Beachhead

Put those away.

They'll smell those

all the way to Tokyo.

Twenty-five years in the Marine Corps

to breed that voice of command.

Twenty-six years, son.

And still learning.

Yeah, I knew some of the guys

you practiced on.

You fellas.

Always kiddin'!

Major Scott wants

to see you, Sarge.

Look, old-timer, don't call him Major,

and don't call me Sarge.

We got trouble enough

without you pointing us out to the Nips.

Ain't one war

enough for you, Reynolds?

He won't fight.

We had one like that

in our football team.

They never fight when they know

you know about 'em.

Happy Times Three, this is control.

Report. Over.

Control, this is Happy Times Three.

In position. Ready to go. Over.

We scrimmage at 1100, number Three.

Happy Times. Control out.

All five platoons

are in position and ready to jump.

Think we can manage

to sound like a division?

Thought you said

I wasn't gonna go.

You're not.

If that decision has anything

to do with Guadalcanal...

Fletcher, in this business,

it seems to me very little has

anything to do with anything else.

Orders for your assignment came down

from intelligence in Australia.

Wanna tell me now?

It's a big walk.

You, Burke, Biggerman, Reynolds.

Whatever it is,

I don't need Reynolds.

Burke, Biggerman, and Reynolds

came out of your Guadalcanal outfit.

They know their business.

- Look, I don't-

- You look.

Ever since that Guadalcanal mess,

you've been waiting for somebody

to pat you on the shoulder

and say, "That's all right. "

That isn't gonna happen.

You're a regular Marine and a non-com.

Fight your own battles inside and out,

but don't bring me personal troubles

when I give you an order.

Yes, sir.

All right, Fletch.

Let's talk to your men.

Chris!

Save your legs.

This isn't for scuttle-butt.

What you're going to hear

you keep to yourselves. Understood?

You are now here.

Thirty miles...

from the Island of Bougainville.

For your information,

in three days,

Bougainville is going to be the target

of a full-scale assault.

That's the reason

for this diversionary action.

We've got six

small raiding parties here.

If each raiding party can manage

to be in ten places at once,

maybe we can draw down some of

the Japanese troops from Bougainville.

All that is point number one.

Point number two concerns you...

and only you.

Before the Japs moved in,

a French planter lived here.

His name was Bouchard.

Mark that.

A few days ago,

somebody calling himself Bouchard

radioed a message from this island.

He sent us the layout of

the Jap minefields around Bougainville.

Your job is to find out

if that message is fact or fiction.

If the message was legitimate,

the invasion convoy can act on it-

save a lot of lives.

But if it's a trap...

...God help the men

in those ships.

Why wouldn't it be legitimate?

A radio operator reads code,

not people's minds.

Maybe the guy

who signed himself Bouchard

is really Sisahamshi Bushahashi.

Maybe Bouchard is dead.

What if he is dead?

Then maybe the Japs

will be expecting you.

These are things I don't know.

But I know this.

Unless that message

is nailed down and verified,

the convoy will follow

its original plan of attack.

The slide rule boys figure

that with good luck

we'll only lose 18%

of the fleet in the Jap minefields.

That's a lot of dead men.

But it's better than being sucked

into a trap and losing the whole works.

So, unless I get

the high sign from you...

...count on 18% casualties

before they even hit the beach.

But if it was Bouchard who sent

that message, and he told us the truth...

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