FADE IN:

EXT. FIELD - DAY

A football game is in progress. Six guys on each side,

all in their late teens and early twenties, wearing

khaki pants, work shirts, T-shirts. OVER, we hear the

voice of BRUCE DERRINGER. The first player we see is

VIRGE HOOGESTEGER.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Virge Hoogesteger., What kind of

name is that? Nicknamed 'The

Virgin.' Well, look at him. Poor

kid probably tries to get a girl

into bed and she wants to make him

brush his teeth and wash behind

his ears.

Then we see JACK BOCCI bulldozing down one of the

defense players.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Look at this goon. Jack Bocci

from Brooklyn. He's a magician.

Wants to be the next Houdini.

Well, he's escaped twenty-four

missions. Not bad for an amateur.

Next, EUGENE McVEY nervously making a play.

BRUCE (V.O.)

This is the religious one.

There's always a religious one.

Eugene McVey. Nineteen from

Cleveland. There's always one

from Cleveland. High strung,

nervous, always coming down with

something. How'd he get in this

bunch?

Next, we see RICHARD "RASCAL" MOORE showing off.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Rascal? That can't be his real

name. Here we go. Richard Moore,

but called the Rascal. Thinks

he's a real ladies man. Talks

dirty, the whole bit. Well, he'll

grow out of it. If he grows at all.

Then we see CLAY BUSBY, cooly running with the ball.

(CONTINUED)

2.

CONTINUED:

BRUCE (V.O.)

Clay Busby, a farmer's son from

Louisiana. Plays piano and sings.

Listen to this. Learned piano in

a New Orleans whorehouse. Better

keep that out of the papers.

Last, we see DANNY DALY. He has the ball and is going

for the touchdown as his team urges him on.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Oh boy, this kid couldn't be more

Irish if he tried. Even his name,

Danny Daly. He's the

intellectual. Writes poetry.

Likes to read. Hates sports.

Danny makes the touchdown. He shouts with exhilaration

and raises the ball in triumph. Just then, a huge olive

drab B-17 bomber appears out of nowhere and roars

directly overhead. The game is forgotten and everyone

starts running towards a short, boxy control tower. Now

we see that the football field is a grassy area on the

side of an air field with three intersecting runways.

Men are coming from all over the base, on foot and

bicycle, shouting out the number of planes: five, seven,

nine, twelve! Planes are appearing all over the sky.

EUGENE:

Fifteen, sixteen!

JACK:

How many went out?

DANNY:

Twenty-one.

VIRGE:

There's another!

We MOVE UP TO the control tower. The balcony is crowded

with men. THROUGH the window we see the CO (Commanding

Officer) on the phone.

1A INT. CONTROL TOWER - DAY

The CO is in his early thirties, impeccably-dressed.

He's in charge and handles his many responsibilities

efficiently -- no detail is too small. In the b.g. are

the adjutant and other personnel.

(CONTINUED)

3.

1A CONTINUED:

CO:

Sir, they're still coming in.

How can I promise you 24 planes

tomorrow when they're not even

back?

The adjutant comes up to him with some papers, the CO

grabs them and motions the adjutant away. The CO is

shocked by what he hears. He speaks quietly.

CO:

Where? But we hit that target a

month ago, sir. I thought...

The voice on the other end interrupts.

CO:

I know we have to put the pressure

on, but I almost lost a quarter of

my...

The S-2, a scholarly, bespectacled young man, comes in

from the balcony and waits to get the CO's attention.

Frustrated, exasperated, the CO listens to the voice on

the other end.

CO:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I'll have my

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