1.
We're at LZ and waiting for pickup. Over.
I don't get it.
Everything went wrong by the numbers
and that takes planning.
What are you talking about?
I'm saying we've been set up.
Where are the choppers?
I just told you, Gordie, it was a screwup.
I like choppers. They're like birds.
- You like birds, don't you?
- Sure I do, Gordie.
Jesus.
Where are the choppers?
I like choppers. They're like birds.
I shot a bird once.
My daddy took my rifle away...
- Take care of him, Mike.
- Yeah.
- What do we do now?
- Survive.
Lou, the point. Walker, the rear.
- Where are you going, Mike?
- Going home.
- What do I do, walk out?
- lf you spot a taxi, flag it down.
- How'd it feel?
- A hell of a lot better!
Let's clean her out
and I'll give her another try.
I think our troubles with this baby
are just about history.
You spend one more minute with this car,
I think that baby there will be history.
Damn, can you believe
I forgot all about her?
Any man who forgets her
needs a lube job and oil change real bad.
I can't wait to get her on the rack.
Goddamn it, Booker, what's a girl
have to do to get your attention?
I'm sorry, Kelly.
You're really going to be mad.
I've got a class to teach in one hour.
Shit.
Come on, Booker, get in.
And so, as history slowly places it
into some kind of perspective...
...a few things about the Vietnam War
have become clear.
It was a war
that never should have begun...
...in a country
we never should have entered.
And its thousands of victims died
without really understanding why...
...mainly because the reasons for the war
were beyond any rules of logic.
On Wednesday, we'll sing patriotic songs
and pretend I said none of the above.
- Good lecture, man.
- Thank you.
- See you, Booker.
- Okay.
I hope you didn't mind my sitting in.
It seems a long way from the '60s,
doesn't it?
Yes, it does.
Can I take you to lunch?
I don't eat lunch. Who are you?
Let me take you to dinner and find out.
- You do eat dinner?
- I've been known to.
I'm on an expense account.
You're a reporter.
Why else would I fly all the way out
from Washington to see you?
I don't know.
Pick me up at 7:00?
7:00 is too late.
For us?
For dinner. How about 5:30?
At 5:30 in Washington,
they're still out to lunch.
In Washington, they're always out to lunch.
Besides, I have a feeling
this might be a very interesting evening.
You're the professor, Professor.
- That's it, mister.
- That's a good job.
Too bad you weren't born black.
There might have been a future
in this for you.
Hey, mister, you forgot your newspaper.
- 19 and 25.
- Thank you, my man.
Quite a car.
Not exactly ideal for going
from stoplight to stoplight, is it?
- Only if they're 200 miles apart.
- Pretty much for a grad student.
I do test driving, and like a damn fool,
I took the car instead of the salary.
What the hell is he trying to do?
Hang on!
You son of a bitch,
what the hell's going on?
Relax! The accelerator pedal stuck!
- What?
- I said, "The accelerator pedal stuck!"
Why didn't you kill the engine?
Because I thought
I could kick the pedal loose.
What the hell was that all about?
- I wish I knew.
- I think I need a drink.
- Any place in particular?
- Your place. As long as you drive carefully.
Are most of your days usually
as exciting as this one?
Not quite, but I've got a feeling
things are about to change.
If you've got something to say, say it.
If you've got something to say, say it.
You were on a top-secret mission to rescue
some POWs at the end of the war.
No response?
I get it.
You're writing a book about the war.
Something like that.
When you arrived at the camp,
there were no POWs, only Vietcong.
You lost most of your men.
I wonder who told you about that.
It was all top secret.
Shall I go on?
Are you married?
After the raid, you were to be met
and flown to safety with the POWs.
The helicopters