought him down

because he couldn't jam.

The captain seemed

to understand.

All right, boys, listen up!

These fellas are the Red Tails.

They're the guys who have

been giving us an escort.

First drink is on me, fellas.

Whatever you'd like.

Hanson, Travis J.

Samuel George.

Me and the boys over here

are with the 463rd Bomb Group.

Glad to meet you, man.

You flew with us over Brux

. Appreciate you getting us home.

Hey, have you guys run into

any of those new jet pursuit fighters?

We haven't been that lucky.

Well, we've been that unlucky.

Those babies go so fast

you can't even see them.

You know,

we say "colored."

But that's not what you prefer?

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