Word Of Honor

Synopsis: Prompted by a just-published book that holds ex-lieutenant Ben Tyson accountable for a hushed-up massacre committed by his platoon in a Hue hospital 18 years before, the army recalls Tyson to stand trial for murder. Tyson, confronted by an army authority anxious to save its own face, an embarrassed federal government, and a threatened marriage, and entangled, furthermore, in his own past lives and present sense of guilt, must call on all his cleverness and his own inner toughness to fight his case.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Robert Markowitz
Production: Voice Pictures
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Year:
2003
91 min
319 Views


The platoon had suffered

heavy casualties.

Without rest or resupply, we'd been

operating independently...

...of Alpha Company for over a week.

Of the original 40 of us,

only 1 1 remained.

Sergeant Detonq...

...Corporal Larry Cane...

...who'd recently put his own life

on the line to save the rest of us.

Farley, Beltran...

...the ill-fated Peterson...

...Kalahane, Sadowski....

All of them suffering from

exhaustion and fear.

Then there was the lieutenant

and myself.

Okay, we're gonna flank the village from

the side. Beltran, Kalahane, you're on point.

Sadowski, Detonq,

bunker down in there with them.

Cane, Peterson, Kelly and Brandt...

...fall in behind me down the road.

We got Sanchez and Farley

on this side here.

Rendezvous at the building

and infiltrate the village. Understand?

-Yes, sir.

-All right, move out, boys.

l'm not gonna fault the conduct

of the lieutenant up to this point.

He'd never been with a group of men

like this before in a situation like this.

What about these men?

Neanderthals.

Human dregs that washed up

in the enlistment ranks...

...that the Army in its wisdom

chose to wage this war.

Tyson was what, about 21 ?

College kid.

l sensed that he was just as uncomfortable

in the presence of these men as l was.

But, unlike me, l think that he thought

that he had something to prove.

Quiet. Get out of here.

Okay, let's go back a second.

lt was your recommendation...

...as corps medic, that these men

were in no condition to continue.

Tyson decided to advance

to An Ninh Ha...

...and the international hospital,

Misericorde, anyway?

He told us that there

would be women there.

Right.

As we approached the hospital, there was

a Red Cross flag flying from the rooftop.

Red Cross flag. Signifying what?

Neutrality.

Or so we thought.

-Peterson!

-Sniper! Get down!

-Peterson's down!

-Get him out!

l got Peterson! Grab Cane!

Cover me!

-l got him!

-Cane's bad, Brandt. He's hurt bad!

Wait. No, he's dead.

Help me with Peterson.

Peterson's wound was mortal.

Only a thoracic surgeon in a well-equipped

hospital could've saved him.

-Nobody move!

-We would've had to fly him out.

-Stay back. Stay back!

-Please.

But we had just fired a few hundred

rounds into the place...

-...so they weren't ecstatic to see us.

-Watch them!

What was your opinion

of Peterson's condition?

l told Tyson several times...

...that their ER was not equipped

to handle thoracic surgery.

And that's what the Frenchman,

chief of surgery...

...was also trying to tell him.

French bastard.

Help him. He's dying.

-Without a dust-off, he's gone.

-They're all dying!

Do we let these other men die to operate on

this man for whom nothing can be done?

Get your hands off me!

Lower your gun!

This is not a war zone!

Beltran, make room for Peterson.

-You! Move, now!

-No!

Move it, sister!

Come on! Come on!

Get ready to operate. Now!

-Lieutenant.

-Hey, hey.

There's no point!

He's dead.

-No, no, no, no, no!

-He's dead, lieutenant.

Sons of b*tches, man!

Waste them all!

Do it! Blast them!

-What do we do?

-Finish it.

-Kill every man and woman in this place.

-Bastards!

An orgy of murder.

Not a single human life was spared.

After they burned the building down...

...and all the witnesses were dead,

they swore a blood oath...

...upon their word of honor...

...never to speak of it again.

Not a word to anyone?

-Not for 30 years?

-l considered coming forth.

Especially when l heard that Lieutenant

Tyson had been put in for a Silver Star.

But it would've been my word against his.

Well, it still is.

But...

...now, l don't care.

A thing like this contaminates

your soul, Mr. Picard.

lt ruined my life.

lt ruined my life, it ruined my life.

And l think it's my duty to God and to my

country to set the record straight...

...about Lieutenant Benjamin Tyson...

...and the atrocities at Misericorde.

ln lraq today, the U.S. Army continued their

patrol of former Ba'ath party headquarters.

The site of sporadic looting and violence.

-Did you talk to David?

-Oh, l talked.

l'm not sure he listened.

He's still saying he didn't cheat.

Teachers have it in for him....

Yeah, right.

Well, he's gotta come to it on his own.

Stop being the principal.

Be his mom.

Well, since you're in such

a forgiving mood...

...l meant to tell you that l had to wire

my sister more money last week.

She sounded so desperate, Ben.

Maybe she should've gone

back to her husband...

...instead of blowing

all that money on lawyers.

Not cool.

-Who blew all their money on lawyers?

-Aunt Francie, honey.

She's going through a hard time.

-She shouldn't have married the bum.

-Oh, very compassionate.

People experience problems

in their lives, David.

-lt could happen to any of us.

-Good to know.

People just have to take responsibility

for their actions. Don't they?

-Have a wonderful day at school, David.

-Yeah, right.

Hold on. Jim Wattenberg.

-Call back.

-Mr. Wattenberg?

He's rushing into a meeting.

Mr. Tyson's office.

No, l'm sorry. He's not in....

l talked to Brian Falco.

They're waiting on our recommendations.

Yeah, l want to talk to you about that.

Don't tell me you're having

second thoughts, my friend.

The board meeting's tomorrow.

-Ben, it's your wife.

-Hold the calls, okay?

-And get me Phil Sloan.

-You all right?

You know, l'm right

in the middle of something.

Can l get back to you later on this one?

-Yeah, sure.

-That'd be great.

lncoming!

Beltran, Kalahane, l want you guys on point!

Move out quickly and stay low!

We're going to Misericorde!

l'm hit!

Grenade! Grenade!

Phil Sloan is in the conference room.

Why did it take 30 years

to tell this story?

A story like this has obvious disadvantages.

lt was a long time ago.

Those who were there and are still alive

have no reason...

...to either confirm or deny their role

in the assault.

-But why now?

-He's been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Facing mortality, he decided it was time.

-Dr. Brandt!

-l'm sorry--

-Why did you make these allegations now?

-l can't talk now.

-What's his profile?

-A war hero, sir.

Two Purple Hearts,

Combat lnfantryman's Badge...

...Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry

and the Silver Star.

-How about the whistle blower?

-We don't know much.

Company medic. Discharged in '73.

Disappeared into civilian life.

Medical practice until '97.

Dr. Brandt's allegations are creating

a scandal with foreign governments...

...and human rights organizations

demanding an investigation.

-Tell them to piss off.

-You can't just...

...tell the international community

to piss off.

We have diplomatic relations with Hanoi,

including an extradition treaty.

l assume you're considering a lawsuit.

My concern is whether this could

bring about a criminal action.

There's no statute of limitations for murder,

but it's unlikely they'll come after you...

...for an incident 30 years ago

in a foreign country.

The Justice Department can't put them

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Nelson DeMille

Nelson Richard DeMille (born August 23, 1943) is an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include Plum Island, The Charm School, and The Gold Coast. DeMille has also written under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Word Of Honor" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/word_of_honor_23660>.

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