Platoon
Rhah comes up, a walking stick in hand, huge pirate kerchief on his head, semi-naked.
RHAH You wanted to see me sir?
WOLFE Jackson, looks like you got Elias’ squad now.
RHAH Squad? I didn’t know we was still referring to this platoon in terms of squads sir. (with a snicker for Ace and Doc)
WOLFE (indicating a rough drawing in the dirt) These two holes are yours …
RHAH Begging your pardon Lieutenant but my holes are far enuff apart you could run a regiment through there and nobody’d see them – I got five live bodies left …
WOLFE I don’t want to hear your problems, Jackson. You’ll get new men any day. Time being you make do like everybody else.
RHAH Hey Lieutenant I didn’t ask for this job, I …
WOLFE (leaves) I don’t want to hear about it Jackson.
RHAH (amazed, looking off at him) You don’t want to hear about it?
WOLFE (turns) That’s right. I don’t want to hear about it ’cause to tell you the truth, I don’t give a shit okay … I just don’t give a shit anymore.
RHAH (shrugs, to himself) Right …
WOLFE (passing Ace digging the CP hole) This is one time we could sure use Elias.
ACE (to Doc) ‘Some people say I’m wishy washy. Maybe I am. Maybe I ain’t.’
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – CHRIS’ FOXHOLE – DUSK
On the edge of the perimeter, King puts out his claymore, unraveling it back towards his FOXHOLE, intersecting MEN form the Third Platoon, who file out on a night ambush, skirting the trip wires, demoralized, silent. Eye exchanges, but no words.
Chris sits on the foxhole watching the ambush go out, smoking a joint by himself, depressed. King comes in with the claymore wires, attaching them to their detonators. Their foxhole – as are all of the Platoon’s – is positioned just inside the treeline bordering the LZ, so that they are quite isolated from the center of the perimeter where they first landed.
KING Glad I ain’t going with ’em. Somewhere out dere man is de Beast and he hungry tonight … Man, what a bummer. Ten days and a wakeup and I’m still dealing wid this shit – fuckin’ etcetera and ad infinitum man …
The LAST SOLDIER in the file recedes into the foliage.
KING (CONT’D) (noticiing Chris’ silence) What’s the matter wid you? … How come you ain’t writing no more? You was always writing something home. Looks like youse half a bubble off, Taylor.
He doesn’t answer, makes a futile gesture.
KING (CONT’D) What about your folks? That grandma you was telling me about? …
Chris shakes his head.
KING (CONT’D) Girl?
Chris’ eyes answer negatively.
KING (CONT’D) Must be somebody?
CHRIS … there’s nobody.
KING (shifts, uncomfortable) You been smoking too much shit babe. Gotta control that. Takes a man down … I remember when you first come out to the bush, you was straight as a …
CHRIS Who gives a shit!
He shifts, annoyed, prepares his grenades along the sand bags. King shrugs, preparing his meal, sings himself a snatch of song, a good natured man.
KING (soft) ‘People say I’m the life of the party cause I tell a joke or two although I may be laughing loud and hardy deep inside I’m blue …’
CHRIS Y’ever get caught in a mistake King and you just can’t get out of it?
KING Way out of anything, man. Just keep your pecker up, your powder dry, the worm WILL turn. How many days you short?
CHRIS Not just me … it’s the way the whole thing works. People like Elias get wasted and people like Barnes just go on making up rules any way they want and what do we do, we just sit around in the middle and suck on it! We just don’t add up to dry shit.
KING Does a chicken have lips? Whoever said we did, babe. Make it outta here, it’s all gravy, every day of the rest of your life man – gravy. Oh shit, superlifer!
O’Neill comes up, jerks his thumb at King.
O’NEILL Get your gear together, King, your orders just come through.
KING (speechless) You jokin’ me man? … shit, you ain’t kidding! Cocksucker. Oh wowww … the lifers made a mistake, they cuttin’ me some slack, they cutting me some slack Taylor! (dances)
O’NEILL Collect your shit and move out King. You got 10 minutes make the last chopper. Cee ess em oh or your ass is mine. (to Taylor) Francis is coming over. (hurries off)
King packing up, double time. Chris comes over, helps him, trying to share his happiness but not succeeding.
CHRIS Hey that’s great King, that’s great … you take it on home for me, you tell ’em King … got your address right? You know where you can reach men, man. Anytime!
KING I gotta didi man. Don’t wanna miss that chopper. I’ll send you a postcard. After I get me some. I’ll send you some tapes too man. This new guy Jimi Hendrix man, whew … you okay Taylor? Just ‘member take it easy now, don’t think too much, don’t be a fool, no such thing as a coward cause it don’t mean nuthin. Jes keep on keepin’ on. Okay my man …
Chris, fighting his depression, slaps hands with King. A brief moment, they look at each other. A friendship that was forever and is now over. They both sort of know they’ll never see each other again.
CHRIS I’ll walk you out …
Francis coming up, hauling his pack.
EXT.PERIMETER #3 – JUNIOR’S FOXHOLE – DUSK
On another foxhole, Rodriguez positions his M-60, brings up his ammo belts (no loaders left). Tony eating, nervous, watches him, shakes his head.
TONY Rumor goin’ round is they got tanks. Soviet shit, T- 34’s … (pause) Hey Rodriguez, don’t you ever say nothing?
RODRIGUEZ (a thick Mexican accent) What do you want me to say, it’s all the same ol’ shit.
Tony shrugs, back to his food.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – JUNIOR’S FOXHOLE – DUSK
On another foxhole, Barnes in full pack checks the soles of Junior’s bare feet. Bunny and O’Neill looking on. Junior is moaning as if he’s dying, overdoing it by a mile.
BARNES So what’s the problem?
O’NEILL Says he can’t walk.
BARNES Shit. Get your boots on Martin, next time I catch you putting mosquito repellant on your fuckin’ feet I’m gonna courtmartial your nigger ass.
JUNIOR (cracks) DEN COURTMARTIAL ME MOTHERFUCKAH, bust my ass, send me to fucking Long Binh, do your worst but I ain’t walking no more. De white man done got his last klik outta me. Get some chuck dude to hump this shit.
BARNES (suddenly soft) Get me that centipede, O’Neill.
O’Neill is puzzled. What centipede?
O’NEILL Sarge?
BARNES Yeah that long hairy orange and black bastard I found in the ammo crate. I’m gonna put it in this asshole’s crotch, see if he can walk.
Junior’s eyes bulge with suspiscion and sudden terror, his demeanor totally alert now.
O’NEILL (understanding) Oh yeah, right away Sarge.
JUNIOR No! Wait! I’ll walk, fuck you I’ll walk, I don’t need this shit! I don’t need this shit!
BUNNY Fucking pussy, fuck it Sarge, I gotta have him on my hole?
Barnes going. O’Neill catching up with him.
O’NEILL Uh … Bob. Like to speak to you. Take a minute.
BARNES (stops) Yeah, what is it?
O’NEILL (shuffles, reluctant) Bob, I got Elias’ R&R … It’s coming up in 3 days. Going to Hawaii. See Patsy. (pause, no reaction from Barnes) I never asked you for a break, I was hoping you … you’d send me in on the chopper with King … what do you say Chief? (a friendly punch)
BARNES I can’t do that for you, Red … We need every swinging dick in the field. Sorry bout that … (starts to go)
O’NEILL (pleads) Hey Bob, come on! Talk to me hunh, it’s your friend Red, I’m only asking you for three days chief …
BARNES I’m talking to you Red and I’m telling you no. Get back to your position.
O’NEILL (grabs him, desperate) Bob, I gotta bad feeling about this, I … I’m telling you I got a bad feeling, man, I don’t think I’m gonna make it .. y’know what I mean?
BARNES (quietly) … everybody gotta die sometime Red … Get back to your foxhole.
A look in his eyes. Very remote, very cold, silencing O’Neill. Barnes walks off.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – BATTALION LZ – DUSK
At the LZ, King runs out, gets on the last SUPPLY CHOPPER with some other men. It lifts off, swirling dust, the last rays of daylight.
Chris watches from a Battalion CP area, waves back – the chopper sound receding in the horizon, the comparative silence of the jungle now creeping up on the perimeter. He turns and starts back to his foxhole.
A man is watching him. He’s sitting on a sandbag, face in shadow. It startles Chris, something about him. Something different. A deep West Virginia drawl.
SMOKING MAN Got a light?
CHRIS Uh sure …
Goes over reluctantly, flicks his lighter, cupping it from the wind. The flame catches a sudden, uneasy expression in Chris’ face as he sees the Smoking Man.
We come around and see what Chris sees in the light of the flame. A face that smiles at him like a death’s head, a large ugly blister on his mouth, whiskered, pale – but smiling. A sick man wouldn’t smile like this, but he is smiling too intimately, as if he knows Chris from way back. But he doesn’t. Or does he? Perhaps it was the man Chris first saw at the airstrip when he came in-country. The same expression of evil, of a man who has seen too much and died, but still lives.
Chris feels an unnatural fear passing through him.
The Man stands, sucking on his cigarette, stretches. He is thin and very tall, towering over Chris.
SMOKING MAN … later.
He goes. Chris watches him, wondering. The man never looks back, a leisurely, confident stroll. In that moment, there is an EXPLOSION from way out in the jungle, about a quarter of a mile. Then another, then small arms fire. Chris looks, knows.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – RHAH’S FOXHOLE – DUSK
On his foxhole, Junior listening to the distant firing. Bunny is introspective – talking to Junior as if he were his best friend, although they have nothing in common.
BUNNY … y’know some of the things we done, I don’t feel like we done something wrong but sometimes y’know I get this bad feeling. Not all that shit the Chaplain’s jamming up our ass ’bout the Good Lord … just a fucking bad feeling, y’know what I mean? Don’t know why. I told the Chaplain the truth is I really like it here. You do what you want, nobody fucks with you. Only worry you got’s dying and if dat happens you won’t know about it anyway. So what the fuck … (chuckles)
Junior looks at him like he’s really crazy. Back to the distant firing.
