Dauntless: The Battle of Midway

J‘J‘J‘

J‘J‘J‘

J‘J‘J‘

J‘ And under the sunrise J‘

J‘ I think I will have to rise J‘

I And I know we will meet again I

I But I'm hoping we shared J‘

J‘ The things mattered and no one cared J‘

J‘ I just want to see your face again I

Norman Francis Vandivier.

Right where I left you.

- Didn't you promise never to walk through that door again?

- Yeah, well, you make a lot of promises

when you're puking up a gallon of Mai Tais.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you too, Jim.

Back from your exile in Panama?

As a matter of fact, I am.

We asked the Navy real nice if we could come back to Pearl.

Surprisingly, they said yes.

- Yeah. You always were persuasive.

It wasn't just me.

When I told the brass that Norman Vandivier

wasn't having any fun without me,

they signed the orders right away.

- Well. - Yeah.

Wish I had known about my amazing

influential name before.

Welcome home.

- It's damn good to be back.

I swear, Panama must be what hell is like.

- Hmm. - It's hot.

There are mosquitoes the size of birds.

And crocodiles. Goddamn crocodiles.

- Hmm. So where's your band of misfits?

- Uh, well, they hit the Hotel Street

as soon as we hit the dock.

I came here on account of the fact

that you owe me so many drinks.

- Well, you're way behind.

What'll it be, Lieutenant?

- Let's get a whiskey and soda.

That I can do.

Who's the letter to?

Some beautiful hula girl?

- Aw, shucks, Lieutenant, I'm just writing my ma.

Hmm. Yeah.

- The only girl in my life is the Big "E".

Right. Big "".E

She is one hell of a lady, huh?

She's got men inside of her 24 hours a day.

- Ah. Jealousy, such an ugly thing.

No. No. It's not jealousy.

- It's just that I happen to have a new lady

in my life as well, thanks for asking.

- Ooh. - Yeah.

- Okay. - Brand-new PBY Catalina.

Well, congratulations.

- Thank you. You know, she's a real beaut.

Faster and sexier than the old model.

Hmm.

Who's jealous now?

- Well, the Dauntless is no speed demon, but...

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't wanna race me.

- I'm sure she's fast in the dive,

but how fast is she in the water?

- Well, let's hope I never find that out.

- Ag reed. - ...attacked the Wake Island.

- Cheers, bro. - And this morning,

the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

The United States of America

is suddenly and deliberately attacked

by naval and air forces

of the Empire of Japan.

I have,

with the Congress, declare

that since the unprovoked

and dastardly attacks by Japan

on Sunday, December 7th, 1941,

a state of war

has existed

between the United States

and the Japanese Empire.

J‘J‘J‘

- You tell the ladies you're a helldiver,

and they just swoon.

- I haven't flown a biplane since training.

- That's not the point. They hear helldivers,

and they think of the movie. They think of Clark Gable.

Then you're in. - I don't even know

what this movie is about besides helldivers.

And I can't dance. - There wasn't no dancing in it.

You're thinking of Gene Kelly.

No, I'm not.

He danced in that movie.

That big number with Norma Shearer.

"Idiot's Delight"? You saw a stinker like that,

but you didn't see a classic like "Hell Divers"?

- I guess not. - That's a damn disgrace

of a naval aviator who hasn't seen "Hell Divers."

- Prepare to launch plane. Prepare to launch plane.

- We've completed our turn into the wind, sir.

We're ready to launch on your word.

Get the planes in the air.

Aye, sir.

- Yes, sir? - Launch. Launch. Launch.

Aye, aye, sir.

J‘J‘J‘

Clear the flight deck.

J‘J‘J‘

- When we get back to Pearl, I'll have to catch

that Hell Diver flick. - You'll love it.

You'll be using it to pick up the clean girls in port

before you know it.

Can't wait.

Good hunting, Ramsay. - Good hunting.

J‘J‘J‘

Pilots, start your engine.

J‘J‘J‘

- Morning, Lee. - Morning, sir.

- Don't tell me you've been sitting here since reveille.

No, sir.

Well...

not entirely, sir.

- So you did the preflight checks then?

Twice, sir.

Why twice?

- There's been some mechanical problems

with the SBDs this morning.

I didn't want to be one of them.

That's good thinking.

I'd hate for us to get all dressed up

and have nowhere to go.

Looks like we're up, sir.

You ready?

- I'm excited, sir. Just a little nervous.

Yeah. That's totally healthy.

I'll never forget how nervous I was

the first time I did a night takeoff.

You serious?

You took off a carrier at night?

Not exactly.

A night takeoff is when you throttle up off the deck

with your eyes closed.

Really?

Sir?

Hold on.

This is always the worst part.

Launch plane. Launch plane.

J‘J‘J‘

Just remember,

if anything happens,

don't panic, all right?

If we end up in the drink on the takeoff,

there's a beautiful destroyer there

waiting to pick us up.

Aye, sir.

J‘J‘J‘

Here we go.

J‘J‘J‘

Woo-hoo!

What a thrill, huh?

J‘J‘J‘

- You'll always remember your first time.

Absolutely, sir.

- Be hell a lot better once we see some Jap carriers.

Falling into formation with VB-6.

J‘J‘J‘

J‘J‘J‘

Does it--

Does it always take this long?

No.

That pompous ass Browning

probably hasn't crawled out of bed yet to give us

the go-ahead.

Yeah.

I don't--

It looks like more mechanicals down there to me.

Probably.

But I like my version better.

- Either way, it's better we're up here

than down there.

It's gonna be a shitty day to push planes.

You're damn right, sir.

I'm--

I'm ready for some action.

- As long as the Wildcats are doing their job,

we probably won't see a whole lot.

J‘J‘J‘

- Sir? - I see it.

And so does McClusky.

Pulling into formation.

J‘J‘J‘

Where--

Where are the Wildcats and Devastators at?

Huh.

Must be a no-frills operation.

Don't worry.

Brass knows what they're doing.

If all else fails, that's what those shiny guns

are there for, right?