Black Sheep Squadron (1976) s01e20 Episode Script
Trouble at Fort Apache
Let's go get 'em! You are telling me that you are refusing to obey a direct order from a brigadier general? You got it straight.
who are you attached to, Sergeant? I'm with field maintenance, sir.
I'm supposed to clean up around here.
I'm a tail gunner.
Isn't the tail gun somewhere near the toilet? What do you want, Boyington? You want a public apology? You wanna read it in the Stars and Stripes? No, I'll tell you what I want! I wanna take it out of your hide.
Hold the formation tight.
Baa Baa Black Sheep S01E20 - Trouble at Fort Apache S01E20 - Trouble at Fort Apache With armor twice as thick and 13 gun mounts that can scan the entire sky, the new B-17E long-range heavy bomber rolls off the U.
S.
assembly lines and heads for war.
These devastating war machines are slated by the Army Air Force High Command to turn the tide of war.
The brainchild of General Richard Wright.
The first squadron of Flying Fortresses will be under his command.
Dubbed the Flying General by the War Department, this remarkable young general will get to test his brainchild in the air from the left-hand seat.
This is Fort Apache.
I got a Marine jock in my landing pattern.
Roger, Fort Apache.
Unidentified aircraft approaching inbound Marcos on 016 radio.
Please divert and go into a holding pattern at 3, 000 feet.
We got a dry bird, Marcos.
Request permission to land on runway 10.
We're flying short fuel allotments.
I'm on my downwind leg.
Tell that cowboy to fall in behind me.
I don't know who you are, mister, but I got an emergency and I'm putting one down ahead of you.
So take that big, shiny tin can out of the landing pattern or get ready to bail out.
Okay, T.
J.
, put it down.
Roger.
I got his number, Rick.
Good.
Marcos Tower.
This is Fort Apache.
Sorry about the dipsey-doodle, fellas, but we got into some traffic.
We're reentering the pattern.
when we get down, the beers are on me.
How'd it go, General? Pretty good, Colonel.
Shook down just fine.
You get a message on the rest of the squadron? Rest of your squadron will be coming in about an hour.
They're in the air right now.
Somebody ought to tell that flight leader about landing pattern regs.
That's Major Boyington.
He's going to be flying your fighter escort.
I'm sorry, my My what? Fighter escort, sir.
There isn't going to be any fighter escort.
well, sir, you'd better take this up with General Moore.
He's the one who requested fighter support.
You bet I'll talk to General Moore.
what good is this experiment if we have fighter support? Like I said, sir, perhaps General Moore could tell you better.
I mean, what's wrong with the war Department anyway? The whole idea of these Flying Fortresses is they don't need fighter cover.
As of now, fighters are obsolete.
Who are those potato soldiers? They're probably the guys we busted out of the landing pattern.
what do you mean they don't need fighter cover? If it wasn't for us, those guys would all be collecting moss in 6,000 feet of water.
What do you want them to do, jim, take you dancing? I want them to knock off the ingratitude.
Here we go.
Excuse me, gentlemen, but I couldn't help overhear that little bit of nonsense you were just laying down there a minute ago.
I wasn't talking to you, Captain.
Then you guys ought to take up whispering, 'cause I was sitting way across the room there and I distinctly heard you say that fighters were obsolete.
You're a prime example of that, Captain.
Things are changing, what with technology Even Marine pilots are gonna have to learn more than to swing from trees and eat bananas.
I'm going to overlook that for the moment because I figure you guys just came in on that silver turtle out there and don't know that, without fighter cover, you would all be eating rice in a bamboo room.
Is that right? That B-17 out there is the most heavily fortified and armored aircraft in the world.
Is that right? A 20 mm cannon can't penetrate her.
You and your buddies are gonna be learning how to type and file papers 'cause in a month or so, there ain't gonna be no more fighter pilot duty.
Just what is it you do, sonny? I'm a tail gunner.
You're a tail gunner? Tail gunner? That's right.
Isn't the tail gun somewhere near the toilet? I suppose you're the ape who pushed us out of the landing pattern.
I'm afraid I'm gonna just have to take exception to that, buster.
No, no, no! Listen, T.
j.
, you just gotta watch your fuel levels more carefully.
You were down to less than five gallons.
I'm sorry, Pappy.
For some reason my bird seems to fly better with the mixture rich.
The thing I like about this club is you can always find a nice girl.
Let's go! But they're your men.
We don't know that for sure, do we, Colonel? What are these guys, Air Force MPs? We do now.
General Moore wants to see you before you check in.
She has two inches more armor plating all around and gun bubbles that allow each airplane a complete firing radius.
The 20 mm cannon fired from the Zerosµ shouldn't be able to knock her down.
Is that a manufacturer's guarantee? No, it's a theory.
I'm just trying to say Do you mind, Colonel? I've already had one run-in with this general and he seems fairly committed to flying missions without fighter cover.
As a matter of fact, he's adamant about it.
So what's the problem? Give him some extra shark repellent and send him off.
He's flying off my field and that makes him my responsibility.
I'm not risking it.
You fly escort missions for him starting at 0700 tomorrow.
I'll be back in a week.
we'll debrief then.
If you feel they can cut it alone, then we'll send this hot rock out by himself.
You aren't too big on this guy, huh? General Wright is a fine officer who may be in just a little too much of a hurry.
Anything else, Greg? well, General, I'm a little short-handed at the moment.
A few of my pilots are in Colonel Lard's brig.
Apparently they were having a drink in the officers club and for some reason, the MPs just hauled them off.
For some reason? They were brawling with General Wright's officers! They were literally throwing army lieutenants out the officers club doors.
Come on, Colonel.
Anybody can trip and fall through a door.
I've done it myself.
How many are in custody? All but one.
Get them out, Colonel.
We can't very well cover this mission if they're behind bars.
Yes, sir.
General Wright isn't going to like this, Greg, but I can't duck this conference.
You and Lard are gonna have to pull on the rope together.
Don't we always? Let's understand this now.
I don't want this doughboy up there alone.
He may order you to stand down.
You're the only Major in my command who's got the guts to disobey a General.
So you have fun, you two.
Major Boyington? - Yes, sir.
General Wright.
- How do you do, sir? It's a pleasure.
If you're looking for your men, they're in the brig.
They'll be along.
No, they won't.
I was sort of hoping you and I would run into each other this morning.
I understand General Moore gave you escort orders.
That's right, General.
well, I'm canceling them.
I'm afraid you can't do that, sir.
General Moore instructed me to fly escort until he personally pulled me off.
Let me get this straight.
You are telling me that you are refusing to obey a direct order from a brigadier general? Is that what you're telling me, Major? I think you got it straight, General.
Right on the button.
Then you're a very foolish officer who is going to be written up and court-martialed.
Let me give you some bad news, General.
I'm the most court-martialed officer in the Marine Corps.
This year alone, I've been brought up on charges six times.
I'm gonna fly this escort according to General Moore's orders.
I want you in my quarters at 1400 hours, Major.
Until then, you are under house arrest.
I really hate it when they get like that.
No, you don't.
You love it.
Let's find out what went wrong.
They're still in the brig! well, get them out.
- I can't.
General Wright personally ordered the captain inside to hold them.
He won't turn them loose.
I tried.
well, after all, he is a General, Boyington.
I'm a Colonel.
And General Moore is in washington, I spent the night reading up on conflict of command in the manual.
And that's what we've got here.
Page 12, Subsection 6 states that any ranking officer can counter standing orders if they pertain to command decisions outlined in Subsection 24, which states that a commander in charge must have clear jurisdictional control provided he has been given that proximity by orders generated in prior channels and from a higher ranking officer.
Really pulling on the old rope, aren't you, Colonel? I think that the manual was made to be followed.
I think that's the most confusing paragraph I ever heard.
And confusion always works in your favor when you're disobeying superior officers.
Now, take my word for it He's a General, Boyington, a one star General.
Colonel, give me a break.
Turn your back on this thing, and I'll get my boys out of the brig, and fly this mission according to General Moore's orders.
I'm gonna get some breakfast.
Good.
Make it last at least half an hour.
And if you hear a commotion, go to the head and lock the door.
General Wright had me in a bind.
He was ranking officer in Espritos Marcos, and he didn't want me flying escort for him.
But General Moore had ordered me to do it.
To obey one general, I had to disobey another.
And I had less than 30 minutes to get my pilots out of the brig and in the air if we were going to catch the Flying Fortresses before they reached the Slot.
General Bull Taylor.
I want you men up against that wall looking smart.
Been out here long, son? No, sir.
About six months.
How much to open up? Sorry, sir, we can't do that.
Are you fining me, boy? Sir? You some kind of foul-up Marine? Sir? Never kid a kidder, boy! I know that you have to be a special kind of bone head to be a brig officer.
Brig officers are being punished.
Now, this is a leper colony, and I wanna know how come you're here, and I wanna know right now, boy.
Low aptitude score, sir.
All right.
I want them opened.
I'm sorry, sir, but we're not supposed to.
Ain't hard to see why you're scoring low, sonny.
Let me give you a quick aptitude test right here on the spot.
Yes, sir.
what's that you got on your collar? Captain's bars.
And what's this here on my collar? General's stars, sir.
Now, if a man wearing a star was to give an order to a man wearing those little railroad bars a direct order I'll open them up for you, sir.
Open it up.
Right now! You did the right thing, son.
Ten-hut! You boys been in some trouble? Yes, sir, general.
we got in a fight in the officers club.
Where you from, boy? Bristol, Tennessee, sir.
Had breakfast? It's right over there.
What kind of food do they serve in the brig nowadays? Captain, come here a minute.
Is this some kind of joke, Captain? what's your name, son? Captain Evil Martin.
You get pleasure out of serving this kind of food, son? I don't know how it happened, sir.
You men haven't had a breakfast, you've had a practical joke.
I'm gonna take you out of here, I'm gonna take you to the mess hall, I'm gonna feed you breakfast.
I'll tell you one thing I will not tolerate.
I will not tolerate cruelty under my command.
I don't care if these men are in the brig or not! Do you understand that? - Yes, sir.
Turn them loose, Captain.
But, sir, General Wright gave me There you go having that aptitude problem again, boy.
Yes, sir.
I'll release them into your custody.
Okay, you guys.
Stay tight.
we ought to be coming up on these army hot dogs any minute.
Hey, Greg, we got a weather front moving in out there.
Then we gotta find those bombers now.
They have the navigational equipment.
Navigator to pilot.
We've got a fog front coming in on us.
Won't run into any Zekes with a fog bank.
We're 55 minutes from the target, sir.
Right.
Sir, we have some aircraft coming in behind us, closing fast.
Okay, everybody, stay alert.
we may have some bogies coming in behind.
Fort Apache, this is Black Sheep One coming in at 6:00 even.
Fort Apache to Apache wing, hold your fire.
we have fighter escort approaching.
You're a real hot head, Major.
I thought we had this out.
You want to dump me? Take it up with General Moore.
Until I hear from him, I'm gonna be right here in your hip pocket, General.
we'll have to see about that, Major.
Roger, Fort Apache.
we're on heading 167.
Acknowledge strike heading, over.
No need, Major.
Just fly VFR.
we got some weather coming in, General.
It's getting thick out here.
Can't see a thing.
Hey, Greg, what's with this guy? Everybody stay tight.
We're gonna hold the same heading.
If anybody gets separated, we're in trouble.
Black Sheep one to Fort Apache.
Give us a corrected heading.
We're flying blind.
Let's turn back, Ted, we aren't gonna meet any Zekes in this marshmallow.
what about the fighter cover, General? we can't leave them out here.
They don't have any navigational equipment.
They won't get back.
Notify them we're turning out.
They can dead reckon out of the fog.
It only runs back about 50 miles.
Excuse me, Rick, but I think we ought to bring those guys back with us.
I'm gonna teach that major to stay in place.
Apache wing, we are executing a tight 180 at 170 knots.
Everybody stay bunched.
You hear that, Greg? - Yeah.
They're leaving us.
Fort Apache, give us a heading.
This is Black Sheep One.
we're blind up here.
Okay, fellas.
we're gonna have to do a little dead reckoning.
Can everybody see his wing man? Barely, Greg.
Not me.
Where are you, Jim? Just keep your head, T.
J.
, I'll find you.
Okay, fellas, we're gonna do a tight 180.
Everybody stay in view.
If you get lost, you're gonna have to make it home alone.
Everybody stay tight.
we're going down to 1,000 feet.
Hope we don't fly into any mountains.
Let's go.
I'm out of the fog! All right, we made it! Way to go, Pappy.
Ain't that a pretty sight? I always wondered what you were using for brains.
I never had any idea it was a gyrocompass.
Okay, you meatheads, let's set these birds down.
When I get down, I'm gonna kill that general.
No you're not, jim.
why not? You saying he don't deserve a good stomping? No.
I'm saying I'm gonna be the one who gives it to him.
Let's get in there and deck those clowns.
They're gonna be flying hospital beds.
I never punched out an Air Force jock before.
I'll show you how it's done T.
J.
where's your General? He was here, Major.
He left.
You boys proud of yourselves? Jim, I can't keep getting you out of the brig.
Captain, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened today.
I don't understand why General Wright did it myself.
I suppose he had his reasons.
His reasons are your general is a three alarm head case.
The man is trying to apologize to you.
Look, the least we can do is buy you guys a drink.
Personally, I gotta tell you guys I felt kind of naked up there.
When you showed up it took a load off my mind.
Well, this one here's talking some sense.
I guess we can join these hole diggers over at the bar and take up on that drink.
Where is he? I don't know where he is.
It's not my day to watch him.
He left us out there in the middle of a fog bank.
It was flat luck that we got back here at all.
So, what am I supposed to do? You know, I'm about ready to kill Moore for laying this on me before he went away.
I mean, you may find it easy to tell a Brigadier General to go shinny up a tree, Boyington, but I don't.
That's not my way.
I would choke on my tongue if I tried.
You've been hiding from him, haven't you? where do you hide on a two square mile island? Look, Boyington, I've been thinking about this.
And I think we should drop the fighter cover.
Colonel, I'm going up.
why? Because I don't like the way the general does business.
And because General Moore ordered us to fly cover for him.
Okay, Boyington.
Looks like you and I are on the same side of things for once, doesn't it? But let me tell you something, Boyington, you are a fighting Marine.
You're out there and you get results.
You can take chances and get away with it.
I am a paper shuffler.
Doesn't work that way for me anymore.
If I cross him, I'll end up the rest of my career dodging him.
And I don't want to do that.
So where does that leave us? I guess what I'm saying, Boyington, is that if you wanna take anymore chances with him, you go right ahead.
I'll try to cover for you afterward if I can, but I'm not disobeying any direct orders from General Wright.
I've made that decision and I think you ought to know it.
Fair enough.
Thanks for telling me.
will somebody kill that? Sorry to break this up but my pilots and crews are flying at 0700 tomorrow and I want everybody sharp.
where's Major Boyington? Right over here, General.
where you been hiding? If you like to discuss this morning's mission.
I'll be in my quarters in 10 minutes.
With my star off.
Okay, Boyington, we're going to have this out.
That's fine with me.
There's a lot of things I been meaning to say to you.
You mind letting me finish, Major? To begin with, I owe you an apology.
What I did was wrong.
I shouldn't have left you up there.
Now, there's a flash.
You want to shut up, Boyington? when I'm through with what I have to say, then you can get I didn't come here to have a debate, General.
Look, I made a mistake this morning.
I could have gotten you and your pilots killed.
It was foolish.
I regret doing it.
You regret it? You through? just a minute, Major.
For two years, I've had a plan.
I fought for money on the floor of the Congress.
I got those tin flying fortresses out there built.
Now, look, I am absolutely convinced that they are the answer to long-range precision bombing.
Unfortunately, sometimes washington can get tricky.
There are a lot of people who want to see more emphasis placed on lightening interceptors, P-38s.
The aircraft manufacturers spend a lot of time and money convincing Senators one way or the other.
So I'm out here for one purpose only.
To prove my theory.
I can't do that if I fly with fighter escort.
Now, look, I believe in myself, I believe in my airplanes And I think you're nuts.
If you fly without fighter cover, you're gonna kill your pilots.
Let me finish! You come in here with a star on your collar and you think that's it.
Well, let me give you my end.
You can take your B-17s.
You can take your washington problems, you can take your 50 mission hat, and stick them in your ditty bag! what you did to my squadron up there this morning cancels everything out, sir.
what do you want, Boyington? You want a public apology? You wanna read it in the Stars and Stripes? No, I'll tell you what I want! I wanna take it out of your hide! Now in order to do that, you will have to shuck a lot of military protocol.
Would that settle anything? No, it never settles anything.
But sometimes it makes you feel better.
Was there anything else, sir? Yes, you're not flying tomorrow.
Since General Moore ordered you to fly and you persist in disobeying me in favor of him, I have taken other precautions to guarantee you will stand down.
All the fuel allotments on this island were supplied by army quartermasters.
I've locked it up, Boyington.
Sarge, it's all figured out.
All you gotta do is make friends with them, and wait for me to give you the signal.
I ain't doing it.
Come on, Sarge, there's nothing to it.
You don't even have to lie or anything.
Nope.
what's the matter with you? You like to see all these birds grounded? Or do you want to work for the Army? You know, Major, that General could take you.
Don't change the subject.
Are you gonna help us get that gas from these turtle fliers or not? I never was much at lying.
All right, then give me your shirt.
Huh? You heard me.
I said give me your shirt, and that's an order, Sergeant.
This is Fort Apache to Apache flight leaders.
You've got the grids.
we will by flying without fighter escort.
Repeat, no fighter escort, so tail gunners and waist gunners stay alert.
Keep the formation tight.
Who you attached to, Sergeant? I'm with field maintenance, sir.
I'm supposed to clean up around here.
well, get to it.
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
What can I do you gentlemen? Captains Shiber, Costa and Smith.
ComSouPac Theater superintendents, sixth column.
So what do you want? I got instructions not to let anybody in.
They come direct from General Wright.
General Wright again.
What do you want to do? Well, we have to put it down, but it isn't gonna go over very well with High Command.
what is it? Lieutenant, may I ask you a question? - Yes, sir.
When you filled up those bombers this morning, how much gasoline did you put on board? We topped them off.
You hear that? There's Wright's hogging fuel again.
General Wright has one of the worst records in the quartermasters corps.
we are removing 15,000 gallons from this gas depot.
If General Wright doesn't like it, tell him to contact us at Theater Command.
Is that truck full? I'm sorry, sir, but you can't.
I've got strict orders.
You've got new ones now Lieutenant, or maybe you'd like to explain it to Theater Command? Excuse me, gentlemen.
what is it, Sergeant? Lieutenant, are those guys telling you that they're with Theater Command.
Yeah, something about gas hoarding.
They're pilots with 214.
They're trying to pull something over on you.
If I was you, I'd get this tanker truck out of here before they take it away from you.
I'll keep them busy.
Would you get it out of here, Sergeant? I don't know, sir.
I ain't licensed for this kind of truck.
I'll cover for you this once.
Well Well, if you say so.
Thanks, Sergeant.
Well, look, the keys to the truck are in the tent.
I suppose if you guys give me the paperwork and everything, I can let you have it.
Very wise of you.
Of course I know you guys are pilots with the 214 and I've just removed the fuel so you can forget the rough stuff and just get moving.
Boy, you Army lieutenants are really sharp.
Certainly are sharp.
Everybody stay sharp.
Fort Apache, this is Black Sheep One.
We're joining up for fighter escort duty.
No fog, looks like a nice day for flying.
Fort Apache to Apache Squadron.
we have fighter cover intercepting from the rear.
Let's go get them! One's coming at your starboard.
Break left, break left.
Let me have it.
Reel across me.
You got him.
Rolling out, Boyle, starboard.
Still coming up behind you, Bob.
Keep you head down.
On the starboard, Porter.
Stand down, 2:00.
All yours, portside.
Fighter attack turned back.
They're going home, Fort Apache.
They didn't do much damage, did they, Black Sheep One? Only six or seven got through us, General.
Hardly enough to do any damage, sir.
Fort Apache to navigator.
We'll be coming out of this flack field in a few minutes and will reset up on target.
You'll have the aircraft.
Roger.
All flight leaders form up on me.
We'll hit this target in echelon.
Fighter cover will break off.
Roger, Fort Apache.
Good luck and see you back home.
When we get down, I'm gonna kill that guy.
Yes, sir.
Do you have someplace you like, Major? I like the beach, but it's too long a walk.
I'll find someplace close by.
Fine, whenever you're ready.
Be ready in just a minute.
Let's go, General.
And that's an order.
You know, one of the nice things about being a general is this doesn't happen too often.
You got a great right hand, Greg.
Nothing wrong with your left hook either, General.
You know, I'm right about these bombers.
I don't think so.
You saw what happened up there today.
we got three of those Zeros.
They couldn't knock us down.
You had 30 Zekes up there, 30.
Now your gunners had time to line up on them.
But only six got through.
Take away the air cover.
And those gunners are gonna get overwhelmed and your tin turkeys are going down.
They won't, Greg.
And if they do, well that's worth knowing, too.
You're not going up tomorrow.
I'm going everyday, until General Moore pulls me off.
Now, you got a lot of loyalty to General Moore.
How did he manage it? He's got a better left hook than you have.
Looks like if we're gonna fly today, we've gonna have to shoot our way into the cockpits.
I guess, at a certain point, it becomes pretty ridiculous.
Okay, you guys, go on back.
General, I'd like to go with you.
Sure? You have an extra parachute in that thing? Yeah, I think we do.
I think I'm gonna need it.
After you, sir.
You better tell your guys to be ready, General.
We're coming into the Slot.
Apache leader to crew, we're coming into the Slot.
Keep your eyes open.
Apache two to Fort Apache.
we got a flock of them at 11:00 coming in.
All right, close up.
Keep the formation tight.
I got two from behind, keep your eyes open.
General, Gray's going down.
Get out.
Bail out.
He's not gonna make it.
Keep on him, don't let them get too close.
I can't hit them.
Better keep your eyes open.
Gotta be a dozen up here.
- Keep firing.
Number 3 is on fire.
Feather it, Ted.
I got four on me.
We lost the starboard waist gunner.
He's hit! Point him, point him.
We lost the starboard waist gunner.
9:00.
9:00.
General, we're gonna have to fly back through those guys, and this time they're gonna be more Zekes waiting for us.
This is Fort Apache to Espritos Marcos.
Acknowledge.
Five by.
we are five minutes from target and have encountered heavy fighter attacks.
Request fighter cover intercept at 16 degrees.
Fifteen minutes on radial 187.
E.
T.
A.
is 0850, approximate.
Roger.
Tell them to get it moving.
We're going to be running a gauntlet on the way home.
Roger and out.
You guys got the grid.
So let's get moving.
If we don't get there in time, all we're gonna see is a bunch of iron floating in the water.
We're set on target.
Navigator, take the target.
They just keep coming.
We can't handle more.
Break left.
Break left! That was wrong.
God help me, I'm killed.
Here they are.
Let's get in there.
My God, half of them are gone.
Now breaking right.
Bring them across me.
I got him! Marcos, have an ambulance standing by.
Roger.
He's dead.
It was one hell of an experiment.
I sure believed in this plane.
He fought for it.
we were all so sure.
what do we got out here anyway? we must all be crazy.
who are you attached to, Sergeant? I'm with field maintenance, sir.
I'm supposed to clean up around here.
I'm a tail gunner.
Isn't the tail gun somewhere near the toilet? What do you want, Boyington? You want a public apology? You wanna read it in the Stars and Stripes? No, I'll tell you what I want! I wanna take it out of your hide.
Hold the formation tight.
Baa Baa Black Sheep S01E20 - Trouble at Fort Apache S01E20 - Trouble at Fort Apache With armor twice as thick and 13 gun mounts that can scan the entire sky, the new B-17E long-range heavy bomber rolls off the U.
S.
assembly lines and heads for war.
These devastating war machines are slated by the Army Air Force High Command to turn the tide of war.
The brainchild of General Richard Wright.
The first squadron of Flying Fortresses will be under his command.
Dubbed the Flying General by the War Department, this remarkable young general will get to test his brainchild in the air from the left-hand seat.
This is Fort Apache.
I got a Marine jock in my landing pattern.
Roger, Fort Apache.
Unidentified aircraft approaching inbound Marcos on 016 radio.
Please divert and go into a holding pattern at 3, 000 feet.
We got a dry bird, Marcos.
Request permission to land on runway 10.
We're flying short fuel allotments.
I'm on my downwind leg.
Tell that cowboy to fall in behind me.
I don't know who you are, mister, but I got an emergency and I'm putting one down ahead of you.
So take that big, shiny tin can out of the landing pattern or get ready to bail out.
Okay, T.
J.
, put it down.
Roger.
I got his number, Rick.
Good.
Marcos Tower.
This is Fort Apache.
Sorry about the dipsey-doodle, fellas, but we got into some traffic.
We're reentering the pattern.
when we get down, the beers are on me.
How'd it go, General? Pretty good, Colonel.
Shook down just fine.
You get a message on the rest of the squadron? Rest of your squadron will be coming in about an hour.
They're in the air right now.
Somebody ought to tell that flight leader about landing pattern regs.
That's Major Boyington.
He's going to be flying your fighter escort.
I'm sorry, my My what? Fighter escort, sir.
There isn't going to be any fighter escort.
well, sir, you'd better take this up with General Moore.
He's the one who requested fighter support.
You bet I'll talk to General Moore.
what good is this experiment if we have fighter support? Like I said, sir, perhaps General Moore could tell you better.
I mean, what's wrong with the war Department anyway? The whole idea of these Flying Fortresses is they don't need fighter cover.
As of now, fighters are obsolete.
Who are those potato soldiers? They're probably the guys we busted out of the landing pattern.
what do you mean they don't need fighter cover? If it wasn't for us, those guys would all be collecting moss in 6,000 feet of water.
What do you want them to do, jim, take you dancing? I want them to knock off the ingratitude.
Here we go.
Excuse me, gentlemen, but I couldn't help overhear that little bit of nonsense you were just laying down there a minute ago.
I wasn't talking to you, Captain.
Then you guys ought to take up whispering, 'cause I was sitting way across the room there and I distinctly heard you say that fighters were obsolete.
You're a prime example of that, Captain.
Things are changing, what with technology Even Marine pilots are gonna have to learn more than to swing from trees and eat bananas.
I'm going to overlook that for the moment because I figure you guys just came in on that silver turtle out there and don't know that, without fighter cover, you would all be eating rice in a bamboo room.
Is that right? That B-17 out there is the most heavily fortified and armored aircraft in the world.
Is that right? A 20 mm cannon can't penetrate her.
You and your buddies are gonna be learning how to type and file papers 'cause in a month or so, there ain't gonna be no more fighter pilot duty.
Just what is it you do, sonny? I'm a tail gunner.
You're a tail gunner? Tail gunner? That's right.
Isn't the tail gun somewhere near the toilet? I suppose you're the ape who pushed us out of the landing pattern.
I'm afraid I'm gonna just have to take exception to that, buster.
No, no, no! Listen, T.
j.
, you just gotta watch your fuel levels more carefully.
You were down to less than five gallons.
I'm sorry, Pappy.
For some reason my bird seems to fly better with the mixture rich.
The thing I like about this club is you can always find a nice girl.
Let's go! But they're your men.
We don't know that for sure, do we, Colonel? What are these guys, Air Force MPs? We do now.
General Moore wants to see you before you check in.
She has two inches more armor plating all around and gun bubbles that allow each airplane a complete firing radius.
The 20 mm cannon fired from the Zerosµ shouldn't be able to knock her down.
Is that a manufacturer's guarantee? No, it's a theory.
I'm just trying to say Do you mind, Colonel? I've already had one run-in with this general and he seems fairly committed to flying missions without fighter cover.
As a matter of fact, he's adamant about it.
So what's the problem? Give him some extra shark repellent and send him off.
He's flying off my field and that makes him my responsibility.
I'm not risking it.
You fly escort missions for him starting at 0700 tomorrow.
I'll be back in a week.
we'll debrief then.
If you feel they can cut it alone, then we'll send this hot rock out by himself.
You aren't too big on this guy, huh? General Wright is a fine officer who may be in just a little too much of a hurry.
Anything else, Greg? well, General, I'm a little short-handed at the moment.
A few of my pilots are in Colonel Lard's brig.
Apparently they were having a drink in the officers club and for some reason, the MPs just hauled them off.
For some reason? They were brawling with General Wright's officers! They were literally throwing army lieutenants out the officers club doors.
Come on, Colonel.
Anybody can trip and fall through a door.
I've done it myself.
How many are in custody? All but one.
Get them out, Colonel.
We can't very well cover this mission if they're behind bars.
Yes, sir.
General Wright isn't going to like this, Greg, but I can't duck this conference.
You and Lard are gonna have to pull on the rope together.
Don't we always? Let's understand this now.
I don't want this doughboy up there alone.
He may order you to stand down.
You're the only Major in my command who's got the guts to disobey a General.
So you have fun, you two.
Major Boyington? - Yes, sir.
General Wright.
- How do you do, sir? It's a pleasure.
If you're looking for your men, they're in the brig.
They'll be along.
No, they won't.
I was sort of hoping you and I would run into each other this morning.
I understand General Moore gave you escort orders.
That's right, General.
well, I'm canceling them.
I'm afraid you can't do that, sir.
General Moore instructed me to fly escort until he personally pulled me off.
Let me get this straight.
You are telling me that you are refusing to obey a direct order from a brigadier general? Is that what you're telling me, Major? I think you got it straight, General.
Right on the button.
Then you're a very foolish officer who is going to be written up and court-martialed.
Let me give you some bad news, General.
I'm the most court-martialed officer in the Marine Corps.
This year alone, I've been brought up on charges six times.
I'm gonna fly this escort according to General Moore's orders.
I want you in my quarters at 1400 hours, Major.
Until then, you are under house arrest.
I really hate it when they get like that.
No, you don't.
You love it.
Let's find out what went wrong.
They're still in the brig! well, get them out.
- I can't.
General Wright personally ordered the captain inside to hold them.
He won't turn them loose.
I tried.
well, after all, he is a General, Boyington.
I'm a Colonel.
And General Moore is in washington, I spent the night reading up on conflict of command in the manual.
And that's what we've got here.
Page 12, Subsection 6 states that any ranking officer can counter standing orders if they pertain to command decisions outlined in Subsection 24, which states that a commander in charge must have clear jurisdictional control provided he has been given that proximity by orders generated in prior channels and from a higher ranking officer.
Really pulling on the old rope, aren't you, Colonel? I think that the manual was made to be followed.
I think that's the most confusing paragraph I ever heard.
And confusion always works in your favor when you're disobeying superior officers.
Now, take my word for it He's a General, Boyington, a one star General.
Colonel, give me a break.
Turn your back on this thing, and I'll get my boys out of the brig, and fly this mission according to General Moore's orders.
I'm gonna get some breakfast.
Good.
Make it last at least half an hour.
And if you hear a commotion, go to the head and lock the door.
General Wright had me in a bind.
He was ranking officer in Espritos Marcos, and he didn't want me flying escort for him.
But General Moore had ordered me to do it.
To obey one general, I had to disobey another.
And I had less than 30 minutes to get my pilots out of the brig and in the air if we were going to catch the Flying Fortresses before they reached the Slot.
General Bull Taylor.
I want you men up against that wall looking smart.
Been out here long, son? No, sir.
About six months.
How much to open up? Sorry, sir, we can't do that.
Are you fining me, boy? Sir? You some kind of foul-up Marine? Sir? Never kid a kidder, boy! I know that you have to be a special kind of bone head to be a brig officer.
Brig officers are being punished.
Now, this is a leper colony, and I wanna know how come you're here, and I wanna know right now, boy.
Low aptitude score, sir.
All right.
I want them opened.
I'm sorry, sir, but we're not supposed to.
Ain't hard to see why you're scoring low, sonny.
Let me give you a quick aptitude test right here on the spot.
Yes, sir.
what's that you got on your collar? Captain's bars.
And what's this here on my collar? General's stars, sir.
Now, if a man wearing a star was to give an order to a man wearing those little railroad bars a direct order I'll open them up for you, sir.
Open it up.
Right now! You did the right thing, son.
Ten-hut! You boys been in some trouble? Yes, sir, general.
we got in a fight in the officers club.
Where you from, boy? Bristol, Tennessee, sir.
Had breakfast? It's right over there.
What kind of food do they serve in the brig nowadays? Captain, come here a minute.
Is this some kind of joke, Captain? what's your name, son? Captain Evil Martin.
You get pleasure out of serving this kind of food, son? I don't know how it happened, sir.
You men haven't had a breakfast, you've had a practical joke.
I'm gonna take you out of here, I'm gonna take you to the mess hall, I'm gonna feed you breakfast.
I'll tell you one thing I will not tolerate.
I will not tolerate cruelty under my command.
I don't care if these men are in the brig or not! Do you understand that? - Yes, sir.
Turn them loose, Captain.
But, sir, General Wright gave me There you go having that aptitude problem again, boy.
Yes, sir.
I'll release them into your custody.
Okay, you guys.
Stay tight.
we ought to be coming up on these army hot dogs any minute.
Hey, Greg, we got a weather front moving in out there.
Then we gotta find those bombers now.
They have the navigational equipment.
Navigator to pilot.
We've got a fog front coming in on us.
Won't run into any Zekes with a fog bank.
We're 55 minutes from the target, sir.
Right.
Sir, we have some aircraft coming in behind us, closing fast.
Okay, everybody, stay alert.
we may have some bogies coming in behind.
Fort Apache, this is Black Sheep One coming in at 6:00 even.
Fort Apache to Apache wing, hold your fire.
we have fighter escort approaching.
You're a real hot head, Major.
I thought we had this out.
You want to dump me? Take it up with General Moore.
Until I hear from him, I'm gonna be right here in your hip pocket, General.
we'll have to see about that, Major.
Roger, Fort Apache.
we're on heading 167.
Acknowledge strike heading, over.
No need, Major.
Just fly VFR.
we got some weather coming in, General.
It's getting thick out here.
Can't see a thing.
Hey, Greg, what's with this guy? Everybody stay tight.
We're gonna hold the same heading.
If anybody gets separated, we're in trouble.
Black Sheep one to Fort Apache.
Give us a corrected heading.
We're flying blind.
Let's turn back, Ted, we aren't gonna meet any Zekes in this marshmallow.
what about the fighter cover, General? we can't leave them out here.
They don't have any navigational equipment.
They won't get back.
Notify them we're turning out.
They can dead reckon out of the fog.
It only runs back about 50 miles.
Excuse me, Rick, but I think we ought to bring those guys back with us.
I'm gonna teach that major to stay in place.
Apache wing, we are executing a tight 180 at 170 knots.
Everybody stay bunched.
You hear that, Greg? - Yeah.
They're leaving us.
Fort Apache, give us a heading.
This is Black Sheep One.
we're blind up here.
Okay, fellas.
we're gonna have to do a little dead reckoning.
Can everybody see his wing man? Barely, Greg.
Not me.
Where are you, Jim? Just keep your head, T.
J.
, I'll find you.
Okay, fellas, we're gonna do a tight 180.
Everybody stay in view.
If you get lost, you're gonna have to make it home alone.
Everybody stay tight.
we're going down to 1,000 feet.
Hope we don't fly into any mountains.
Let's go.
I'm out of the fog! All right, we made it! Way to go, Pappy.
Ain't that a pretty sight? I always wondered what you were using for brains.
I never had any idea it was a gyrocompass.
Okay, you meatheads, let's set these birds down.
When I get down, I'm gonna kill that general.
No you're not, jim.
why not? You saying he don't deserve a good stomping? No.
I'm saying I'm gonna be the one who gives it to him.
Let's get in there and deck those clowns.
They're gonna be flying hospital beds.
I never punched out an Air Force jock before.
I'll show you how it's done T.
J.
where's your General? He was here, Major.
He left.
You boys proud of yourselves? Jim, I can't keep getting you out of the brig.
Captain, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened today.
I don't understand why General Wright did it myself.
I suppose he had his reasons.
His reasons are your general is a three alarm head case.
The man is trying to apologize to you.
Look, the least we can do is buy you guys a drink.
Personally, I gotta tell you guys I felt kind of naked up there.
When you showed up it took a load off my mind.
Well, this one here's talking some sense.
I guess we can join these hole diggers over at the bar and take up on that drink.
Where is he? I don't know where he is.
It's not my day to watch him.
He left us out there in the middle of a fog bank.
It was flat luck that we got back here at all.
So, what am I supposed to do? You know, I'm about ready to kill Moore for laying this on me before he went away.
I mean, you may find it easy to tell a Brigadier General to go shinny up a tree, Boyington, but I don't.
That's not my way.
I would choke on my tongue if I tried.
You've been hiding from him, haven't you? where do you hide on a two square mile island? Look, Boyington, I've been thinking about this.
And I think we should drop the fighter cover.
Colonel, I'm going up.
why? Because I don't like the way the general does business.
And because General Moore ordered us to fly cover for him.
Okay, Boyington.
Looks like you and I are on the same side of things for once, doesn't it? But let me tell you something, Boyington, you are a fighting Marine.
You're out there and you get results.
You can take chances and get away with it.
I am a paper shuffler.
Doesn't work that way for me anymore.
If I cross him, I'll end up the rest of my career dodging him.
And I don't want to do that.
So where does that leave us? I guess what I'm saying, Boyington, is that if you wanna take anymore chances with him, you go right ahead.
I'll try to cover for you afterward if I can, but I'm not disobeying any direct orders from General Wright.
I've made that decision and I think you ought to know it.
Fair enough.
Thanks for telling me.
will somebody kill that? Sorry to break this up but my pilots and crews are flying at 0700 tomorrow and I want everybody sharp.
where's Major Boyington? Right over here, General.
where you been hiding? If you like to discuss this morning's mission.
I'll be in my quarters in 10 minutes.
With my star off.
Okay, Boyington, we're going to have this out.
That's fine with me.
There's a lot of things I been meaning to say to you.
You mind letting me finish, Major? To begin with, I owe you an apology.
What I did was wrong.
I shouldn't have left you up there.
Now, there's a flash.
You want to shut up, Boyington? when I'm through with what I have to say, then you can get I didn't come here to have a debate, General.
Look, I made a mistake this morning.
I could have gotten you and your pilots killed.
It was foolish.
I regret doing it.
You regret it? You through? just a minute, Major.
For two years, I've had a plan.
I fought for money on the floor of the Congress.
I got those tin flying fortresses out there built.
Now, look, I am absolutely convinced that they are the answer to long-range precision bombing.
Unfortunately, sometimes washington can get tricky.
There are a lot of people who want to see more emphasis placed on lightening interceptors, P-38s.
The aircraft manufacturers spend a lot of time and money convincing Senators one way or the other.
So I'm out here for one purpose only.
To prove my theory.
I can't do that if I fly with fighter escort.
Now, look, I believe in myself, I believe in my airplanes And I think you're nuts.
If you fly without fighter cover, you're gonna kill your pilots.
Let me finish! You come in here with a star on your collar and you think that's it.
Well, let me give you my end.
You can take your B-17s.
You can take your washington problems, you can take your 50 mission hat, and stick them in your ditty bag! what you did to my squadron up there this morning cancels everything out, sir.
what do you want, Boyington? You want a public apology? You wanna read it in the Stars and Stripes? No, I'll tell you what I want! I wanna take it out of your hide! Now in order to do that, you will have to shuck a lot of military protocol.
Would that settle anything? No, it never settles anything.
But sometimes it makes you feel better.
Was there anything else, sir? Yes, you're not flying tomorrow.
Since General Moore ordered you to fly and you persist in disobeying me in favor of him, I have taken other precautions to guarantee you will stand down.
All the fuel allotments on this island were supplied by army quartermasters.
I've locked it up, Boyington.
Sarge, it's all figured out.
All you gotta do is make friends with them, and wait for me to give you the signal.
I ain't doing it.
Come on, Sarge, there's nothing to it.
You don't even have to lie or anything.
Nope.
what's the matter with you? You like to see all these birds grounded? Or do you want to work for the Army? You know, Major, that General could take you.
Don't change the subject.
Are you gonna help us get that gas from these turtle fliers or not? I never was much at lying.
All right, then give me your shirt.
Huh? You heard me.
I said give me your shirt, and that's an order, Sergeant.
This is Fort Apache to Apache flight leaders.
You've got the grids.
we will by flying without fighter escort.
Repeat, no fighter escort, so tail gunners and waist gunners stay alert.
Keep the formation tight.
Who you attached to, Sergeant? I'm with field maintenance, sir.
I'm supposed to clean up around here.
well, get to it.
Yes, sir, yes, sir.
What can I do you gentlemen? Captains Shiber, Costa and Smith.
ComSouPac Theater superintendents, sixth column.
So what do you want? I got instructions not to let anybody in.
They come direct from General Wright.
General Wright again.
What do you want to do? Well, we have to put it down, but it isn't gonna go over very well with High Command.
what is it? Lieutenant, may I ask you a question? - Yes, sir.
When you filled up those bombers this morning, how much gasoline did you put on board? We topped them off.
You hear that? There's Wright's hogging fuel again.
General Wright has one of the worst records in the quartermasters corps.
we are removing 15,000 gallons from this gas depot.
If General Wright doesn't like it, tell him to contact us at Theater Command.
Is that truck full? I'm sorry, sir, but you can't.
I've got strict orders.
You've got new ones now Lieutenant, or maybe you'd like to explain it to Theater Command? Excuse me, gentlemen.
what is it, Sergeant? Lieutenant, are those guys telling you that they're with Theater Command.
Yeah, something about gas hoarding.
They're pilots with 214.
They're trying to pull something over on you.
If I was you, I'd get this tanker truck out of here before they take it away from you.
I'll keep them busy.
Would you get it out of here, Sergeant? I don't know, sir.
I ain't licensed for this kind of truck.
I'll cover for you this once.
Well Well, if you say so.
Thanks, Sergeant.
Well, look, the keys to the truck are in the tent.
I suppose if you guys give me the paperwork and everything, I can let you have it.
Very wise of you.
Of course I know you guys are pilots with the 214 and I've just removed the fuel so you can forget the rough stuff and just get moving.
Boy, you Army lieutenants are really sharp.
Certainly are sharp.
Everybody stay sharp.
Fort Apache, this is Black Sheep One.
We're joining up for fighter escort duty.
No fog, looks like a nice day for flying.
Fort Apache to Apache Squadron.
we have fighter cover intercepting from the rear.
Let's go get them! One's coming at your starboard.
Break left, break left.
Let me have it.
Reel across me.
You got him.
Rolling out, Boyle, starboard.
Still coming up behind you, Bob.
Keep you head down.
On the starboard, Porter.
Stand down, 2:00.
All yours, portside.
Fighter attack turned back.
They're going home, Fort Apache.
They didn't do much damage, did they, Black Sheep One? Only six or seven got through us, General.
Hardly enough to do any damage, sir.
Fort Apache to navigator.
We'll be coming out of this flack field in a few minutes and will reset up on target.
You'll have the aircraft.
Roger.
All flight leaders form up on me.
We'll hit this target in echelon.
Fighter cover will break off.
Roger, Fort Apache.
Good luck and see you back home.
When we get down, I'm gonna kill that guy.
Yes, sir.
Do you have someplace you like, Major? I like the beach, but it's too long a walk.
I'll find someplace close by.
Fine, whenever you're ready.
Be ready in just a minute.
Let's go, General.
And that's an order.
You know, one of the nice things about being a general is this doesn't happen too often.
You got a great right hand, Greg.
Nothing wrong with your left hook either, General.
You know, I'm right about these bombers.
I don't think so.
You saw what happened up there today.
we got three of those Zeros.
They couldn't knock us down.
You had 30 Zekes up there, 30.
Now your gunners had time to line up on them.
But only six got through.
Take away the air cover.
And those gunners are gonna get overwhelmed and your tin turkeys are going down.
They won't, Greg.
And if they do, well that's worth knowing, too.
You're not going up tomorrow.
I'm going everyday, until General Moore pulls me off.
Now, you got a lot of loyalty to General Moore.
How did he manage it? He's got a better left hook than you have.
Looks like if we're gonna fly today, we've gonna have to shoot our way into the cockpits.
I guess, at a certain point, it becomes pretty ridiculous.
Okay, you guys, go on back.
General, I'd like to go with you.
Sure? You have an extra parachute in that thing? Yeah, I think we do.
I think I'm gonna need it.
After you, sir.
You better tell your guys to be ready, General.
We're coming into the Slot.
Apache leader to crew, we're coming into the Slot.
Keep your eyes open.
Apache two to Fort Apache.
we got a flock of them at 11:00 coming in.
All right, close up.
Keep the formation tight.
I got two from behind, keep your eyes open.
General, Gray's going down.
Get out.
Bail out.
He's not gonna make it.
Keep on him, don't let them get too close.
I can't hit them.
Better keep your eyes open.
Gotta be a dozen up here.
- Keep firing.
Number 3 is on fire.
Feather it, Ted.
I got four on me.
We lost the starboard waist gunner.
He's hit! Point him, point him.
We lost the starboard waist gunner.
9:00.
9:00.
General, we're gonna have to fly back through those guys, and this time they're gonna be more Zekes waiting for us.
This is Fort Apache to Espritos Marcos.
Acknowledge.
Five by.
we are five minutes from target and have encountered heavy fighter attacks.
Request fighter cover intercept at 16 degrees.
Fifteen minutes on radial 187.
E.
T.
A.
is 0850, approximate.
Roger.
Tell them to get it moving.
We're going to be running a gauntlet on the way home.
Roger and out.
You guys got the grid.
So let's get moving.
If we don't get there in time, all we're gonna see is a bunch of iron floating in the water.
We're set on target.
Navigator, take the target.
They just keep coming.
We can't handle more.
Break left.
Break left! That was wrong.
God help me, I'm killed.
Here they are.
Let's get in there.
My God, half of them are gone.
Now breaking right.
Bring them across me.
I got him! Marcos, have an ambulance standing by.
Roger.
He's dead.
It was one hell of an experiment.
I sure believed in this plane.
He fought for it.
we were all so sure.
what do we got out here anyway? we must all be crazy.