Uncle Sam

- -

I see it just up ahead, sir.

Captain.

Must have buried in a sandstorm soon after it crashed.

Another storm revealed the wreckage.

-Did you find anybody from the crew? -No survivors.

All bodies badly burned beyond recognition.

Thank you, Captain.

- -Sergeant!

-Sir! -Get in that helicopter.

See if you can I.D. anybody by their tags.

-Now, son! -Yes, sir.

Damn it!

Goddamn it.

It's a crime we did this.

- -

-Friendly fire? -Sergeant!

I don't want to hear that crap!

These things happen in war. Now get on with it.

Master Sergeant Sam Harper.

Damn.

Don't be afraid. It's only friendly fire.

-[ Fireworks Exploding I -

Aaah!

- -Mom?

What is it?

-I got hurt. -Come on in.

-How'd that happen? -A picture fell over.

The glass broke, and I stepped on it.

Let me see.

Oh. I'll go get some antiseptic and a Band-Aid.

You'll be all right.

I had a dream... 'bout Uncle Sam.

He wasn't dead.

We were marching in a Fourth of July parade,

and everyone was cheering him.

Honey, you were so young when he went away.

You hardly remember him at all.

Yes, I do. He was always nice to me.

Jody, you're imagining that.

He never paid much attention to any of us.

You didn't like him a lot, did you?

Course I did. He was my brother.

You don't talk about Daddy much either.

That's entirely different.

Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to bed, please.

I didn't mean to bother you.

Just thought I might bleed to death.

-Good night. -Night.

Sleep tight.

- -

How come I can't come in?

You're supposed to be on duty.

Who's gonna know?

All right. I tell you what.

I'm gonna be off in about an hour. I can come back.

Just stop that and get on with your business.

We have all weekend.

Well, can I at least get a good night kiss?

You already did.

-[ Man I Mrs. Harper? -

Wh-- Who are you?

Oh, I-- I'm sorry to startle you.

You-You weren't in, so I-- I waited.

What do you want?

-It's about your husband. -Sam?

It's been over three years that--

My God. He-He's not alive?

A Kuwaiti military unit discovered his crashed helicopter in the desert.

They positively identified the body.

All this time not knowing--

Well, now-- If you want, he could be interred in a national cemetery.

N-No. There's a place for him next to his mother and father.

I'll make arrangements to stay on and supervise the details.

I-I'm stayin' at, uh-- at this motel if--

If you need any assistance on my part.

Thank you.

He's entitled to be buried with full military honors, Mrs. Harper.

He was a hero.

These are his dog tags.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Harper.

But you'll get over this in time.

Good night, ma'am.

Too many rolls and jelly doughnuts.

Too many mothballs too. Whew!

Sergeant Jed Crowley, reporting as ordered!

- -All of you dead...

but me.

God, how come it was me you let come home?

I-- I never made anything out of my life.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

- - They're coming. Look out, Sarge!

Hang on, everyone. This party's gonna get a little wild.

Blast it! I might as well be loading with a heap of empty helmets.

Just time enough to squeeze off one shot.

Sergeant Sam Harper takes his aim and-- Look out, Captain!

I've still got you up my wing. Bam!

Rat-tat-tat!

Rat-tat-tat!

Hey. Look at you. Aren't you going to work today?

-I'm taking the day off. - You look drained. What's the matter?

Uh, Jody, why don't you go get your books?

Okay.

Come on. Let's go.

Uh-- Did you clean up that broken glass in your room?

-Yeah, before I went back to sleep. -Okay.

Oh. What's the matter?

Somebody from the army came by the house late last night.

- -They found Sam's body.

Oh, my God.

For a minute, I thought that he was gonna tell me that he was still alive.

I thought about that so many times, about--

About him coming in the house,

walking through the door and it all starting all over again.

Why couldn't they have just sent a telegram?

I don't know.

They're arranging for the body to be sent back here.

I don't know how Phil is gonna react to all this.

Don't worry. He knows how you felt about Sam.

I thought I'd almost forgotten the way he made me feel,

the fear when I knew he was in the house and--

Maybe I can still tell them not to send the remains back.

Look, Louise, if you don't do the right thing,

people won't stop talking about it.

I know.

I didn't sleep all night.

Well, your house isn't big enough anyway.

We'll bring him here.

I'll just move the furniture out of the living room...

and start making all the phone calls.

I'll notify the funeral home for you, okay?

Thanks.

This is gonna be a Fourth of July we'll never forget.

Mr. Crandall?

-Yes, Jody? -Something happened at our house.

A soldier came and told us that my uncle's body got found over there in Kuwait.

Sam? Sam Harper? Yes.

Do you know he was a student in my class?

How'd the guy get killed?

He was a gunner in a chopper that got shot down.

But there was a lot of talk that it might have been us that did it.

Um, why would we shoot our own helicopter down?

Well, uh-- It's called "friendly fire."

You have to understand, mistakes are made in combat.

It's always a tragic situation when things like that happen.

My Uncle Sam, he fought in Grenada and down in Panama.

-He had medals. -

M-My Aunt Louise let me have them, if you want to see.

Um-- Yeah, sure.

Uh, bring 'em up here, Jody. Share with the class.

He was a master sergeant in a special assault unit.

When he got wounded down in Panama, they gave him this. It's a Purple Heart.

Were you ever in the army, Mr. Crandall?

Uh-- No, I-- I can't say that I ever was.

-How come? -

Well, I-1 grew up during Vietnam,

and, um, many people thought that was an unjust war.

Many young people, like myself, protested the war.

In fact, some people left the country for a while.

-Ran away? - Where'd they go?

It was a... very difficult thing to do, Jody,

but you have to understand that those who left the country...

felt it was a lesser evil...

than blindly following orders they knew were wrong.

My Uncle Sam said you guys were cowards.

- - Okay. Uh--

Please. Just take your seat.

- I didn't say you were. -

I just said that's what he said.

Okay, class. Take our your math books.

Turn to page 84.

I want you to copy these equations off the blackboard.

When I'm grown up, I'm going in the army,

just like Sam did,

and I'll do whatever the president says to do...

"cause he knows better.

I wanted to help them carry him in.

He was my uncle.

Is it all right if I touch it?

- -It's sealed.

How come I can't see him?

Well, your uncle suffered a great deal, son.

I have all his medals.

I want to put them inside. He should have them on.

You know what?

I think he'd rather you kept 'em.

You're very proud of him, aren't you?

He was the only one around here who ever did anything important.

In eight or nine years, I'll be able to enlist.

I bet you can't wait.

Nice to have met you, soldier.