Last Flag Flying (2017)

1. She said she's a prostitute, but I don't do that.

2. Well, you got to understand where I'm coming from.

3. If you could just see yourself right now.

4. You look like you just had a lobotomy.

5. What's wrong with you?

6. O'TOOLE: This is reality.

7. Reality? My ass.

8. It's all made-up.

9. Let me ask you this, huh,

10. how many times on this show have you seen the cops

11. arrest, you know, killers and-and rapists or something like that?

12. How many times did they slap the cuffs

13. on some crooked CEO fuck?

14. What can I get you?

15. Beer. Beer.

16. Bottle? Draft?

17. Uh, draft. Draft.

18. What you see is them always catching drug users and johns,

19. you know, people just hurtin',

20. just looking for a little pleasure out of life.

21. Three dollars.

22. O'TOOLE: What have you got against cops?

23. Got nothin' against cops.

24. Jesus.

25. I'll tell you what I got something against.

26. I got something against stupidity. Good ol' stupidity.

27. That's what I got something against. There you go.

28. Oh, keep it. Oh, thanks.

29. You comin' or goin'?

30. Passing through, kind of.

31. I swear to God, a fly can go in your mouth and you wouldn't even know it.

32. You'd just swallow it, 'cause it's, like,

33. the only protein you've ever had.

34. It's good beer.

35. Huh? Good beer.

36. Yeah. Mm.

37. From Pennsylvania.

38. So, how long have you had this place?

39. Too long.

40. It's real homey.

41. You think so?

42. Where the hell do you live?

43. New Hampshire. Portsmouth.

44. Home of the Navy prison.

45. Yeah, I know the place.

46. You don't remember me, do you?

47. Wait a minute.

48. It can't be.

49. Could be. No way.

50. Way.

51. Sweet Jesus. Doc?

52. Wow, "Doc." Nobody's called me that

53. in a long, long time.

54. Fuck me. Doc, you made it.

55. Yeah, yeah.

56. Wow! Hey, O'Toole, looky here.

57. He's an old 'Nam buddy of mine.

58. I saved his life once.

59. He never saved my life.

60. Didn't think so.

61. You got to excuse me, Doc. Boy, I'm shit for names.

62. Sheppard. Larry Sheppard.

63. Shep. That's right.

64. 19-year-old kid. Navy corpsman.

65. Huh? Once.

66. Yeah, well, we were all something once.

67. Now we're just something else.

68. So you do remember me? Of course I remember you.

69. You heard? I got busted down to E-1.

70. Yeah. Yeah.

71. Most unfair. Boy.

72. The green weenie, they broke it off in you.

73. How long was it? Was it, like, what, three years?

74. Ended up about two with good behavior.

75. Oh. Well, see, that's not so bad.

76. Well, it was pretty bad.

77. Mm. It was a long time ago.

78. Yeah.

79. BCD?

80. Yeah. Yeah.

81. But at some point, instead of calling it a Bad Conduct Discharge,

82. I started calling it a better career decision.

83. Fuckin' A.

84. So, how'd you, uh, find my lonesome ass?

85. Oh, it was easy. The Internet.

86. You can find anybody on the Internet these days.

87. Boy, that is really fucked.

88. So, Portsmouth, huh?

89. Mm-hmm. What do you do for a living there?

90. I'm a stocking clerk at the Navy Exchange.

91. You got to be shitting me.

92. That's all right, that's all right.

93. Don't you go someplace when you close?

94. Like where?

95. I don't know. Home?

96. It'll be there tomorrow.

97. Hmm.

98. Reveille! Reveille!

99. Drop your cocks and grab your socks!

100. Reveille!

101. Hey. This is the last slice of pizza.

102. You want it? No.

103. That's it. Once this is gone,

104. there's no more pizza. No. Ow.

105. You sure? Going once, going twice, gone.

106. Mmm. I love cold pizza.

107. Hey, you want a beer?

108. Mm-mm. You sure?

109. Hair of the dog.

110. Always works for me.

111. Oh, fuck.

112. I'm still a little fucked up from last night,

113. if you want to know the truth.

114. I think I'm getting a little too old for this shit, frankly.

115. What's the deal with the grill part of "Sal's Bar & Grill"?

116. Well, gone to rust is the deal.

117. That's too bad.

118. I guess people just lost their taste for an honest burger.

119. Why? Are you hungry?

120. No, just curious.

121. Hey, you know what,

122. we got Mexicans here now,

123. so we can get some chorizo con huevos.

124. Hey, we qualify for menudo, if you got the balls for that.

125. No, thanks.

126. You don't want a bite?

127. There's something I want to show you, though, if you're up for it.

128. Mm-hmm. Sure. I'm always up for it.

129. You got a car?

130. Of course I got a car. I'm a fuckin' businessman.

131. You want to go now?

132. Yeah, whenever. Fuck it.

133. Oh, I just fuckin' love it, you know?

134. It's priceless.

135. What is? The Navy.

136. They put the cock to you and then they let you work at the Navy Exchange.

137. I got five people working under me.

138. You're a fuckin' inspiration.

139. You know what amazes me about you?

140. Could be anything. I'm a pretty amazing guy.

141. You turn the keys to your bar over to the guy who's asleep on your pool table

142. and then you jump in your car and you drive me to hell and gone

143. and you don't even know where we're going.

144. Well, I didn't think it would take so fuckin' long.

145. Take this left up here.

146. Right here? Mm-hmm.

147. That's going into a church.

148. Yep. Oh, no.

149. What-what are you doing here?

150. No, no, no, no. You're gonna love this, I promise.

151. I don't know, Doc. Look, I mean, you seen one, you seen 'em all, right?

152. No, this is gonna be good.

153. Geez. What'd you get me into here, huh?

154. See, as Christians, brothers and sisters,

155. we have choices, hmm?

156. We can choose to lay down our will

157. and follow God's will.

158. That's right. That's right, Pastor.

159. The question is, are you willing to do that?

160. Oh, my fucking God. Not are you ready, but are you willing?

161. You see, 'cause if you're willing,

162. if you're willing, you can trust and believe...

163. That's him. I told you you'd like this.

164. Oh, my God... that God will take care of the rest.

165. Yes, Lord.

166. Yes, He will See, it's a powerful thing...

167. What's he doing?

168. when you surrender to God's will...

169. Excuse me, could you move over for a minute?

170. and it takes ahold of you,

171. a powerful thing... Powerful!

172. when you begin to take that moment

173. to look deep inside yourself

174. and ask the question,

175. am I willing

176. to surrender to God's will?

177. Yes, yes, yes.

178. Well, you know what they call that, when God answers?

179. See, when God answers, what they call that is

180. you're having a God moment.

181. You see, when we stop to ask,

182. are my choices,

183. are they Christ-like choices?

184. I mean, this dude

185. was a first-class drinker, gambler, cocksman?

186. Shh.

187. Sorry.

188. Most likely a speed freak, too. I mean, how did you even find the place?

189. The Internet. The Internet.

190. Son of a bitch. and all of the relationships

191. where people are counting

192. on your Christ-like character...

193. Yes, sir.

194. are trusting that you will demonstrate

195. Christ-like integrity.

196. Yes. Oh, yes!

197. Amen to that!

198. Come on. Don't do that.

199. I see we have, uh,

200. some visitors amongst us here today.

201. Welcome! elcome, brothers, to our Sunday services.

202. Would you care to stand and perhaps introduce yourselves?

203. All right. Uh, name is Sal.

204. Salvatore Nealon.

205. Uh, USMC, sergeant, uh, retired.

206. Uh... Oh, hey, hey!

207. Come on. No, come on. Get up.

208. Guess who this lad is. Huh?

209. It's Doc.

210. Huh? Doc.

211. Also known as Larry Sheppard.

212. We were in the service together with your pastor.

213. Bless my soul.

214. Praise God! Welcome, brothers, welcome.

215. Thank you for joining us in our fellowship this morning.

216. Mmm.

217. Oh.

218. Oh, man, oh, man.

219. Southern ham. Thank you, ma'am.

220. All right, so listen up, Ruth,

221. I'm hoping that this old man appreciates you.

222. Oh, I think he does.

223. 'Cause if he ever don't,

224. you pack your bag and you come live with Sal.

225. You don't have a wife?

226. No, ma'am.

227. Neither chick nor child.

228. I do have a lady friend, though.

229. But she don't cook worth a damn.

230. She does have other talents,

231. if you know what I mean.

232. Um, well, what about you, Mr. Sheppard?

233. Are you single or married?

234. Oh, I married a wonderful woman, Mrs. Mueller.

235. Light of my life, my Mary.

236. Heart as big as anything.

237. Real pretty girl.

238. Great big smile.

239. Mm. Nice.

240. She, um...

241. she had a little slowness

242. because of a thing when she was born.

243. Wait, what's that mean? She's retarded?

244. No. No.

245. She could do anything that anybody else could.

246. She just was a little delayed.

247. Huh.

248. Great mom, great wife.Mm.

249. Well, what does she do?

250. Oh, I'm sorry. She...

251. Um... I lost Mary in January

252. from, uh, breast cancer.

253. I'm so sorry.

254. I'm sorry, Doc.

255. You know me, I- I don't mean nothin'.

256. We pay for what we say, Salvatore.

257. Yeah? Well, put it on my tab.

258. It's okay. You didn't know.

259. Your tab's long overdue, I suspect.

260. Um, do you, uh, have any children, Doc?

261. Um, yes. Just one, a son.

262. Larry Jr. Oh.

263. Well, uh, Richard and I, we have a girl and a boy.

264. And we have four grandchildren.

265. Praise God.

266. Wait, is it... Richard?

267. Honey, do we have some coffee or pie or something

268. for our guests before we send them on their way?

269. Richard.

270. Oh, yes. Um...

271. I have a peach cobbler for dessert.

272. Ooh! Peach cobbler!

273. Now we're livin'!

274. Huh? Ooh!

275. All right.

276. You married up, Richard.

277. I'm glad to see you prevailing over your hardships, Doc.

278. Oh, I-I do my best.

279. You, at least, seem to have turned out to be a decent man.

280. Well, try to be.

281. And so do I.

282. Me, too.

283. I, uh...

284. I regret any role I played in all that... foolishness

285. that happened back in Vietnam.

286. Oh. It's okay.

287. What the hell happened to Mueller the Mauler?

288. Huh? I mean...

289. Well, shit.

290. What, did you put him in the Witness Protection Program?

291. You got him hiding under the couch or something?

292. Jesus.

293. I grew up, Sal.

294. I found my life's purpose on the way.

295. Good for you.

296. So, what about you?

297. I always figured you for a lifer in the Marine Corps.

298. Is that the way things shook out?

299. Yeah.

300. Yeah, I re-upped. Sure.

301. Expectin' all the dominoes to fall, just like they said they would.

302. I was ready to kill me some commies in San Diego,

303. but they never showed up.

304. Hey, can you believe this?

305. People go to Vietnam on fuckin' vacation.

306. Hmm. Huh? They pay good money to have their picture taken

307. where 52,000 young Americans took their last dump.

308. Fuck me.

309. So, you, uh, mustered out on principle?

310. I mustered out with a plate in my head on 100% disability.

311. And that's the good news.

312. Boy, I wonder how that happened.

313. Oh. Now, that's a good story.

314. Fuck all if I can remember it.

315. I believe drink was involved.

316. Yes, yes.

317. I'm sure of it.

318. Speakin' of drink,

319. this is the best water I've ever had.

320. You see, Ruth, I was on the shy side of insubordination

321. most of the time, but I could get away with it

322. on account of my dashing good looks and boyish charm.

323. I guess we should all be just grateful

324. that we're still alive.

325. Amen. Praise God.

326. I tell myself that.

327. Doc, you're not gonna eat that?

328. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Ooh, God. I don't want it to go to waste.

329. You, uh, okay, Doc?

330. Mm-hmm.

331. Whatever it is that's troubling you,

332. it's probably best to talk about it.

333. My son...

334. Because of my son, I c-came here,

335. found you guys.

336. Maybe I shouldn't have.

337. Your son?

338. Larry Jr.

339. A year ago, he joined the corps.

340. Oorah.

341. And then two days ago, they came and told me that he'd been killed.

342. It was in, uh, Baghdad.

343. His convoy got ambushed.

344. They told me that he unloaded his weapon on them

345. and he died with his bayonet in his hand.

346. Jesus.

347. He's coming home tonight.

348. He's gonna be buried in Arlington.

349. Full honors. A hero.

350. And I was wondering if you guys could come with me.

351. We ask, heavenly Father, that you continue

352. to strengthen his spirit and to soften the sadness

353. during this-this time of bereavement.

354. I can promise you, Doc, you will meet your wife

355. and son again, in a better place.

356. Oh, come on.

357. And all of this will seem

358. like a momentary separation.

359. Oh, come on.

360. What better place are they going to, huh?

361. Las Vegas? Miami Beach?

362. Uh, Doc knows the place of which I speak, Sal.

363. Well, then show him. He's got a map.

364. Or maybe he can look it up on the World Wide Internet, huh?

365. Well, one only knows it when one sees it.

366. And as far as you are concerned, Sergeant,

367. it's odds-on that you shall never, ever see it.

368. Well, then I guess I'll never miss it. Oh, you will miss it.

369. You will miss it dearly,

370. each and every sweet moment of eternity.

371. Do you even know how long eternity is?

372. Yeah.

373. It ain't gonna matter.

374. Let me ask you something,

375. with all the billions of people

376. floatin' around in your heaven,

377. how come none of them ever got the word back

378. to the rest of us?

379. One of them did.

380. Oh, right. That guy. Yeah.

381. A bit sketchy on the details, if you ask me.

382. I'm not asking you.

383. Okay, Doc, listen up.

384. I'm really sorry for your loss,

385. but I ain't gonna blow a bunch of smoke up your ass.

386. The worst thing

387. that can happen to anybody

388. has landed on you,

389. and now you just got to deal with it.

390. Lord have mercy.

391. What?

392. You were a hazard when you were a younger man.

393. Now you're just an old fool.

394. What the hell are you talking... You know, I...

395. I got your hazard dangling here, huh?

396. I'm going to ask you to watch your language in my house, sir.

397. What language is that? I'm not... Man, listen...

398. Guys, I didn't want to cause any trouble.

399. Okay.

400. Doc,

401. I'm gonna help you bury your boy.

402. Now, I may not be able to get you up into heaven,

403. but I can sure as hell get you to Arlington.

404. Mueller?

405. I certainly would like to help you, Doc, but I...

406. But he has to stay here and pray for you,

407. which will be very helpful.

408. Richard. Yes.

409. Could I see you for a moment?

410. Of course, dear.

411. Mueller, please.

412. I don't get around so well anymore, as you can see, Doc.

413. We'll just be in the car.

414. I know, but... I don't think so.

415. No, no, it's impossible.

416. He is comin' with. That's affirmative.

417. No, he said he wasn't going to.

418. No, don't matter what he said.

419. I guarantee you his old lady is shaming him.

420. Okay? She's in there right now saying,

421. "Richard, you have to..."

422. go with that poor man. He needs you.

423. He will have qualified people to counsel him at Arlington.

424. Well, yes, but who will protect him from that Sal person?

425. Oh, Lord, that's right.

426. Shit always goes sideways

427. when Sal's involved. Richard.

428. What in the world has happened to your vocabulary?

429. Oh, I'm sorry, babe. I'm sorry.

430. Just kind of slipped out. I'm sorry.

431. Mm-hmm.

432. Look, you can't refuse friends in the time of need.

433. Friends? Mm-hm.

434. I haven't seen these men in decades.

435. You can't refuse anybody. You're a preacher.

436. They represent a dark period in my life, Ruth.

437. A very dark period.

438. And you represent God.

439. The man lost his son, Richard.

440. That's all I need to say.

441. Hey, I'd turn the radio on, but it's broke.

442. You got, uh... a boom box or something?

443. Want to play... No?

444. Hey, Doc, you can move your chair back.

445. You know, separate... They're individual controls.

446. Just un-underneath, in the front, there.

447. Give you some legroom. Yeah, that's better, right?

448. So, Richard...

449. what's the story with the collar, now, huh?

450. You got to wear that? Is it, like, a tracking system

451. so God knows where you are at all times?

452. Do you always have to wear that thing or can you relax?

453. I am relaxed. Really? All right.

454. Don't seem that way, but...

455. if you say so.

456. I never knew your name was Richard

457. in the years we were together, never.

458. I mean, it was always Mueller.

459. Richard. Wow.

460. When you was a kid, did you go by "Richie" or "Rich"?

461. Dick?

462. You like Dick? Hmm?

463. I just never knew any brothers named Richard, you know?

464. I didn't know they named 'em that.

465. Richard Pryor.

466. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

467. Richard Wright.

468. Uh...

469. Mm... Richie Havens.

470. Oh, oh.

471. Dick Gregory. Oh, I stand corrected.

472. Little Richard.

473. Now, helikes dick.

474. Big... big dick... Yeah.

475. What the fuck? Look at this guy.

476. He's on my ass.

477. Just up on my ass.

478. Look at this. Change lanes.

479. I'm not gonna change lanes. This is my lane.

480. Get the fuck off my ass. Get out of the way. Just move over.

481. Come on. Just get out of the way.

482. Let him by you.

483. Okay, fuckhead, you want to play? Let's play.

484. What are you doing, Sal? Want to play? All right, just hold on, okay?

485. Trying to have an accident out here? Just hold on.

486. No, I'm gonna jackknife this motherfucker.

487. Fuckhead. What is wrong with you?

488. You want to play? Hey, move over

489. and let the guy get by! All right. Shit.

490. Hey! You trying to get me killed out here?

491. Hey, fuck you, asshole!

492. Fuck you! Hey!

493. I'm talking to you, jackoff!

494. You fuckin' asshole!

495. You fuckin' get me hurt out here,

496. I will bury your fuckin' ass on the side of the road.

497. All right. You hear me? You understand?

498. Yes! Keep your eye on the road, man!

499. Mueller has arrived!

500. Fuck around, I got a wife and a congregation to get back to.

501. Fuckin' drive, man.

502. I'm driving, I'm driving.

503. I thought ou was lost forever.

504. I really did.

505. Where are we supposed to go, Doc?

506. Dover Air Force Base.

507. That... that's in fuckin' Delaware.

508. Right. Dover, Delaware.

509. So... what are we doing here?

510. I don't know.

511. You said Arlington.

512. Well, yeah, that's what they said. That's what they told me.

513. But now you... now you're saying Dover.

514. Well, I guess...

515. they have to fly in someplace first, so they fly into Dover.

516. Okay.I'm sorry.

517. Okay. No, no. It's all right.

518. It's okay.

519. Dover it is.

520. Do you want me to drive?

521. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

522. Wonder if something's wrong.

523. Nah.

524. He's just the guard at a gate. He don't know nothing.

525. I wonder if there'll be an honor guard and all that.

526. Well, they'll do something.

527. You know, be respectful, you know.

528. But, uh... just not in public.

529. 'Cause they... they got a blackout

530. on all that stuff this time around.

531. Yeah, no pictures of coffins.

532. No reminders to the public.

533. It's all bullshit.

534. The body's in transit. The plane is due at 0800 tomorrow.

535. Come back then, you can wait in the hangar. Okay, thank you.

536. Transit. Everybody's always in transit,

537. even when you're dead.

538. Come on, Sal. It's okay.

539. Sorry.

540. How much is it, ma'am?

541. It's 35, even.

542. Whoa, Doc.

543. What's with the wad?

544. Uh, they took up a collection

545. at the exchange when they heard.

546. See? You got lots of friends.

547. Well, they felt bad.

548. They just wanted to do something.

549. And here's your key. Thank you.

550. Man, you guys ain't watching this?

551. Watching what? Man, they got him!

552. Who?

553. Man, that son of a bitch Saddam.

554. They got him in a spider hole.

555. Iraqis in Baghdad celebrated,

556. some with guns...

557. some with cheers.

558. The capture of Saddam Hussein

559. is a defining moment in the new Iraq.

560. I expect that the detention of Saddam Hussein

561. will be regarded as the beginning of reconciliation...

562. Fuck.

563. Can't blow smoke rings for shit now.

564. Used to be real good at it.

565. Something happened with my tongue or something.

566. We now have final resolution.

567. Mm. Doc's out.

568. Look at this fuckin' guy.

569. Fuck me.

570. One day he's the head of a country,

571. next day he's just some fuck hiding out in a spider hole,

572. scared to death.

573. He... he-he told me not to worry.

574. Come here.

575. He didn't die in vain.

576. Mr. Sheppard.

577. Yes.

578. Mr. Sheppard, I am Colonel Wilits.

579. Mm. The president of the United States

580. has asked me to express his deep regrets

581. that your son was killed in action.

582. Thank you.

583. He died a hero in the service of his country.

584. He was an inspiration to his fellow marines.

585. Can I see him?

586. Sir, that would be ill-advised.

587. Trust me on this, you do not want to see him like that.

588. Is it against the rules?

589. No.

590. But the lance corporal was hit in the back of the head.

591. I assure you he felt no pain.

592. But the exit wound in such a case is devastating...

593. to the face.

594. They were behind him? They shot him from behind?

595. Take the colonel's advice, Doc.

596. It's best to remember him as he was.

597. I'd have to see him.

598. But that's just me.

599. The thing is...

600. you don't have to listen to no colonels no more.

601. Those days are gone.

602. I'd like to...

603. I'd like to see my son.

604. Sir, what you will see...

605. you will not be able to unsee.

606. I understand. I just... I feel like I have to.

607. As you wish, sir.

608. Lance Corporal Washington,

609. please escort these two gentlemen to the coffee mess.

610. Yes, sir.

611. Mr. Sheppard, come with me.

612. Hey, kid.

613. Stand at ease, will you? You're giving me a fuckin' stiff neck.

614. Man, I never heard anyone talk to the colonel like that.

615. Colonels don't scare me.

616. Never have, never will.

617. You a marine?

618. Yeah, I thought so.

619. I got more time in the chow line than you got in the corps.

620. You, too?

621. Oorah.

622. Semper fi, do or die. How you think I got this cane?

623. Hey, kid.

624. The fuck's with your ear?

625. Baghdad boil.

626. Say what?

627. Baghdad boil.

628. Yeah, everybody's got one.

629. You get bit by a teeny sand fly

630. over there, and...

631. Fuckin' Franken-ear.

632. Jesus.

633. They say it'll go away...

634. in a year or two. Oh, yeah.

635. You can count on that.

636. One fuckin' ugly ear.

637. This is a big mistake.

638. Big mistake. Hey, hey, hold on.

639. It's not like there's something you can do about it now.

640. Unless you're gonna go over there and just out-tough the colonel.

641. I don't want nothing. All right?

642. I'm just along for the ride. Oh, yeah, right.

643. Fuck.

644. So you two were in 'Nam with Larry's dad?

645. We were.

646. You guys know what the fuck happened back then?

647. Nah. We were just...

648. pulling triggers, killing gooks.

649. Larry said his dad wound up doing brig time behind it.

650. Yeah, that's all in the past now.

651. What do you know about that?

652. Sounded like he fucked some dudes up.

653. Or some dudes fucked him up.

654. Are you them dudes?

655. What exactly did he tell you?

656. Only that some bad shit went down.

657. I was Larry's best friend, all right?

658. So no one else knew anything about it.

659. So you were with him during the ambush?

660. Ambush?

661. The ambush. The ambush and the firefight, they said.

662. Okay. Okay?

663. Okay? What the fuck is that, okay?

664. If that's what they're saying it was, then that's what it was.

665. Hey. Come on, you're his friend.

666. You were there, right? What happened?

667. Come on, kid, don't stonewall us.

668. He ain't looking at ya.

669. Come on, it's just us, marine to marine.

670. Jarhead to jarhead.

671. It was fucked.

672. Me and Sheppard and three other guys

673. were all day humping school supplies.

674. We had tablets, pencils, new books.

675. It was our last run.

676. Anyway, we was always stopping at this little store

677. we called Abdul's Haji Mart.

678. We'd have Haji Cokes.

679. It was my turn to make the run,

680. but Sheppard said he'd do it, so he goes

681. and we're bullshitting and this raghead comes up,

682. shouts out...

683. "Allah Akbar"...

684. whatever the fuck.

685. "God is great."

686. Puts a cap in Shep's head.

687. Jesus.

688. What happened next?

689. Shit, man, we went off.

690. Lit 'em all up.

691. The raghead, Abdul,

692. damn near whole fuckin' hood.

693. Carried Larry back to the Hummer and went home.

694. You know, the kid's supposed

695. to get the Bronze Star behind this.

696. Yeah.

697. He'll get the star.

698. The more stars the better, right?

699. Yeah. Right.

700. Okay...

701. We can't tell him about this.

702. We can't? No.

703. Let him have his Bronze Star. Shit.

704. Let him have his burial at Arlington with full honors.

705. Let him have his hero.

706. Lord knows the man ain't had nothing but pain in his life lately.

707. In other words, let him have the lie.

708. Think about it, Sal. What's more important?

709. I don't know.

710. But it's never the lie.

711. Sal...

712. Sal.

713. I'm sorry, sir, but there's always a sound reason

714. for my recommendations.

715. Sal, he doesn't have a face anymore.

716. You got to be a man now.

717. Hey, mister.

718. Hey, Sal.

719. How did this boy wind up dead?

720. I beg your pardon?

721. I think it's a pretty simple question.

722. What happened?

723. The lance corporal acquitted himself

724. with dignity and honor, and he died a hero.

725. Yeah, but I mean, they're...

726. they're all heroes, ain't they?

727. That they are, sir. Yeah. All heroes.

728. No question.

729. How did it happen that this boy

730. was shot in the back of the head like a fucking dog?

731. He was a brave marine,

732. credit to the corps,

733. and he served his country well.

734. Yes, he did.

735. So did we all.

736. Every one of us here.

737. And we'd do it again if we had the chance.

738. What's going on, Sal?

739. I don't know. That's-that's why I'm asking.

740. Shouldn't we be making funeral arrangements?

741. Isn't that why we're here?

742. One second.

743. Now, were you there when this happened?

744. No, I wasn't.

745. So, where were you?

746. With all due respect, sir,

747. that is none of your business.

748. Oh.

749. Oh, I see.

750. With all due respect...

751. Doc ought to be able to talk to somebody who was there.

752. You weren't.

753. All right.

754. Were you?

755. Yes, sir, I was there.

756. Very well.

757. Lance Corporal Washington, tell them what happened.

758. So, where we at with all of this?

759. Pretty much where we were before.

760. Doc wants his son's face back.

761. Can't blame him for that.

762. Called my wife.

763. I'm going home.

764. I'll be taking the bus.

765. So you're quittin'?

766. Quittin' what?

767. Why don't we find out?

768. So, Doc, what, uh,

769. what are we gonna do here?

770. I can't bury him at Arlington. Not now.

771. He qualifies and he deserves that honor. Here.

772. This is what he looked like.

773. Can I see it?

774. Handsome boy. Wow. Yeah.

775. High school girls were crazy about him.

776. My handsome boy.

777. I'm taking Larry home.

778. Sir, I can assure you that is a bad decision

779. and you will come to regret it.

780. Sir, sir, sir, sir.

781. Please stop. Sir, sir.

782. The marines will transport the body for you,

783. at no cost to you, anywhere you choose.

784. Sir, sir...

785. Sir, stop.

786. I cannot legally release the lance corporal's body

787. to anyone, except a licensed mortician.

788. Or a clergyman.

789. Isn't that so, Colonel?

790. Correct.

791. Well...

792. it looks like...

793. that will be me.

794. Lads.

795. Here we go.

796. Yeah. There.

797. Not gonna fit.

798. How you gonna et him home now?

799. What you gonna do, Sal, strap the coffin to the roof of your car?

800. We could do that.

801. Just need a little help lifting it up, huh?

802. Maybe we can get that kid with the fucked-up ear.

803. Don't be ridiculous.

804. Why not?

805. You know a better way to be?

806. You wish you could be ridiculous, but it's too late now.

807. Doc, you've got to let the government transport the body.

808. I mean, it's the kind of thing they're good at.

809. I- I don't like the government right now.

810. Well, you don't have to.

811. I don't trust it anymore.

812. Hey, you know what, we could rent a truck.

813. You know what, let's do that. Uh, you take the car.

814. We'll stay here.

815. Go find a truck. All right.

816. And pay for it out of that. One truck, comin' up.

817. I'm coming with you, Sal. You can drop me at the bus station.

818. I think I got to be getting back home now, Doc.

819. I understand, Mueller. I'm sorry I dragged you all the way up here.

820. I really thought I could be of some help to you, you know.

821. I mean, I thought we were going to a funeral.

822. We are going to a funeral. Just looks like it's gonna take a little longer to get there.

823. It's okay.

824. I'm just glad I got a chance to... see you again.

825. I'm very happy I got to see you again, Doc.

826. God bless you, Doc.

827. Keep you in my prayers.

828. And bless you, too, lad.

829. Let me ask you something,

830. man-to-man, hmm?

831. You ever wonder...

832. what would've happened, way back then, if we hadn't...

833. Doc wouldn't have ended up doing two years in the brig, that's for sure.

834. And you and me, we... wouldn't had to seen what we did.

835. And what was that?

836. Are you shittin' me?

837. You tellin' me you don't remember?

838. I remember a lot of shit.

839. What are you talking about?

840. A certain platoon buddy getting shot,

841. writhing around on the ground dying,

842. with nothing to give him to ease his pain

843. 'cause we had already taken all the morphine.

844. God rest his soul.

845. There wasn't nothin' we could do at that point.

846. And we did nothin'.

847. And sometimes you got to do a little more.

848. I have a van that would work for you.

849. All right. But I think you might be happier

850. with a truck that's got a hydraulic tail lift.

851. Oh.

852. Hydraulic lift. I like that, huh?

853. What will you be hauling?

854. Oh, you know, a truck with a lift will handle it.

855. Will you be dropping it off back here or at another location?

856. Uh...

857. Don't you know?

858. No, I guess I'll be dropping it off here.

859. And when will that be?

860. What you lookin' at me for?

861. I don't know. How many days would it...?

862. You don't know how long you're going to need it?

863. No, I don't know how long I'll need it. Give me a week.

864. Oh, yeah.

865. A week, he says.

866. Mueller, come on. It's out of your hands, all right?

867. Why don't you sit down, take a load off,

868. and let the mountain come to Muhammad, all right?

869. Chill. All right?

870. I need to see your driver's license. Yeah.

871. Here you go.

872. Ooh.

873. These are free, right?

874. Norfolk, Virginia?

875. Yeah.

876. Got to live somewhere.

877. Will you be the only driver?

878. Uh, no, no, I'll have some help.

879. Then I'll need to see the other driver's license.

880. Is it this gentleman here? thy rod

881. and thy staff, they comfort me. His holiness?

882. No, no. His holiness can hardly walk,

883. let alone handle a big rig with a hydraulic lift.

884. Whoever... I'll need their license.

885. I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

886. What are you doing, with the bouncing? What is that?

887. I'm speaking a psalm.

888. A psalm? Mm.

889. Oh.

890. As in, a psalm-a bin Laden.

891. So, you are the only driver?

892. Yes, ma'am, I be the wheelman.

893. How will you be paying?

894. Oh. Okay.

895. Take it out of this.

896. 16 to 60,

897. you put a dude behind the wheel of a big rig like this,

898. you're gonna feel like hot shit.

899. This is a rented U-Haul with an automatic transmission.

900. This is bigger than anything you ever handled.

901. Sal, Doc's boy is dead.

902. Try not to forget that.

903. I haven't forgotten that.

904. Jesus.

905. But we're still alive, right? Praise God.

906. With time ticking fast away.

907. So if there's one minute that's not too terrible, I'd like to try to enjoy it.

908. All right.

909. I mean, you used to be up for some fun.

910. I still am. Oh, yeah.

911. As long as it's right in God's eyes.

912. What is that, "God's eyes"?

913. Wha-What... God don't have any eyes.

914. Oh, yes, He does.

915. Oh, yeah. God has eyes and He has ears.

916. Yeah. And He hears every insult

917. that you send His way. Geez.

918. You believe me when I tell you, Sergeant, there will be a reckoning.

919. Oh, a reckoning.

920. Yeah, God as my witness. All right.

921. I can assure you of that.

922. Well, great, then, because I reckon

923. that I would take that opportunity

924. to stand at attention and say to God,

925. "Hey! Where were You when the...

926. "raping children and the-the genocide and all that?

927. "Where were You when they flew airplanes

928. "into the buildings and killed thousands of people "who were just going to work?

929. "Where were You when Doc's kid

930. "was just buying Cokes for his buddies

931. "and some raghead come up and shoot his face off?

932. Huh? Where were You?"

933. Yeah, you see, I'm not gonna stand there

934. and try to explain myself to Him,

935. I'm gonna make God explain Himself to me.

936. Oh, all right. Yeah, and I think by the end of it, He'll say,

937. "Hey, come on. Get in here.

938. "You? You're my kind of dude.

939. You, give me one of these."

940. All right, well, good luck with that.

941. I'll be praying for you, you hear?

942. Yeah, well, I'll be hoping for the same thing.

943. But, boy, if it's a tight-ass God,

944. then I am fucked. Yeah.

945. And I think it's time for that lube job on that plate in your head.

946. Hey, stay the fuck away from my plate, all right?

947. I'm picking up WOR from New York.

948. I'm homesick.

949. Yeah. Hey, wait a minute. Maybe...

950. Oh, no, no, no. Well...

951. You have to turn that shit off. So, you know about this stuff, right?

952. Oh, man. All right.

953. So, you know, I have been known to get in a face or two.

954. But even I'm offended by this stuff.

955. I mean, it's damn hard to dance to.

956. Well, that is one thing that we can finally agree on. There you go.

957. Aren't you a little ashamed being an African-American?

958. Mm, no, not really. Why should I be?

959. Because being a dignified gentleman such as yourself,

960. you would be the first to agree

961. that this is so far away from, like, Motown, man.

962. Right? Well, I have nothing to be ashamed of.

963. I mean, this dude is white.

964. "White." That's affirmative.

965. Yeah. Yeah. White is right.

966. This guy's white.

967. Word to God. This is coming out of a white mouth?

968. A white sewer mouth.

969. Bullshit. Mm, nope.

970. I bullshit you not.

971. Mm-hmm. Fuck me.

972. Well, then, I ought to be a little ashamed.

973. Only I never really identified with the white race.

974. Oh, really?

975. No. Nothing. Oh, now I'm curious.

976. Nope. Now, what race do you, uh, identify with?

977. Green.

978. Green? Yeah. The corps.

979. Okay. I mean,

980. it's really the only culture I ever...

981. really thought made sense.

982. All right.

983. Let me ask you something.

984. Hmm?

985. Do you ever miss it?

986. Not for one blessed minute.

987. I don't believe you. That's all right.

988. You don't believe in God either,

989. but trust and believe He believes in you.

990. Hey. No problems? No, no problem.

991. Not unless being trapped on a bus for seven hours is a problem.

992. I don't know.

993. Buses are real nice now.

994. They got recliners and...

995. shitters in the back.

996. Hey, maybe you'll meet some poor redneck and save his soul.

997. You get extra points for that?

998. I mean, does it work off a point system?

999. I'll tell you when I get there.

1000. Look, I just hope I can get some sleep.

1001. I didn't sleep so good last night.

1002. Yeah, I know, me neither.

1003. Hey.

1004. This will keep you awake.

1005. Want it?

1006. Oh, no. That'd play havoc with my teeth.

1007. You remember when we could sleep in a hole in the ground,

1008. bullets whizzing overhead?

1009. Jesus.

1010. You can't go back, Sal.

1011. No.

1012. Who'd want to?

1013. We can't redo the choices we made back then.

1014. The best we can do is learn from them

1015. and try to do better in the future. I hear that.

1016. But you're still gonna do it anyway, huh?

1017. Huh?

1018. You're gonna take Doc and his dead boy back to Portsmouth,

1019. try to make it fun.

1020. Hey, you ought to come with.

1021. Ah?

1022. Come on.

1023. Eh.

1024. Ah, well.

1025. I better get back.

1026. I still can't believe it.

1027. You, of all people, a preacher.

1028. That's goddamn right.

1029. Oh...

1030. Hey, you ever think that, uh...

1031. I don't know, we might bump into each other again,

1032. you know, from time to time?

1033. I don't know. I mean...

1034. He moves in mysterious ways.

1035. That He does.

1036. All right, Padre, take care of yourself.

1037. I'll, uh, I'll see you for Sunday supper.

1038. Bless you. Thanks.

1039. Why? Did I sneeze?

1040. I- I got ya.

1041. All right.

1042. Hang on, Doc.

1043. One, two, three.

1044. You know...

1045. keep wondering, Doc, what...

1046. what your kid would have wanted.

1047. To drink beer with his friends.

1048. Um... to chase girls.

1049. He was only 21.

1050. He wasn't thinking about dying.

1051. Yeah.

1052. You know, Doc, you can make this a whole lot easier on yourself.

1053. Yeah, I don't want to make it easy on myself.

1054. Yeah, you're right.

1055. Guys like us, we... take all that shit

1056. till it's a disaster.

1057. And then we're cool.

1058. The worst has happened, like we knew it would.

1059. They sent him off to a godforsaken desert.

1060. Why?

1061. Who knows?

1062. It wasn't to protect America.

1063. It's like that jungle they sent us to.

1064. It was no threat to us.

1065. And then they send him back to me in this,

1066. with more lies.

1067. A hero. Honors. Arlington.

1068. Well, I am not going to bury a marine.

1069. I'm just gonna bury my son.

1070. Yeah.

1071. Taking a bus today?

1072. Yes, to Richmond. You?

1073. Richmond, huh? Mm.

1074. That home for you?

1075. Uh, no, but... close. Why?

1076. So, you're the one they call the Mullah?

1077. The what?

1078. Mullah?

1079. I'm...

1080. waiting for a bus to Richmond,

1081. minding my business,

1082. reading the Scriptures. The Bible.

1083. Checking out the competition?

1084. Who are you two, and what do you want from me?

1085. That depends.

1086. We're from Homeland Security.

1087. What?

1088. Some rig, huh?

1089. Hold it right there.

1090. It used to mean something, you know?

1091. Esprit de corps.

1092. A unity.

1093. Some... well-earned pride and some goddamn common sense.

1094. I don't even know what it means anymore.

1095. You know what? Fuck them.

1096. Yeah. Fuck 'em! Fuck 'em all.

1097. Fuck 'em all, is right.

1098. I spent the best years of my life defending this country.

1099. Your best years are still ahead of you, Sal.

1100. Oh, fuck off. No, it's true.

1101. Look at me, Doc, all right?

1102. My future is behind me.

1103. I got a scrambled brain held together with a steel plate.

1104. They look at me and what do they see? A fuckin' terrorist.

1105. An apology would have been nice.

1106. Yeah. They're sorry, all right.

1107. They're sorry they didn't smoke our asses.

1108. Don't get it.

1109. Doc.

1110. Aw, shit.

1111. What, did you forget your toothbrush?

1112. Jesus.

1113. I had to call my wife

1114. from the police station.

1115. You hear me?

1116. From the police station!

1117. All right.

1118. What happened?

1119. After they ID'd me as the Reverend Richard Mueller,

1120. found that I am not a Muslim radical, nor am I a mullah.

1121. Mullah the Mauler! Huh?

1122. Oh, fuck, it's all over, isn't it?

1123. The country's fucked.

1124. Was Ruth upset? Oh, she was very upset.

1125. Wanted me to come home right away,

1126. but I said no, no, no, no, no, honey.

1127. There are times that demand that even old men

1128. should become threats.

1129. Fuckin' A right. It's like during the pinko scare...

1130. I thought I was talking.

1131. Yeah, you were.

1132. I told my wife I am not coming home!

1133. Not until we're done here.

1134. Where's your boy?

1135. They got him again.

1136. Tomorrow we gonna get him back.

1137. And then we're gonna take him home.

1138. Ten-hut!

1139. Gentlemen, good morning.

1140. So, Colonel whatever your name is,

1141. where's Larry?

1142. Wilits. It's Colonel Wilits.

1143. Oh.

1144. I've been briefed on yesterday's snafu.

1145. Completely ridiculous.

1146. Apparently, the U-Haul agent went off the deep end.

1147. But there it is, and what's done is done.

1148. I hope that, given further time for reflection,

1149. you can see that Arlington is a resting place

1150. that should not be refused in anger.

1151. There lie heroes, sir.

1152. The details of the lance corporal's death

1153. are what they are, but make no mistake,

1154. his death was heroic.

1155. He was in a foreign and hostile land

1156. doing the decent thing.

1157. He deserves to lie beneath the sacred soil of Arlington.

1158. He would want that, and I urge you to choose that for him.

1159. Thank you. I'm going to take my son home and bury him in New Hampshire.

1160. And not in his uniform.

1161. I'm gonna bury him in his graduation suit.

1162. As you wish.

1163. Your government will fly the coffin, at no cost to you,

1164. to Portsmouth, and to a funeral director of your choosing.

1165. No. We're taking him with us today.

1166. With all due respect, sir,

1167. you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.

1168. Hey. Colonel.

1169. Did you look at these faces?

1170. They've already been spited,

1171. so why should we give a fuck about your opinions?

1172. With all due respect.

1173. We're gonna take the train.

1174. Okay. I'll make the arrangements.

1175. Lance Corporal Washington here will be going with you.

1176. This is Wilits.

1177. I need you to make some things happen ASAP.

1178. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Wilits. Stand by.

1179. We don't need no babysitter.

1180. I wasn't implying that you did.

1181. Washington is on TDY escort duty.

1182. You don't want him, he goes right back to Baghdad.

1183. Guys?

1184. We could use the help.

1185. Does he pull per diem?

1186. Of course.

1187. Then fall in, Washington.

1188. But he takes orders from us.

1189. He takes his orders... from me.

1190. But he will accommodate you in any reasonable way you ask,

1191. because I just ordered him to.

1192. Is that clear?

1193. Very clear.

1194. Colonel.

1195. Boy...

1196. you are a fuckin' force of nature, huh?

1197. Man, I would've loved to run into you in the field

1198. in my younger days.

1199. You really think so?

1200. Oh, yeah.

1201. 'Cause one of us would have been fragged.

1202. And the other would've gone to the brig.

1203. Halt.

1204. Down.

1205. Ready.

1206. Face.

1207. I don't give a fuck what they say.

1208. You understand me? Yes, sir.

1209. The lance corporal is ours.

1210. He's a marine until he goes into the ground,

1211. and remains a marine the period of time he's underground

1212. plus 100 years, is that clear?

1213. Yes, sir. I will not have

1214. three over-the-hill veterans pissing on my corps.

1215. Understood? Yes, sir!

1216. You're a marine. Your mission is to see your brother home.

1217. You're in charge, and when in charge, you take charge!

1218. Understood? Yes, sir!

1219. There'll be a Mortuary Affairs detail every step of the way.

1220. You will protect the dignity of that dead marine,

1221. and you will see to it that he is buried with honors

1222. in his uniform, not some cocksucking,

1223. motherfucking pussy civilian graduation suit!

1224. Clear? Yes, sir!

1225. And don't let that Sal fucktard outflank you.

1226. He's old but he's dangerous. Do not let that happen.

1227. Kill him first. Sir?

1228. That is not an order. Yes, sir!

1229. And just because that crippled preacher reminds you

1230. of your father, don't trust him.

1231. I never knew my father, sir.

1232. Lance Corporal, do you have some kind of personal problem? No, sir.

1233. Then get on it! Yes, sir!

1234. Ready... hut!

1235. Ready... face!

1236. Forward march!

1237. Well, Washington says you served.

1238. Yeah. Army. Oh, really? Yeah? Yeah.

1239. Did you see some shit?

1240. Yeah, I was there the first time. Gulf War.

1241. Right, right.

1242. You came back.

1243. Yes. Yeah, and I'm not pissing blood.

1244. My babies are all okay. Hey, that's good.

1245. John Redman. Larry Sheppard.

1246. Don't worry, I'll... I'll look after your boy.

1247. Thank you.

1248. Whenever you're ready.

1249. Okay.

1250. Hey, at ease, Washington. Huh?

1251. I got a question for you.

1252. When did you get so old, hmm?

1253. I think it was over the last 30 years.

1254. Same as you.

1255. Me? No.

1256. Categorically deny it.

1257. Deny it all you want.

1258. It will not stop the clock, nor will it turn back time.

1259. So, what do you think of that grunt, Washington, huh?

1260. What about him? I don't know.

1261. He don't say much.

1262. Him and his Baghdad boil,

1263. boy, that's some gnarly shit, right?

1264. Well, what do you want to know about him?

1265. I don't want to know nothin' about him.

1266. Sounds like he's an individual

1267. who's heavy on your mind, though.

1268. Ain't nothin' heavy on my mind.

1269. Just wondering.

1270. Then go back and talk to him, if he's such a mystery to you.

1271. Everything is a mystery to me.

1272. Except you.

1273. Please.

1274. I think I'll go back and talk to him.

1275. Oh, I'm sure he'll enjoy that.

1276. Tell him he should come up here and sit with us.

1277. All right.

1278. I'll extend an invitation.

1279. There we go.

1280. This is bleak, man.

1281. You're welcome. What for?

1282. What for? Are you on a train in Baghdad?

1283. No, you are not. I guess not.

1284. Yeah, TDY.

1285. Sometimes it's fun.

1286. Sometimes it's a bitch. No, I don't mind.

1287. He was my best friend.

1288. Yeah, you didn't, uh, what, hang with the brothers?

1289. What the fuck is that?

1290. I don't know. I saw it on the MTV, I think.

1291. It's not a rule.

1292. No, I'm not saying it's a rule.

1293. I liked the dude.

1294. He had my back and I had his.

1295. He was honest, said what he thought.

1296. Oh, yeah. Simple, in a good way.

1297. Never had an attitude.

1298. Sounds a lot like his father.

1299. Even the honest part?

1300. Doc?

1301. Doc is not a dishonest man.

1302. What about the brig time?

1303. Fuck, that could've happened to any one of us.

1304. No, he got fucked.

1305. Doc was a lot younger than us.

1306. He was a kid.

1307. And technically, he was in the Navy.

1308. Eh. He wanted to be our friend,

1309. and... we took advantage of it.

1310. I mean, we had done him a favor,

1311. and he was doing a favor for us, and then...

1312. all this shit went down, and someone had to take the fall.

1313. It was Doc.

1314. Hey.

1315. Look, why don't you come up with us for a while, huh?

1316. Redman will look after your buddy. Won't you? It's no problem.

1317. That's all right. Thank you.

1318. Geez, come on, you got to get out of here.

1319. It's colder than Eskimo pussy.

1320. I don't mind. Really.

1321. Look...

1322. I want you to come up and talk to Larry's father, huh?

1323. Say something nice.

1324. I don't know what I would say.

1325. You'll think of something.

1326. Come on.

1327. Boy, oh, boy, look at them.

1328. Who? Geez.

1329. And all the shit they bought.

1330. Boy, they don't have a clue. They're just regular people

1331. out doing their Christmas shopping, Sal.

1332. Fuckin' sheep is what they are.

1333. I wouldn't mind being one of them.

1334. Yeah.

1335. It's better than being shot at.

1336. I'd rather be fighting them over there

1337. than in our own backyard.

1338. Sound familiar?

1339. Oh, yeah.

1340. See, we fought the commies in 'Nam so we wouldn't have

1341. to fight 'em on the beaches of Malibu.

1342. Guess it worked.

1343. I... I guess it did.

1344. Yeah, 'cause, uh...

1345. marines got to be willing to die on order, so...

1346. Semper fi. Do or die.

1347. Yeah, that's always been the mission, right?

1348. It's a bunch of crap.

1349. Course, you got to have a reason

1350. to want to even get in a fight in the first place.

1351. So what are they telling us it is this time? Huh?

1352. That we're in imminent danger.

1353. That they're stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

1354. A possible mushroom cloud.

1355. It's just lies. It's the same old shit.

1356. You know, stay the course.

1357. If we pull out now,

1358. then all our heroes will have died in vain.

1359. You know, blah, blah, blah.

1360. You know, you'd like to have a little faith

1361. in your leaders and your country.

1362. I mean, I love this country, I think we're a good country. Aren't we a good country?

1363. We are a good country, but...

1364. if you catch your government lying to you,

1365. it changes everything, doesn't it?

1366. Yeah.

1367. So, kid, how's the living over there? Hmm?

1368. It's all right. Yeah?

1369. But they sure fuckin' hate us over there.

1370. Sound familiar?

1371. I swear to God, we got to be the only occupying force

1372. in history that expects them to like us.

1373. When you go out, you just never know what to expect.

1374. But... being from Oakland,

1375. I'm used to people dying all of a sudden.

1376. Geez. Really?

1377. In high school, one of my best friends was shot by a stray bullet.

1378. My father, robbed on the street,

1379. and they put one in him.

1380. I didn't even know who he was until he turned up dead.

1381. Jesus, kid. Lord have mercy.

1382. I'm only sayin'.

1383. So, what, you joined the Marines

1384. to get away from all that in Oakland?

1385. No. I didn't have much else to do, so...

1386. uh... you know, I wanted to strengthen my character.

1387. It was that way with Larry, too.

1388. You know, we wanted to test ourselves.

1389. Yeah, boy, we felt the same thing.

1390. Mm-hmm.

1391. Every generation has their war.

1392. Men make the wars, and wars make the men.

1393. Never ends.

1394. Maybe one day we'll try something different.

1395. When he was little, Larry used to like to play with toy soldiers.

1396. Dig trenches for 'em, put 'em through basic training.

1397. Mm-hmm.

1398. Mr. Sheppard, Larry was where he wanted to be.

1399. He hated it.

1400. We all hate it.

1401. But you get sent over there,

1402. and it stops being about what you want,

1403. or the war, even,

1404. and you're there for your brothers.

1405. That's all that really matters.

1406. He must have been embarrassed,

1407. me sitting out the last part of our war in the brig.

1408. No, sir.

1409. He wasn't embarrassed at all.

1410. Thing that made Larry different from the rest of us in the unit,

1411. he had a happy childhood.

1412. He said that? Yes, sir.

1413. He had a mother and father that loved him, loved each other.

1414. And... nice house to live in,

1415. good food to eat, and he went on about school

1416. and football and... nice friends.

1417. And he loved you.

1418. Mm-hmm.

1419. Mr. Sheppard, it was my turn to get the Cokes.

1420. That was my bullet, not Larry's.

1421. Mm-mm. No.

1422. No, no, no.

1423. A gray car pulled up in front of the house.

1424. Marine lieutenant, Navy chaplain...

1425. shiny brass belt buckles.

1426. I kept staring at those shiny buckles.

1427. "The president has asked me to express his deep regret."

1428. Killed in action.

1429. In action.

1430. Nothing about shot in the back of the head getting Cokes for his buddies.

1431. Nothing about...

1432. killed while...

1433. delivering supplies to the Baghdad school system.

1434. There we go.

1435. There... we go.

1436. Ah-ha.

1437. Thirsty? Hmm?

1438. That went down awfully quick.

1439. Yeah, well, I'm drinking for two

1440. now that you got all old and boring.

1441. It might be that you're an alcoholic.

1442. You think?

1443. Well, I am.

1444. Really? Mm-hmm.

1445. But I recognized it, see?

1446. Took ownership of it.

1447. That was the first step.

1448. Mm-hmm.

1449. Why don't you take ownership of this beer?

1450. Huh? Come on. Don't...

1451. Well, I'm... I'm very good right now.

1452. With this coffee, I'm fine.

1453. Hey, at least we're not drug addicts.

1454. Thank... God.

1455. Not anymore.

1456. "Not anymore."

1457. We never were.

1458. We took the shit, Sal.

1459. Yeah. 'Cause we needed the shit.

1460. No. We needed it,

1461. the corps would've issued it to us.

1462. Yeah. In a way, they did.

1463. That shit was meant for pain.

1464. All drugs are.

1465. So? What's wrong with taking it, then?

1466. Morphine... is addictive.

1467. Yeah, so is pain.

1468. We weren't the ones who were in pain, though.

1469. The fuck we weren't.

1470. Different kind of pain.

1471. Pain is pain.

1472. When we get to the next stop, I got to call Ruth.

1473. You know what you need?

1474. You need one of those mobile telephones.

1475. You could be talking to Ruth right now.

1476. Even on this train, you could be talking. Say what?

1477. Yeah, I mean, every ten-year-old has them.

1478. They practically stopped making pay phones.

1479. So-so, we ended up at Disneyland

1480. to resuscitate Doc, who is metaphorically drowning.

1481. Geez, I got your metaphoricals right here.

1482. Stick to the story. Come on. Wait, hold on. Let me, let me follow.

1483. So there's a Disneyland in Vietnam?

1484. Well, yes, young blood.

1485. That's what they call the whorehouses and the bars

1486. that spring up around the base.

1487. And it was the company fucking commander's doing.

1488. You see, he was the one who told us,

1489. "Hey, you need to take a few days off

1490. "and get Doc's ass to Disneyland

1491. before he has a total meltdown."

1492. I was having some problems.

1493. Yeah, you sure as shit were.

1494. And the number one problem he was having is that

1495. it was time for him to get his cherry busted.

1496. Oh. So... yes.

1497. Hey, Washington, before you...

1498. how-how-how old were you, first time?

1499. Thirteen.

1500. Good Lord, man.

1501. Whoa! What?

1502. Ah, yeah, 13! Goodness.

1503. I rest my case.

1504. You see? Lord have mercy.

1505. See, Doc-Doc was 18.

1506. I was 19. 19.

1507. One year worse than 18.

1508. That's not worse. It was time.

1509. No. No, no. The right time was when I met Mary

1510. and we committed to each other. Oh, what? Come on.

1511. Look, I-I just want to say that I think that 13 is still way too young, by the way.

1512. A - All right. All right, all right, all right.

1513. So, anyway, we're in Disneyland. We're looking.

1514. There's Tomorrowland. There's Fantasyland.

1515. And then we found

1516. one of the most beautiful whorehouses I have ever seen. And I've seen a lot.

1517. Uh, I don't, I don't know.

1518. What?

1519. I... just... paying for sex, you know, whores, pimps,

1520. it's... kind of disgusting.

1521. Actually, it wasn't that bad.

1522. Yeah!

1523. There's my guy!

1524. Yeah!

1525. Well, it was, it was okay. It was nice.

1526. Oh! MUELLER: Truth be told,

1527. our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

1528. had not yet entered into my heart.

1529. Oh, God, please save me. And so, I yielded to...

1530. bad impulses.

1531. "Yielded." Do you hear that?

1532. He "yielded." That is correct.

1533. No, I'll tell you what he did with impulses.

1534. He drank impulses, right? Yes.

1535. He smoked impulses. Yes.

1536. And he fucked impulses.

1537. Yes, I confess. He fucked impulses.

1538. He was... no, you know what his nickname is?

1539. Mueller the Mauler.

1540. He was famous for the five-dollar,

1541. five-minute special. Right? Yeah.

1542. I mean, he was like a jackrabbit.

1543. "I don't want to spend any more money there."

1544. Aah! That's my bad leg, man!

1545. That's my bad leg. Shit.

1546. Son of a bitch.

1547. Come on, man.

1548. I was also famous for whipping a motherfucker's ass.

1549. Listen, it was all...

1550. seems very funny right now.

1551. It was funny.

1552. Yeah, well, it was pure dereliction of duty, sir.

1553. Dereliction of duty, pure and simple. Remember that.

1554. Actually, it... it was like going to a friend's house.

1555. And then... then you just...

1556. then you have sex with the friend.

1557. Then what?

1558. And then...

1559. you'd give 'em money.

1560. Then you'd pay your friend.

1561. That's right. Oh, I got to tell you,

1562. we did get tired of listening to him

1563. talking about that beautiful Asian whore of his, right?

1564. Oh, man. He was so proud.

1565. He said he had a hard-on so big,

1566. felt like he was in a full-body cast.

1567. It's like nothing can move.

1568. He couldn't blink and he couldn't even move his fingers.

1569. Oh. That's... that's not...

1570. that's not true.

1571. Oh, fuck me, I miss those days...

1572. when you had a...

1573. a boner you could hang a towel on.

1574. Jesus.

1575. I used to have a johnson that would stand up and watch me shave.

1576. Oh, like this. Like, "How you doing?

1577. "Yeah? You all right?

1578. How is your day so far?"

1579. Now... now it watches me pull up my socks.

1580. Just like, "All right."

1581. When it goes, it goes.

1582. It goes. Goes quickly, too. Don't encourage this.

1583. Don't encourage this, Washington. Goes fast.

1584. Oh, man.

1585. Keep using it, though. Okay.

1586. You don't... I'm imagining...

1587. I'm imagining his penis helping him pick up his socks.

1588. Just what does that look like?

1589. I'm home. Huh?

1590. New York. New fucking York.

1591. Well, let's not wander too far.

1592. No, no, no, just far enough to find the first Blarney Stone,

1593. which... I believe is this way.

1594. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This way.

1595. Take that in.

1596. Take a deep breath.

1597. What, you do it? What do you smell?

1598. There's one distinct smell. What is it?

1599. Urine. I love it.

1600. It's like the official scent of the city.

1601. Huh?

1602. All right.

1603. Barkeep, I will have one more drink

1604. and then one more after that.

1605. See, this is what we call a man with a drinking problem.

1606. This, right here. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

1607. I ain't got no problem. I got this mastered.

1608. Born in pain, live in fear, die alone.

1609. Could you be any more Irish right now?

1610. Could you possibly be any more Irish right now?

1611. No, I do not think I can be.

1612. Although, I will confess to you

1613. my-my mother is actually half Italian.

1614. I lost one. He lost two.

1615. Yeah, well, guess he thought it was worth it.

1616. It's not worth it to me.

1617. Wonder if it's worth it for his daughters.

1618. He's got twins, right?

1619. Who? Oh, the cheerleader?

1620. Who?

1621. Well...

1622. He was a cheerleader in college

1623. before he was the president.

1624. Would it be worth their lives?

1625. Even one of them?

1626. Doc...

1627. Look, kid...

1628. there's no answers in there.

1629. Right? The answers you're looking for can be found

1630. in petition and prayer. Okay. Thank you.

1631. Okay. You guys ready for an adventure? Yup.

1632. Huh? Let's go. Let's hit it.

1633. Where are we going? Uh, it's a secret.

1634. You'll find out when you get there,

1635. just like heaven. I don't like the sound of this.

1636. Just like heaven.

1637. How many minutes do I get on this again?

1638. On this plan... Yeah.

1639. 500.

1640. Every month?

1641. Yes.

1642. Is that enough?

1643. "Enough?" Yeah.

1644. How can anybody talk for more than 500 minutes a month

1645. on a fucking telephone? That's a good point.

1646. Pardon my French. No, it's a good point.

1647. I mean... We're going to miss our train

1648. - as sure as God made little, reen apples.

1649. We're not gonna miss it. Calm down, calm down. And if you call people with the same plan,

1650. doesn't count against your minutes.

1651. That's-that's one hell of a plan. It is.

1652. Well, what do you care who's on the plan?

1653. You don't know anybody on the plan. I know you two fuckers.

1654. Come on, let's get some phones.

1655. I don't want one. I don't need one.

1656. Thank you. I wouldn't mind having one,

1657. to tell you the truth. Hey!

1658. Oh, Lord. I've often thought about it.

1659. Barkeep, a round of phones for my partners here. Right.

1660. Okay, so he and I can talk to each other any time,

1661. even though he's in Norfolk and I'm in New Hampshire,

1662. and it's not gonna cost us anything?

1663. That's the deal. Wow.

1664. Don't believe it. Come on, Mueller.

1665. What? Mueller. Come on.

1666. With the three-way calling thing,

1667. we can talk to each other at the same time.

1668. Yeah, but aren't we talking to each other t the same time right now?

1669. But we'll be on phones.

1670. All right, what if I don't like it?

1671. I mean, we get stuck with a contract for what, a year, two years?

1672. Just two years. Two years.

1673. What if you fall down?

1674. Have you thought of that? Huh? Yeah.

1675. With your gimpy legs, that's a real possibility.

1676. What if you fell into a ditch, and you can't get up and nobody can see you?

1677. I mean, it is adios, padre.

1678. But, ah, with your mobile phone, you get it out

1679. and if you can see the numbers, your glasses are...

1680. like, "Oh, I can't see. Help me. Help me.

1681. I've fallen and I can't get up."

1682. Guys, 911 calls don't count against your minutes, either.

1683. That's... come on, that's...

1684. All right, all right, all right. Yeah!

1685. If I say yes, will you shut the hell up so we can get our train?

1686. I'll shut up. Okay.

1687. Yeah!

1688. Come on!

1689. Hello. Hello. This is God. Is this Reverend Mueller?

1690. Who's this? Say what? God.

1691. Uh, you're not gonna get into heaven after all.

1692. What the...? I'm very displeased with the way

1693. you're talking about fornicating with whores. Who is this?

1694. I say, who is... This is God.

1695. Wha... This is definitely God.

1696. Hey, hey. Sal. Stop. What? This is not Sal. This is God.

1697. Stop it now. This is God...

1698. Burning up my minutes with that foolishness.

1699. Wait. You should call John Redman on the train. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

1700. Here.

1701. This will be my second official call.

1702. Uh-huh.

1703. By the way, when you call God, doesn't cost you any minutes.

1704. He told me.

1705. Hey, John Redman.

1706. Guess who this is.

1707. Yeah. How'd you know?

1708. All right, I-listen, I am calling you

1709. from my brand-new mobile cellular cordless telephone.

1710. That you don't even know how to use. Hush up.

1711. Listen, I want to give you my number, all right?

1712. How do you already have it? I didn't give it to you.

1713. It comes up on his. Hey, that's just what he said.

1714. The number comes up on the screen!

1715. Can you believe this?

1716. Wow. Okay, listen up.

1717. Uh, we are on...

1718. Huh? Ah.

1719. Okay. Okay.

1720. Yeah. Yeah.

1721. Okay. All right.

1722. What's going on?

1723. They are on their way to Boston, so...

1724. The train left without us? Yeah.

1725. Outstanding.

1726. Outstanding. What?

1727. I warned you, didn't I? Didn't I warn you? What does it matter?

1728. We miss this train, we'll take the next one, okay?

1729. There's, like, a million trains to Boston.

1730. Mm-hmm. You know what? You worry too much.

1731. That's why your hair went so gray.

1732. You worry too much.

1733. This is a boarding call

1734. for Amtrak Acela Express train 2171

1735. en route to Washington

1736. with intermediate stops at Newark,

1737. Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore...

1738. We are all set.

1739. We're on the express straight to Boston.

1740. When? 7:00 a. m.

1741. Oh, geez.

1742. Come on. It's the city that never sleeps.

1743. Why should we?

1744. Come on.

1745. Let's have some fun.

1746. Now, you take

1747. the fadeawayjump shot.

1748. Ooh, wow, it's a beautiful thing of beauty.

1749. Free throws are what win or lose a game, though.

1750. Oh, fuck. That is... they're so boring.

1751. It's true. But they're boring.

1752. It stops all the action all the time.

1753. And there's way too many of those fuckin' things.

1754. You're not supposed to go in there,

1755. banging around with a guy, banging all the time.

1756. Fouls... no, I'm serious,

1757. fouls...

1758. should be...

1759. shameful.

1760. You know? Hmm.

1761. But there's no fuckin' shame anywhere anymore.

1762. Look who's talking.

1763. You ever been ashamed of anything you've ever done in your life?

1764. Ever?

1765. Once.

1766. Why are you looking at me like that?

1767. You know why.

1768. Did you remember that Boston was where...

1769. he was from?

1770. I remember he was from Boston.

1771. So I've been looking into...

1772. seeing if I could find maybe he still had some... family there.

1773. Why?'Cause...

1774. 'Cause he's drunk, that's why.

1775. What-what does that got anything to do with it?

1776. You get like this every time you drink?

1777. Pretty much.

1778. Then you shouldn't drink.

1779. It's what I got instead of God.

1780. Uh-huh, I see. I understand.

1781. I got God. Yeah.

1782. Doc did his time.

1783. You got drunk.

1784. Yep.

1785. Yeah.

1786. Maybe he got the better of the deal.

1787. He was gonna die anyway, Sal. No. No.

1788. He didn't have to suffer.

1789. Not like that.

1790. But he did. No.

1791. Jimmy Hightower.

1792. We can't even say his name.

1793. We all feel guilty about how he suffered when he was dying,

1794. but did it ever occur to you

1795. that maybe nobody would have been shot

1796. and everybody'd still be alive

1797. if we had just been doing our jobs, not fuckin' around?

1798. (over P. A. Boarding call for Amtrak Acela Express train 2150 to Boston

1799. with no intermediate stops.

1800. Passengers should proceed to track 23. Sal.

1801. Sal.

1802. Sal, we gotta go.

1803. We gotta go. We gotta get our train.

1804. Mueller.

1805. Time to go.

1806. Can I ask you a personal question?

1807. No.

1808. Thank you.

1809. Why is it that you married a black woman?

1810. Oh, what?

1811. Come on. It's not like you never had a white woman before.

1812. I know better. And it was the '70s and all that.

1813. Which, if I remember rightly,

1814. was when you white dudes

1815. admitted to having a thing for black women.

1816. I'm gaga for the sisters.

1817. They dig me, too.

1818. Couple of 'em.

1819. For a time.

1820. First of all, Sal,

1821. who I married is none of your business.

1822. And that is why I'm being so polite about it.

1823. Okay, I'll tell you.

1824. God told me to.

1825. God told you to marry a black woman?

1826. No.

1827. God told me to marry Ruth.

1828. Hmm.

1829. How come God don't talk to me?

1830. Because you don't listen.

1831. I hear just fine.

1832. You hear just fine, but you don't listen.

1833. So you listen, and that's why He talks to you.

1834. That's not what I said.

1835. Mm. I said that God

1836. told me to marry Ruth,

1837. to be a good man,

1838. and to preach the Word.

1839. So He does talk to you.

1840. He touched my heart.

1841. Maybe it was Ruth who touched your heart. Oh, yes.

1842. It was God through Ruth.

1843. I was a down-and-out,

1844. recovering alcoholic with a shot-up leg,

1845. and one day... I found Jesus.

1846. Where? Where'd you find Him?

1847. Like, on a street corner or something?

1848. No, in my heart, Sal.

1849. The only place you can truly find Him.

1850. I went deep inside my own heart like it was some scary cave,

1851. some... unexplored place.

1852. Which it was.

1853. Went down alone and afraid, and came back up fearless,

1854. with Jesus by my side, and there...

1855. the very next Sunday,

1856. took myself to church.

1857. And there was Ruth? And there was Ruth.

1858. And everything fell into place for me.

1859. That is a beautiful story.

1860. Sorry the fuck I asked.

1861. So, if God exists...

1862. I mean, would it kill Him

1863. to just tap me on the shoulder or something,

1864. just shake my hand like a man?

1865. And, while He's at it,

1866. if He could deliver a nice black girl with a great ass,

1867. so much the better.

1868. Hey, hey, hey.

1869. Let me ask you another question.

1870. When Ruth was a child,

1871. was she a Baby Ruth?

1872. You get... you get it?

1873. You know what Christmas is for me? What?

1874. A Doc Holiday.

1875. That's good, Doc.

1876. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, tha-that's the one.

1877. That's the one we want.

1878. What do you think he's up to? Oh, wheelin' and dealin'.

1879. Mr. Cellular Phone! All right. All right. All right, fellas,

1880. we got an errand to run. Do we even have time?

1881. Oh, yeah, we've got plenty of time.

1882. I was just on with Redman. He and Washington

1883. are already in New Hampshire, so we'll see 'em there.

1884. I don't know how I lived without this thing. I really don't.

1885. Detail! Forward hut!

1886. Left. Left.

1887. Left.

1888. She's been living with it all these years, anyway.

1889. What good is it gonna do her? We are long overdue, the way I figure.

1890. She ought to know the truth, and we ought to be men enough to say it.

1891. How did you even find her?

1892. I got O'Toole to call his granddaughter,

1893. and she looked it up for us on the World Wide Web.

1894. What can we possibly say to her?

1895. We say the truth.

1896. It's a little bit further. And two...

1897. Couple more on the left there. Right there. There it is.

1898. Yeah. Uh-huh, this-this red...

1899. Yeah. That's it. staircase here.

1900. All right.

1901. Maybe she's not here.

1902. Hey, we didn't come all this way...

1903. Mrs. Hightower? Yes?

1904. I'm, uh, Reverend Richard Mueller.

1905. I served with your son in Vietnam.

1906. Oh, yes. One moment, please.

1907. Welcome. Thank you.

1908. Come on in.

1909. Hi. Name is Sal.

1910. Welcome. Hi. Larry Sheppard.

1911. So glad you could come. Thank you, ma'am.

1912. I'm gonna show you some pictures.

1913. This one...

1914. That's the last one we ever got from Jimmy.

1915. Look at him.

1916. Hmm? Yeah.

1917. Remember that smile?Sure do.

1918. He was a handsome man, wasn't he? Yes, he was.

1919. Oh, Lord have mercy.

1920. And this

1921. is his little girl.

1922. All grown up now. My Lord.

1923. My Lord.

1924. How old was she when he died?

1925. Four months.

1926. Her mom eventually remarried, and they moved to San Diego.

1927. Mm.

1928. And these,

1929. they're my great-grand.

1930. Hmm?

1931. Look at that.

1932. He'd be a grandfather.

1933. I never saw them in person, but they calls.

1934. Mm. Every now and then.

1935. So...

1936. you three men were with my Jimmy.

1937. Yes, ma'am.

1938. 3rd Marine Division.

1939. We were a very tight unit.

1940. Ma'am.

1941. It's like this.

1942. Uh, see...

1943. we had already fought us

1944. a good long year,

1945. and most of us

1946. were still breathing.

1947. But the extension...

1948. that... that four months they added on,

1949. that was...

1950. that was bad.

1951. And...

1952. some of us...

1953. we just couldn't handle it, see,

1954. and, uh, I-I don't even think that, uh...

1955. What was it for?

1956. Hmm?

1957. What was it all for?

1958. Right, well...

1959. they said they knew, and we just believed them.

1960. But now...

1961. Mrs. Hightower,

1962. we came here today to tell you what happened.

1963. Were you...

1964. were you some of the men he saved?

1965. I mean...

1966. were you some of the men

1967. whose lives Jimmy saved?

1968. I mean, they told me that he saved

1969. three or four of his buddies before he was killed.

1970. Were you?

1971. Were you?

1972. Yes, ma'am, that was us.

1973. Jimmy was...

1974. a great guy.

1975. Yep. Never forget him.

1976. That's why we're here, ma'am.

1977. Uh, we feel we owe him.

1978. Yeah.

1979. We just wanted to come by to pay our respects.

1980. And, you know, let you know

1981. that he's always been in our hearts.

1982. God bless you.

1983. I can never thank you enough.

1984. Mrs. Hightower,

1985. very glad to have met you.

1986. Me, too, son. Me, too.

1987. Thank you, ma'am. Take care.

1988. Bye.

1989. Bless you, Mrs. Hightower.

1990. Uh...

1991. looks like they used to make things here.

1992. Used to.

1993. That's the operative word, "used to."

1994. Jesus, I got to piss.

1995. Ah...

1996. Ah...

1997. Ha-ha.

1998. Oh...

1999. Hey, Mueller. Yeah?

2000. Now I see God.

2001. Sal, if you had any more manners you'd be a dog.

2002. You gonna want to stay on here alone?

2003. Well, I hadn't really thought much about it.

2004. Portsmouth. Boy.

2005. With the brig right there.

2006. Might want to try another place.

2007. Fresh start.

2008. But Larry'll be here.

2009. Mary, too.

2010. You could always visit.

2011. Hey.

2012. You got close friends here?

2013. Not too many.

2014. Not too close.

2015. Move to Norfolk.

2016. You can work in my bar.

2017. I don't know anything about working in bars, Sal.

2018. Trust me, you don't need to know much.

2019. Well, your bar doesn't seem that busy.

2020. No, it ain't.

2021. But that's my fault, see?

2022. I let it go.

2023. It just needs some...

2024. new blood, you know?

2025. We can get the grill part going again, boy.

2026. I need a partner.

2027. A partner? Yeah.

2028. The bar would be halfyours.

2029. Then, when I bite it, it'd be all yours.

2030. Sal, you don't owe me anything.

2031. No, no, hey, this has nothing to do with, you know,

2032. paying back a debt.

2033. Trust me.

2034. I really do need a partner.

2035. You could stay with me.

2036. For a while. Then you'd have to get your own place,

2037. 'cause I like to pursue the ladies, if you know what I mean.

2038. And quite frankly, no offense, but you'd cramp my style, Doc.

2039. You thinking about it?

2040. I am. I'm picturing it.

2041. It's kind of funny.

2042. Yeah.

2043. Might be time for a new BCD in your life, huh?

2044. Better career decision. There you go.

2045. If nothing else, I guarantee it,

2046. we'd have some fun.

2047. What's wrong with that?

2048. You are in love with that thing.

2049. Look at you, you can't even put it down. No, I'm trying to get that fucker O'Toole to answer.

2050. You know, the whole place could be burned down for all I know.

2051. Come on, you dick.

2052. Well,

2053. there it is, Larry's graduation suit.

2054. Oh, that's nice. Very nice, Doc.

2055. Looks a little small.

2056. You think? Yes, sir.

2057. Larry bulked up,

2058. so that might be a little tight on him now.

2059. Oh, okay. Well, I guess

2060. I could go down to Penney's and get him something new.

2061. Well, we do still have his dress blues.

2062. Oh, my word.

2063. The dress blue uniform.

2064. Remember how we used to call it? The tuxedo.

2065. The tuxedo. Yeah. Yeah.

2066. 'Cause by law, you could wear it to any formal function.

2067. Not that we ever got invited to one,

2068. or would have gone even if we had.

2069. Still, it was nice to know you were always dressed

2070. for any occasion.

2071. That's true, and a man never forgets the first time

2072. he puts on that uniform, let me tell you.

2073. Oh, no. Huh?

2074. Didn't you stand in front

2075. of the mirror looking at yourself?

2076. Right? Ooh!

2077. I am in the United States Marine Corps, and I look pretty fucking good.

2078. I remember loving that feeling.

2079. Yes, sir. Glad to know that never changes.

2080. Yeah. Ooh, I bet Larry looked sharp in his, didn't he?

2081. Oh, he did. Yeah, he was proud as a peacock in it.

2082. Mm. I know that for a fact, sir.

2083. You know, and that's the point, Doc.

2084. It's about pride.

2085. And it's not a sin.

2086. Oh, no, not that kind of pride, no, sir.

2087. I guess I could...

2088. bury him in his uniform, even if...

2089. Yeah, you could.

2090. Yeah. Means you did something.

2091. You know, you served.

2092. Fuck what the politicians did. You served.

2093. Right? You didn't try to weasel out of it,

2094. or think it was somebody else's job. Nope.

2095. You took it on, man, and you looked sharp doing it.

2096. Like a man.

2097. I'm gonna, I'm gonna bury him in his uniform.

2098. That's good, Doc. Mmm.

2099. Never regret it, sir.

2100. Fuckin' A. Okay.

2101. Hey. Washington.

2102. You ever relax, huh? Why don't you sit down?

2103. That's it, huh?

2104. Okay. Yeah, much better.

2105. Why are you looking at me like that?

2106. I'm sizing you up.

2107. You know what?

2108. I am gonna get you a new suit of clothes.

2109. Say what? Yup.

2110. I'm gonna dress you up for the occasion.

2111. May I ask why?

2112. Well... because I love you.

2113. Hey. Mm-hmm.

2114. First of all, uh, I don't need a new suit of clothes.

2115. Yeah. Second of all,

2116. you're the one who could really use some grooming.

2117. And third of all, neither one of us are dressed properly.

2118. But we're gonna be. You watch.

2119. Oh, the things that come into your head and out of your mouth.

2120. Scary, right?

2121. You know what I think?

2122. I think that "I love you" thing really rattled you, didn't it old man?

2123. Deeply disturbing.

2124. Doc, I don't know how grateful the nation is,

2125. or how much the president regrets your loss and all that,

2126. but... here it is.

2127. Your country's flag.

2128. Thank you.

2129. You put that somewhere and let it remind you

2130. of what was in your son's heart.

2131. We don't know... I know. It's...

2132. Well, once you're a marine,

2133. you're always a marine.

2134. And even though I'm no longer on active duty...

2135. But if I was... Yeah.

2136. I ask you, you see a man in this uniform?

2137. Huh? Could you resist all this?

2138. Huh? I, um...

2139. No, I... I don't think I could.

2140. Mm-hmm.

2141. It's the uniform, or the man in the uniform?

2142. It's a killer combination. It's the combination, isn't it?

2143. Kind of seductive.

2144. Thank you. Yeah.

2145. You are a very perceptive young lady.

2146. We all wrote one.

2147. I gave mine to Larry, and he gave his to me.

2148. What does it say?

2149. I- I don't know, Mr. Sheppard.

2150. Hmm.

2151. Okay.

2152. I'm just saying, when you think about it,

2153. a young man is struggling out of the gate,

2154. goes on a date, has to borrow his dad's car,

2155. needs to borrow a couple bucks. Yes.

2156. Whereas, an older, established gentleman

2157. doesn't have to do any of that, right? Sal?

2158. No... I need you to come with me right now.

2159. Can you see I'm a little busy? I can.

2160. I'm gonna have to borrow him for a few minutes right now. Does this have to happen right now?

2161. Right now. Doc needs us. Double quick, son.

2162. I'll be right back. Okay. Yeah.

2163. We'll pick this up. Okay. Yeah.

2164. Bye, Sarge.

2165. You all right?

2166. You got to open it, Doc.

2167. He wanted you to have it.

2168. Hmm.

2169. Dear Dad,

2170. if you are reading this, then you've been notified.

2171. I was always prepared

2172. to sacrifice my life for my country.

2173. You have to be ready to die defending what you love.

2174. I need you to understand

2175. that I am honored to die in this way.

2176. Don't feel bad that my life was so short.

2177. It was a good life.

2178. I know you never wanted me to join the Marines,

2179. but you supported me even so.

2180. I had the greatest father, and I love you.

2181. Now I am with Mom.

2182. We will both watch over you.

2183. Dad, I want you to bury me in my uniform next to Mom.

2184. Your loving son, Larry.

2185. Mm.