A Soldier's Story

Look here, boy, I want you out.

Yeah! Play it, Luther!

Oh, honey, play it.

Play it soft now, Luther.

See, that's what I was trying to tell you...

Sarge?

He's so drunk.

He's drunk.

What in the hell does he think he's doing?

That drunken...

TYNIN, LOUISIANA - 1944

They still...

...hate you.

They still...

...hate you.

You can put your arms down

when the search team finishes with you.

We don't want anybody from this fort

going into Tynin looking for rednecks.

- May I speak, sir?

- Cobb?

Colonel Nivens must know

nobody colored killed the Sarge.

Well, this is precautionary, Cobb.

We can't have the Army

engaged in revenge on civilians.

- Sir, are there any suspects?

- None.

Come on, now.

Everybody knows it was the Klan.

Were you an eyewitness, soldier?

They lynched Jefferson the week

I got here. Two weeks after that it was...

Unless you saw it,

you keep your opinions to yourself.

Yes, sir.

- And that applies to everybody else.

- Yes, sir!

Tynin has been placed

off-limits to all enlisted personnel.

Come on, Captain.

Any man found in the town will be

immediately subject to court-martial.

Sergeant Waters' replacement

will be assigned in a couple of weeks.

Until then, Cobb...

...you're barrack's NCO. Any questions?

Carry on.

Now, what do you think?

Taylor and that goddamn colonel,

they know who killed Waters.

Anybody feel like playing with me

some Pitty Pat?

Wilkie, I thought all you could play

was flunky.

Yeah. Wilkie, whose ass

are you gonna kiss...

...now that your Number One ass is dead?

You know what you can do for me, Henson.

You too, Peterson.

- Take it easy.

- Look, I'm the one that lost three stripes.

I'm the only man here with kids.

So when the man said "jump," I jumped.

Come on, don't put your wife and kids

between you and Waters' ass.

I don't kiss nobody's ass, Henson.

I just wanted my stripes back.

You ain't never been no place.

You ain't never had nothin'.

You can't understand a man like me.

I was once top sergeant of this platoon.

Yeah? Well, now you ain't nothin'.

Nothin', Wilkie.

Recruits, over here.

Let me see your passes. Let's go!

Wake up, boy!

You said Tynin, didn't you?

Yeah.

Come on, boy.

Let's go!

Captain Davenport?

Corporal Ellis, at your disposal, sir.

I'm to take you to Colonel Nivens, sir.

- Well, let's get rolling, soldier.

- Yes, sir.

Yes, sir, Captain Davenport.

We're rolling, Captain.

This is where they killed

Sergeant Waters last month, sir.

Why did you say,

"They" killed him, Corporal?

Who's "they"?

The Klan, sir. They ain't too crazy

about us tan Yanks down here.

I suppose whoever drove you in

from the station...

...showed you the spot

where the killing took place.

Told you I had all the troops'

personal effects searched for weapons.

He tell you all that?

Is there a point

the colonel is trying to make, sir?

There's a point.

This thing has been blown

all the hell out of shape.

This is the Army's business.

Not the NAACP.

Not the Negro press.

Not those paper-shufflin'

desk jockeys in Washington.

I was brought up in the South, Davenport.

You ever hear of Threadgill County,

Alabama?

No, sir.

No matter.

I've been commanding colored troops

all my life, Davenport.

The worst thing you can do

in this part of the country...

...is pay too much attention to the death of

a Negro under mysterious circumstances.

Especially a soldier.

People get itchy. Uneasy.

White folk in the town,

colored at the fort...

...keep turning this thing over.

Sooner or later,

you're bound to have an explosion.

Now, I've lived here in Hunter Parish

for three years.

I'm fond of the place. I like the duty.

You get my meaning?

What is it you want, Colonel?

I want whatever you came here to do

completed in three days.

Sir, I request immediate permission

to notify Washington.

- Permission denied.

- I'm under direct orders...

I don't care if Roosevelt himself sent you!

I'm trying to keep my colored troops from

going into that town and killing somebody.

I don't care what you think.

You can always return to Washington

if you like.

No, sir. I was assigned this case

and I intend to file a report, sir.

Here are your instructions and our reports.

Captain Taylor's men will help you

get settled. Taylor was Waters' CO.

That'll be all, Davenport.

And...

...Captain...

Remember, you're the first colored officer

most of these men have ever seen.

The Army expects you to set an example

for the colored troops...

...and be a credit to your race.

Is that clear, Captain?

Yes, Colonel.

Sir?

Sir, are you all right?

- Would you like to go to your quarters?

- No, I'll see Captain Taylor first.

You don't want to unpack, sir?

Freshen up? It didn't go too good...

You got a hearing problem?

No, sir! My ears are big.

I was born with them.

It runs in my family.

My grandmother had big ears...

I used to drive a fire truck, Captain.

Then the Army took

and let me drive an ambulance.

I've been driving this jeep for six months.

Only turned over twice.

- Twice?

- Yes, sir.

Good.

Good afternoon, sir.

Sergeant Washington, sir.

Can I help you, Captain?

Captain Davenport to see Captain Taylor.

Just a moment, sir.

Yes?

Captain Davenport to see you, sir.

Send him in.

Yes, sir.

Every member of the lodge

is rooting for you, sir.

- Have a seat.

- Thank you.

I like your flowers, Captain.

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