The Wings of Eagles

I guess down at Pensacola...

... they still talk about the day

of the admiral's tea party.

It was one of what came to be called

"Spig's Big Days."

Spig Wead and I were in Annapolis

and World War I together.

But all along,

Spig knew he wanted to fly...

... and I knew I wanted

whatever Spig wanted.

So we wangled our way into the first

regular flying class the Navy ever had.

Not bad, not bad, not bad.

Question, Mr. Dexter.

The same question, Mr. Wead?

- The same question, sir.

- Same answer, Mr. Wead.

I suspected as much, sir.

What was the answer, Mr. Wead?

We are not to engage in solo flight...

...until our instructor feels

we are ready, sir.

And the reason, Mr. Wead?

Planes and funerals are expensive.

They cost the taxpayers money, sir.

Attention.

I shall see you

at the admiral's tea party.

Dismissed.

- Come on, let's go.

- Spig, will you quit riding him.

Hey, right.

Hey, can these things really fly?

- Where did you leave your motorcycles?

- What?

- There's no smoking on the base.

- What about you?

Cigars only.

How do you like that.

What's the Army doing around my plane?

Who cares what

the Army's doing, Spig?

Min told us 3:
00. She's waiting.

The admiral's tea?

Hey, you.

You wanna buy her?

This pile of junk?

Can anybody get it up in the air?

Now, why don't you just hop right up

in there with me and we'll find out.

Now, why don't we just do that.

Trip over your spurs?

Put your foot here. One foot there.

- Back over here now.

- Spig, you idiot.

- Jughead, let's go.

- Go where?

Taking the Army for a ride.

- Taking the Army for a ride? Just like that?

- Just like that.

You've never been

at the controls by yourself before.

And right now you owe six payments

on your furniture...

...three on your Stutz Bearcat,

two on your baby.

If anything goes wrong,

there'll be a court-martial.

They'll kick you out of the Navy.

And I'll wind up a second-class seaman,

just like this dope.

- Think of the future, Mr...

- Shut up, Pincus.

Spig Wead.

Never listen to anybody else.

Just do exactly what you wanna do

all the time.

All right, you wanna fly that thing?

Go ahead.

Go ahead, kill yourself. You'll wind up

busted and broke.

I can always join the Army.

Why don't you be quiet

just once in a while?

Mr. Wead wants to fly,

didn't you hear him?

Get a line. Hurry up. Get a move on.

- Ready, Army?

- Ready, Navy.

Crazy idiot, Spig.

No, don't do it.

- Come back.

- Spig, don't.

All right, Johnny. Where is he?

I told him 3:
00.

Did I have to specify what day?

Who's that idiot?

That's Spig, honey.

Spig?

Hey.

Hey, how much time have you had?

- About 11 seconds.

- What?

Eleven seconds.

- But the admiral's tea party was this...

- I couldn't help it, Min.

- I couldn't help it. I tried...

- Well, you ought to know better.

I did everything I...

I did everything I could.

- Go get that crash boat.

- Yes, sir. Let's go. Now.

Come on. Let's go. Let's go.

Put it down, down.

Hey, there's my crew.

Let's buzz them.

Come here.

Lookit there.

Hey, lookie there.

Hey, did you ever

fly through a hangar?

- No. Oh, no. Oh, come on, fella. No, no.

- Neither have I.

That's my wife.

I'm sorry, ma'am.

I did everything I could.

- Hey, let me have the stick.

- What?

The stick. I'm taking over.

No.

- What's the matter?

- We're out of gas.

Well, set her down, you idiot.

Watch this landing.

No, on the water. On the water!

Hang on.

Spig!

You all right, sir?

Sorry, shorty, I missed it.

- You all right, Spig?

- Here, give him a hand. Get him out of here.

Are you alive?

Spig.

Afraid? So am I.

Pardon me, ma'am. Please? Please.

Wead.

The admiral would like to see you

in his quarters immediately.

Yes, sir.

Won't be home for dinner, hon.

Good. I hope they throw

the book at you, page by page.

- I hope they throw you...

- Captain Hazard?

- Yes.

- General Ricketts' compliments, sir.

He would like to see you at once.

- And that's all you got to say?

- Yes, sir.

- Nothing more to add?

- No, sir.

- The whole truth and nothing but?

- Yes, sir.

Carson, do you know that you're

the biggest liar in the United States Navy?

Yes, s... No, s... Yes, sir.

- That's all.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr. Wead.

- Attention.

- Carry on, gentlemen. Carry on.

Mr. Wead, from Annapolis

to your commendation for war duty...

...this is a record

that any officer might envy.

That is, up until this episode.

- You've confirmed the facts presented?

- Yes, sir.

- Is there any statement you'd like to make?

- Yes, sir.

- Make it.

- Charges against me boil down...

...to doing something

I'd never done before.

How else are we going to get aviation

for the United States Navy?

This all may be true, but it doesn't seem

to have much bearing on this case.

Sir, it is the case.

At least, it's mine.

And I think it should be yours.

- Hi, Min.

- Hi.

Hi, Commodore.

- I borrowed a little of Spig's corn whiskey.

- Sure, that's okay.

What else have you got to do? Here.

What are you

all clobbered up about, Min?

- If Spig gets bounced out of the Navy...

- Spig's bounced out of the Navy.

Look, Johnny, Spig just joined the Navy.

I'm married to it.

I run the mess hall, I swab the decks,

I chip the rust.

You're afraid that they'll kick Spig

out of the Navy.

I'm afraid that they won't.

Hey.

I think he's feverish.

- Now I owe you my life.

- You owe me nothing.

That's what I meant.

- Good evening.

- Good evening, Mrs. Wead.

- So they didn't kick you out after all.

- Right.

And you spent

all of next month's pay celebrating.

Wrong. I won the first-to-solo pool.

- And I am loaded. No cracks.

- Hey...

The squadron decided

that flying with the Army...

...was as close to solo

as a sailor could get.

And this, my titian-haired darling,

is what I brought for you.

First prize.

- The Commodore's sick.

- Commodore?

Where's the Commodore?

Hiya, little old fella.

How you feel, little old boy?

Look what your daddy brought you.

First prize for the first crash.

Hey, let's get out of there.

You know, this crib's getting

a little small for the old Commodore.

Hey, Min.

This kid is sick.

The doc's in there.

He'll be okay, Spig.

Sure, Mr. Wead.

Them little kids get everything.

- Colds, measles.

- Yeah, sure.

I had the mumps myself, six times.

It don't mean anything.

Spig!

Sorry, Spig.

- Anything we can do?

- No.

But he can do her some good.

Stick around.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you, sir.

Congratulations.

We sort of split up, Spig and I did,

after graduation.

He became a hotshot pilot, all right.

Hotshot with a plane

and a baby carriage too.

In those years,

Spig was only little brass.

But after all, where would big brass be

without little brass?

- Good morning, sir.

- Good morning, Jack.

- Did you see this?

- Yes, sir.

What are we going

to do about it?

Jack, who's our best pilot?

Oh, I don't mean

the best throttle jockey...

...or the one who flies by the pit of his

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