Wake Island Page #4

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Enemy fight attack with force.

Twenty-four planes.

Twenty-four planes.

Attack as you see fit.

Roger. Wilco.

Four against 24.

Just our luck they'd be

on the south leg of the patrol.

Section one. Course: 3-5-0.

Altitude:
25,000.

We need that mortar.

Come on. Let's get it!

Okay.

Sprint!

Get to Caton! See if he

can spare a fire detail!

Aye, sir.

Stretcher bearers!

Stretcher bearers!

[ Laughing ]

What are you laughin' at?

Smacksie's hat.

Here he comes!

Prepare to engage.

Prepare to engage.

Prepare to engage. Roger.

[ Shouts In Japanese ]

All right, boys.

This is where we get off.

Back home now.

Vector:
starboard 1-8-0.

Parker?

Everything's all right, Major.

Reporting, sir.

This is the room where we entertained

those peace boys, isn't it?

[ Caton ]

Yes, sir.

Seems like a long time ago.

Doesn't it?

Yes, sir.

I take back that toast I gave

to His Imperial Majesty.

Major.

Squadron communication.

Squadron communication.

Go ahead.

Reporting from Peel, sir.

Lots of near misses, but

the Clipper wasn't damaged, sir.

That's some help, anyhow.

Orderly!

Yes, sir?

Advise Dr. Parkman it'll be necessary

to evacuate his emergency hospital

as soon as possible.

Aye, aye, sir.

Hello, Lewis, Patrick.

We've got to get Dr. Parkman

and his people underground.

This has been a checkerboard

bombing, and that sort of stuff

is no respecter of hospitals.

Lewis, suppose you pick a good

spot and detail a work party.

Aye, sir.

Patrick, how'd you make out

with your outfit?

Twenty-three wounded,

seven killed, sir.

Seven planes out of commission.

All the oil and gasoline

on the field destroyed.

Even the big tanks?

That's right, sir.

That's not so good.

How did the defense

battalion make out, sir?

Not bad, considering

the strafing we got.

You'll have to admit they did

a pretty thorough job of it.

With mathematical precision,

square yard by square yard.

When they attack again,

I have the feeling they won't

bomb the same square twice.

So it's up to us to move

our guns, equipment and supplies

to the areas already bombed.

I suggest you follow the same

procedure with your planes.

Aye, aye, sir.

Patrick! You and your lads

have done a fine job.

We're proud of you.

Thank you, sir.

Keep pitching.

Aye, sir.

Captain Gordon

of the Clipper, sir.

Oh, come in, Captain.

My name's Caton.

How do you do, sir?

Sorry we had to meet under

such unpleasant circumstances.

You about ready to take off?

With your permission, sir.

I don't see anything to hold you,

unless our Japanese friends pay us

another visit before you get away.

All your passengers aboard?

They should be by now, sir.

They were boarding when I left.

Well, good luck

and happy landings.

Thank you, sir.

[ Whistling ]

Here, Skipper.

Here, Skip.

Come on, girl.

Skipper, where are you?

Here, Skip.

Skipper. Skipper, you in there?

Come on. Come on.

Get on the Clipper.

You ain't seen that dog

around anyplace, have you?

Never mind the dog. Get going.

That's funny. I ain't

seen her since the attack.

Listen, you big dope!

The Clipper's waiting.

You're holding up the parade.

Don't crowd me, will ya!

Get on that Clipper and

get on it fast. That's an order.

I'll get on when I'm good and ready.

And don't you give me no orders.

I'm a civilian, see!

Bill, Joe, come here.

Take this civilian

and toss him aboard the Clipper.

Go on, get going.

Oh, boy, oh, boy.

Come on, boys.

Come and get it.

Come on.

According to facts given me

by Corporal Goebbels, sir,

the accused refused

to get aboard the Clipper, spoke

disrespectful to Corporal Goebbels...

and assaulted First Class

Privates Bennett and Richmond,

causing them grievous bodily harm.

To say nothing of what

he did to me, sir.

Silence, Corporal.

Well, Randall, what have you

got to say for yourself?

Well, sir--

It's these clothes, sir.

What?

Well, since I've been wearing them,

I don't seem to have no control.

Control?

Over my emotions.

Randall, if my memory

serves me correctly,

weren't you before me on

a similar charge back in Shanghai?

- No, sir.

- No?

No, sir. That time it was the captain

of that Italian gunboat.

Remember, the-- the one

with the long whiskers?

Oh, yes, I remember now.

- You did a pretty good job on him.

- Oh, thank you, sir.

Uh, sir, if it's all the same to you,

I'd like to make the same request

I made then.

To ship over?

Yes, sir.

Randall, as man to man,

I congratulate you on your decision.

But as your commanding officer,

I can tell you now--

Since the beginning of hostilities,

you've never been out.

You're a marine

for the duration.

If you'd gotten aboard the Clipper,

they would have told you.

Now I have a request to make.

Yes, sir?

Burn that dogcatcher's outfit

and get back into your uniform!

Sergeant, post him for duty.

That's all.

Left face. Left face!

Forward march!

That's all, Corporal.

Mr. Hogan, sir.

Oh, hello, Hogan.

Hello, Major.

I've brought my report.

Not so good.

Any further instructions?

No.

Just tell the rest of your men

to stay under cover, what's left of it.

We'll get it again.

How soon? I don't know.

Yes, sir.

Oh, by the way, did your

Mr. McCloskey get off on the Clipper?

As far as I know.

Oh, so you didn't leave after all?

Thought I was gonna

run out on you?

Well--

Well, I was,

but I changed my mind.

McCloskey,

I'm glad you're staying.

Why?

We need a man like you.

Good.

Give me a gun.

No.

You can be more valuable than that.

What do I do?

Dig. Dig holes, lots of them,

revetments for our planes,

shelter trenches.

You'd better start

by digging a big one--

one big enough to hold all the

casualties in our emergency hospital.

Consider it done.

[ Bugle Call ]

Hard at it?

Running out of spare parts, sir,

so we're rolling our own.

Just thought I'd drop in,

see how you were doing.

Oh, Major Caton.

Orderly brought a signal over for you.

Thank you.

How's the rest of the world doing?

Not so good.

Cameron.

Yes, sir?

Sit down.

Cameron, I've got some bad news.

Yeah, I heard about it, sir.

What?

You mean about Commander Roberts.

I've heard he's in pretty bad shape.

It's not the commander. It's your wife.

She was killed in the bombing

at Pearl Harbor.

I know there's nothing I can say

that will comfort you.

You know, Cameron,

memories are funny things.

They mold a man.

From the time a man

can remember,

his main memories are

those given to him by women--

his mother, his sisters,

his first sweetheart,

his wife.

Even those women

he might like to forget,

even they give him memories

that might help sometime.

No, there's nothing I can say

that will comfort you.

You're like me now--

a man with a memory,

But we're not alone.

In this war, in any part of the world

wherever they've dropped

a stick of bombs,

they've made thousands like us--

men without wives,

without children,

without a single thing

they've ever loved or held dear.

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