Bat★21

Nice shot, Hamb.

I drilled a little to the left.

It's 15 feet from the goddamn hole.

I miscalculated the wind by a couple knots.

Give me a break.

Well, you know, it's all a matter of degrees.

The difference between the big money and not making the cut is razor-thin.

Well, I wasn't thinking about qualifying for the Masters.

Kind of had my sights set on the NBA.

HELICOPTER WHIRRS OVERHEAD

Well, your hook shot's working, Scotty.

Nice shot.

What do you think I'm doing wrong here?

I think you're standing too close to the ball.

Yeah. Pretty bad, huh?

After you hit it.

..Yeah?

They want you at ops right away, sir.

- Russian tanks, 8-inch guns, and APCs.

Seventh Air Force intelligence has been indicating

the possibility of a North Vietnamese/VC offensive.

Now, these photos confirm it.

NVA troops moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail,

south of the DMZ, near Quang Tri.

Now, they'll combine with Charlie

and try to hit us hard,

probably in several places at once.

Glad you could make it, Colonel.

Sorry, sir.

Strategic Air Command's putting everything it's got

in the air two days from now and will just clobber the hell out of them.

If we don't stop their movement,

or at least slow it down to a trickle,

our ground troops are going to take heavy casualties.

Now, our job remains the same,

fly alongside the bombers,

throw down your electronic smoke screens,

jam the missile radars.

Sir, why don't we put our surveillance aircraft up there first, sir?

Have them fly the same route the big boys are going to fly on their scheduled run.

Missile reaction can be recorded,

launch sites plotted.

Send the fighter jocks in there to just knock the hell out of them.

I really appreciate you volunteering us for this flight, Hamb.

Didn't think you had your sights set on being a full bird.

I've got my sights set on a condo

on the seventh fairway at Tucson National.

Six months from now, that's where the old lady and me will be.

That sounds awfully exciting(!)

You think that's exciting?

You should see the deck furniture.

Ha!

Mark. Start your music.

I've got a solid growl.

SAM on scope. I confirm a launch.

I got him.

Goddamn it. I didn't think they had SAMs this far south.

That's why we're here.

Have to go back and give them the bad news.

I've got another one.

SAM on scope. 2, salvo 3.

They're changing frequencies. I've got one.

Hold it steady. Got two.

- Got one visual. - Break left!

Break left! LOUD BUZZING

It's tracking us! It's locked!

We're hit! Everybody get out!

We're going down!

We're burning up!

Hit by SAM! Mayday! Mayday!

I've lost it. Crew eject! Crew eject!

I can't get out!

Red Scout One hit by SAMs!

Punch out, Hamb!

Come on, Scotty! Let's get out!

Right behind you!

Mayday! Mayday!

Punch out, Scotty! Somebody punch out!

'Recon pilots in quadrant Lima-Charlie-Six,

'Mayday transmitted by Red Scout EB-66.

'Look for smoke and chutes.

'Repeat, look for smoke and chutes.'

Roger.

02 FAC! 02, come in!

This is FAC 02, call sign Birddog.

Identify yourself.

Bat 21. I'm the parachute above you, one o'clock.

BEEPING

Have you in sight. Turn off your beeper, Bat 21,

or Charlie will get to you before the Jolly Greens.

Will advise. Happy landings.

Roger.

Bat 21, get out of that paddy!

Hooches to the south. Head north to the tree line.

Repeat, head north to the tree line.

Repeat, tree line north. Roger that?

Negative. I want to wait for the choppers.

Negative.

Let's get the basic relationship down here.

I'm the lifeguard. You're the drowning man.

If you relax, I can bring you to shore.

If you fight me, then I'll have to slap you around.

Now, get your ass in gear, mister!

Bat 21, Charlie's firing mortars from the south.

Advise at tree line. Repeat, advise at tree line.

PLANE APPROACHES

Birddog, this is Bat 21. I can't go any further.

Get the helis from this position.

- Copy, Bat 21. - What about the others?

Anybody else make it out?

None reported. We're still looking.

Just stay calm.

I'll try.

Don't worry, Bat 21. We'll get you out.

But it's not going to happen today.

All choppers busy evac-ing fire base at Quang Tri.

Company of guns overrun by Charlie.

Jolly Greens will pick you up in the morning.

Say again, your last transmission.

Repeat, Jolly Greens will pick you up in the morning.

There will be no pick-up today. Copy, Bat 21?

EXPLOSIONS IN THE DISTANCE

I copy, Birddog.

OK, listen, Bat 21.

I'm running low on juice. Have to return to base.

Birddog, thanks for your help.

That's what I'm here for.

Birddog, you going to be back?

That's the plan.

Birddog signing off. Keep your head down. See you later.

Bat 21 out.

PLANE FADES INTO DISTANCE

THEY SPEAK IN VIETNAMESE

SITAR MUSIC PLAYS

HE CHANTS

How was your flight, sir?

Same old shit, bad movies and terrible food.

Don't you, uh... don't you think

you're pushing it a little, Captain?

You've almost doubled the base record.

The base record? Sheesh!

I'll pin a medal on my chest(!)

Would you check my right aileron?

It's sticking a bit, OK?

Yeah, I got to replace it, sir.

How long will that take?

Well, I can borrow one from 453.

That's Anderson's ship.

The way he flies, Captain, he'll never miss it, sir.

Ha-ha-ha! I like your initiative, Sergeant.

Keep it up.

Well, we've pulled our share of pilots out of there,

but never a 53-year-old Lieutenant Colonel.

A 53-year-old Lieutenant Colonel?

That's right. Navigator on that EB.

They just gave me crew codes

and no names and ranks.

Well, I am told that Hambleton

is one of our top people.

He's an electronics countermeasure expert.

I am told that the Communists

will have a dossier on him that thick.

So, in the morning, when we get our birds back,

we're going to go in and get him.

Seventh Air Force does not want Charlie

getting their hands on him.

We'll get him tomorrow then, sir.

In the meantime, I want you

to go back out there tonight.

But he's not going anywhere, Colonel.

I know, because I'm going to make damn certain he's secure.

Then why don't you send Anderson?

Didn't he just get his pilot's licence?

You'd better watch it, Captain.

Look, sir, I'm tired, I'm two weeks short,

and that area is pretty hot,

and I don't want to get shot down

on some public-relations mission, OK?

All right, then, I'll make it easy for you, Captain.

It's an order, and you damn well will carry it out.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

Thank you for the ride, sir.

TWIG SNAPS

MEN SPEAK SOFTLY IN VIETNAMESE

BRANCH SNAPS

Phew! OK...

50 piasters.

THE OTHER MEN GROAN

Come on! Chickenshits! Chickenshits!

No way.

OK. Hey, Clarky, pull up a chair,

before these pigeons are totally penniless.

Another time. I got to go back up again tonight.

Going back up again?

Damn, putting in the hours.

Yeah. Tell Walker.

I got to start carrying my sleeping bag with me.

OK... I got two pair.

Three sixes.