In Washington, high-ranking Navy and Army officers meet in closed conference.
After months of secret preparations...
...a far-reaching, combined operation is about to begin.
Continued secrecy is imperative...
...for the plan's success.
We've cornered the chili sauce market for you, sir.
Good work, Cookie. Got steaks to go with it?
Yes, sir.
Captain, last torpedo's on board.
- Right. I'll be at the dock phone. - Aye, aye, sir.
Any luck on that Oklahoma City call?
Sorry, Captain Cassidy, I haven't gotten through to your wife.
You know how it is. Christmas Eve.
Yes, I know how it is.
Thank you. Cancel the call.
Hi, Rocky. That kid of yours been born yet?
- Yes, sir. It's a boy. - What, no cigar?
- Congratulations, Rocky. - Thank you, sir.
- Captain. - What, Sparks?
- I got the record changer all hooked up. - So I hear.
The crew certainly does appreciate your gift, sir.
Well, after five patrols, I appreciate my crew, Sparks.
Full fuel, lube, oil, battery and fresh water.
Engineering department ready for sea, sir.
Request permission to warm up the main engine.
- Okay, Larry. - Thank you, sir.
Sweetheart, we're shoving off ahead of schedule.
Something urgent.
I tried to telephone you and the children...
...to wish you a merry Christmas...
...and to tell you I'm now wearing three stripes on my sleeve...
...and some embarrassingly shiny scrambled eggs on my cap.
I hope you like the nylon stockings, darling.
Don't ask me how I got them.
Tell Michael I couldn't find a toy submarine.
Tell him it's the war. He'll understand.
There's even a shortage of teddy bears, but I found one for Debby.
I hope her chickenpox didn't leave any marks on that sweet face.
Full torpedoes onboard. All tubes loaded and ready for war shot.
Full ammunition and pyrotechnics onboard.
- Gunnery department ready for sea, sir. - Very well, Pete.
- Send in the mail orderly, please. - Aye, aye, sir.
I've got the same good crew. A few new men from sub school.
If we were together tonight, darling...
- Mail orderly, captain. - Mail this before we shove off.
Aye, aye, sir.
All hands aboard. All departments ready for sea.
Secured quarters.
They won't kick you upstairs.
- You're too valuable at sea. - Who's kidding who?
I'll be fighting from a desk after this patrol, Andy.
Gather around, men.
I'm sorry your liberty was cut short.
The Navy would've let us have Christmas ashore if this wasn't important.
The men who've been with me know I don't believe in fight talks.
When a man gives a fight talk, he needs one himself.
For the benefit of newcomers, you're here because you volunteered.
You're well-trained, highly selected men, and we're glad to have you aboard.
You may be infants in the submarine service...
...but you'll be veterans by the time we make port again.
We've had pretty fair luck so far.
Let's hope we really smear them this time.
- Dismiss the crew. - Aye, aye, sir.
Leave your quarters.
Shore connection is clear. Topside secured, all except mooring lines.
Okay, chief.
All tested out. Ship ready for getting under way, sir.
Number one and two main engines on propulsion.
Okay, let's go.
Single up!
Answer bells.
Take in one!
Pull five! Port, back one-third.
Port, stop.
Take in five!
All ahead one-third.
- Hatch secured. - Report, forward room rigged for diving.
What do you think you are? The pipes of Pan?
This, Dakota, is a genuine Nazi flute.
- I paid an Atlantic sailor 5 bucks for it. - Nazi flute?
You can get them in Frisco for four bits.
- You know of Tarpon Springs, Florida? - Sure.
- You do? - Yeah.
The best fishermen in the world are the Greeks, my people.
You're Greek?
- Greek-American. - What's your name?
Leos Deopoulis Gurfelis Junior. That "junior" is pure American.
But seeing you're off a destroyer we'll settle for "Tin Can." Okay?
Okay, just so long as nobody around here calls me "Hey, Greek."
- I'm sensitive. - Oh, Mike.
Surprise.
Here's that 5-spot I borrowed.
- Fine time to pay me back. - But I did pay you.
There goes one of the nicest guys that ever borrowed 5 bucks from me.
Why doesn't the captain wear his decorations?
- Doesn't need to. - We heard a lot about him at sub school.
You can believe anything that was good.
Those torpedoes cost 12,000 bucks apiece. Our skipper doesn't waste them.
He's got more plain intestinal fortitude than any guy I ever met.
I'd follow him right into the mikado's bathtub.
Do you think we'll see action?
Good. That's why I got off that four-stacker.
Up and down, nothing but escorting. Made me sick.
- Sitting on a beehive? - I know. He wants a medal.
Who cares about medals? I got a better reason.
Pipe down. Look.
In all my 12 years in the Navy, I never seen a doll on a submarine.
I won her, Mike. Cute, huh?
- She gonna bunk with you? - Yep.
She's a liberty gimmick. Makes gals jealous.
- Jealous of that doll? - Sure.
I take her into a joint, sit her on a table.
Then we have a long talk. It never fails.
Dame comes up and says, "That's the best you can do?"
I says, "That's up to you, honey."
What happens then?
- How old are you, Tommy? - Nineteen.
Come back next year.
Say, that's a cute military objective you got there.
- That's my sister. - Oh, intelligent too.
Well, if you boys don't mind, Nita and I, we want to be alone, don't we?
See? It's cute. I told you. You know, it works all the time.
Passed the submarine net, captain.
Well, Andy, it'll be a long time between beers.
Merry Christmas, Mike.
Merry Christmas, Tommy.
This is the first Christmas I ever spent underwater.
You should have been aboard with us Christmas Day 1941.
The Japs sure gave us a Christmas present.
Blasted the living daylights out of us off Lingayen Gulf.
Between depth charges, we ate Christmas dinner in the dark...
...200 feet down. Ice water and sandwiches.
Well-sprinkled with rust and chips of paint that kept flying off the bulkheads.
- Bet you said your prayers. - I sure did. Some extra Hail Marys too.
- You think prayers do any good, Mike? - Sure, they do.
Some guys say, "Go ahead, prove to me there's a God."
I don't argue. I just know, like I know there's salt in the sea.
That's the way it is with me too.
Look, Mike, if we get depth-charged, and I show any signs of being yellow...
...you sock me. - Right on the button.
- That's a promise? - It's a promise.
If I were in Connecticut now...
...Mother and Dad would come in to wake me singing Christmas carols.
It's sort of a custom they started when I was a kid.
Pretty, ain't it? Those guys practice all year for this.
- Merry Christmas. - Merry Christmas, you guys!
- Merry Christmas, Tin Can! - Happy Noel.
Same to you and many more.
Merry Christmas, skipper.
Merry Christmas, fellas.
Merry Christmas, skipper.
And a very merry Christmas to you gents.
We'll have to top the diesels.
Hey, get a load of him, will you?
Presents.
"For Pills, the pharmacist's mate, a mournful knell.
He dropped his vitamins down the periscope well."
So, what do you got?
"The new kid forward is wiser but sadder.
Since he stepped on the skipper coming down the ladder!"
I apologized.
"On Wolf's grave, a wreath is laid.
Since he tangled his line with that chambermaid."
- Come on, open it. - Open it!
You should have had it filled.
"All hands get ready to upchuck this dinner.
With Cookie in the galley, we're going to get thinner."
Fine, listen.
If that ain't a new high for gratitude.
Who practically mothers all the guys on this ship?
I do.
Who bends over a hot stove all day long for you guys?
I do.
Who's going to get all the glory when you sink a Jap ship?
You! That's who.
Who's gonna get the medals from this war? You guys!
And what am I going to get? Nothing but varicose veins and dishwater hands!
Open it! Open it!
What have you got? Open it.
Gee, guys.
You shouldn't have done it.
Lookouts to the bridge.
Keep your eyes peeled, kid.
All submarines look alike. We're nobody's friend.
Even our ships will shoot first and ask questions afterward.
He listens to you like you were a tin god.
- Look pretty snappy today, captain. - You know, Christmas.
- Coffee, sir. - Thank you.
- All clear starboard. - All clear port.
You fellas know me. I'm no highbrow.
When I come home, if there's any grand opera playing...
...the whole Connors family goes down there twice a week.
Don't ask me why, but to me, it's like going down in a sub.
You shove off, go deep under the sea.
When you come back up...
...you got something inside that's never been there before.
Irish and Greeks, born philosophers.
I got a philosophy too.
Every day a box of Cracker Jacks with a prize in every package.
I feel sorry for you. You don't know what family means.
Family means a house has a mortgage, the kids have measles...
...and the old man pays for the insurance when he's dead. No, not for Wolfie.
The only babies I want are those born 21 years ago.
Captain has given permission to pick up the San Francisco newscast.
This broadcast comes to you from the Friendly Credit Company.
The Friendly Credit Company trusts you. Any amount from $ 25 to $ 1000.
And so Christmas Day is bright on all fronts.
San Francisco police are continuing the manhunt for a sailor...
...wanted on several counts.
The woman making the complaints insists on prosecution.
The sailor was last seen boarding a United States submarine at Mare Island.
The sailor is known to the girls only as "Wolf."
- Well, Wolfie! - Shut up.
However, his shipmates volunteered information to the police.
Enough to send him up for 1042 years.
The Wolf has been described as a body of man entirely surrounded by women.
- He's... - Terrific!
Terrific.
It's just a gag, Wolfie. Just a gag.
Captain give you permission to pull that stunt?
- Yes, sir. - I was in on the gag too.
- Were you? - Well, just around the edges.
- Plane coming in at the sun! - Clear the bridge! Take her down!
- Hatch secured! - Battle stations manned.
Main induction closed.
What was it?
Looked like a four-motor bomber to me.
Pressure in the boat, sir.
Level off at 150 feet.
- Rig for depth charge. - Rig for depth charge.
Close main vents.
Main vents closed, sir.
- Blow negative. - Blow negative.
- Close negative flood. - Close negative flood.
Negative flood closed, sir.
- Level off at 150. - Level off at 150.
- Zero bubble. - Zero bubble.
Open all vents.
- All ahead one-third. - All ahead one-third.
All answering ahead one-third, sir.
- Pump from auxiliary to sea. - Auxiliary to sea!
- Can we hear it when it comes? - Yep, son.
We'll hear it, all right.
- Isn't there anything we can do? - Yep. We're doing it.
Maybe it's one of our own planes.
If we sink, it doesn't matter who drops the bombs.
Think they can see our shadow from the air?
That's what we're finding out.
All clear, sir.
Let's go up for a look-see. Periscope depth.
Periscope depth. Five degrees up angle.
- Twenty-degree rise on the bow planes. - Five degrees up angle.
- Twenty-degree rise, sir. - Take charge of your planes.
Up a foot.
Maybe that plane had feathers.
Looks as if we dunked for a four-motored albatross.
Service, down scope. Have a merry Christmas, men.
- Gee, fellas. I could have sworn... - Albatross have retractable landing gear?
Lookouts to the bridge!
- You can hear that motor so plain! - Key down. He feels bad enough.
Watch out, or they'll give you an E for imagination.
Lay off him, Rocky.
That's all right, son.
I'd rather submerge for 100 birds than not submerge for one plane.
Thank you, sir.
- All clear starboard. - All clear port.
Hello, Andy.
Almost 24 hours out now, skipper. About time to open orders?
Three minutes to go, Andy.
I got a hunch it's something big.
Last night, I dreamed we upped periscope.
Right in the middle of the entire Jap imperial fleet.
Passing in review.
- Did we sink them all? - With one torpedo.
Billiard shot.
By the way, there's a man from the forward room.
Wants to see you on a matter of vital importance.
- Torpedoman Adams. - Send him in.
I was told I'd have to ask you, sir.
Go ahead. Ask me.
Sir, at sub school, we saw a lot of pictures of submariners...
...coming back from patrols with beards.
- So you want to grow one? - Yes, sir.
- Think you can? - Sir, I'd like to find out.
Well, I'll tell you, Adams.
First patrol, we all grew beards. I had a pip.
The second patrol was half and half.
Then we decided beards are itchy. They get greasy. We keep a trim ship.
Makes sense we have a trim crew to man her.
Yes, sir.
But I don't want to cheat you of a beard on your first patrol.
Oh, that's all right, sir. I only shave twice a week anyway.
If I could grow one, it'd look a little limp.
I'll stick to shaving twice a week, sir.
Maybe when we get back, you'll be shaving three times a week.
Thank you, sir. I guess I'd better get back and do what I was doing.
Thank you.
Send the quartermaster with the chart catalog.
Captain wants the chart catalog, Rocky.
- Chart catalog, sir. - Thank you. Stand by.
- Has he come yet? - No. He's still in there.
- Bring in chart 1291. - Aye, aye, sir.
Just get out that old chart of Tahiti. I got a tomato in Papeete.
Poetry.
Gonna write a letter to your wife every night?
- Yep. Sort of keeps us in touch. - Doesn't make sense if there's no mail.
Who knows? We might hit Australia.
Then again, we might not.
Funny thing about submarines.
The crew always knows where we're going before the captain does.
Holy smoke! Tokyo?
I always wanted to see those geisha gals up-close.
Too bad you didn't study "Japany" lingo.
Listen, my kind of language is international.
How are we going to get into Tokyo Bay?
The Copperfin just naturally sprouts wings.
We fly over the nets and the minefields...
...plumb in the middle of the harbor. - Tokyo Bay. Perfect.
Bet we sink 70,000 tons. 20 bucks, even money.
- Seventy thousand tons. You're nuts. - Look, I got a reason to have luck.
Where I go, there's gonna be dead Japs.
- What is this reason of yours? - Never mind. Anybody wanna bet?
It's a secret between him and Roosevelt. I'll take the bet.
I'll pay off double if we make it.
Only two guys whistle in the Navy. Boatswain's mates and boots.
You a boatswain's mate?
I'm sorry, Mike. I forgot.
You hear that music?
- Reminds me of a dame I knew in Frisco. - Here we go again.
She was built for speed, like a destroyer.
- Oh, now I listen. - Kind of compact too, like a submarine.
She was coming down Sutter Street. Off my starboard beam.
I sees her and says, "Up periscope."
I gives my motor a third back and maneuvers for an opening shot.
She picks me up on her detector.
Gives her rudder a hard left. Makes like she's looking in the window.
Naturally, I gives my rudder a hard right and moves...
...right up alongside her. She's beautiful. But beautiful!
Comes up to about my chin. Fits just right.
Well, neither of us breaks silence.
Naturally, there's a long pause. We're both running on batteries now.
Something electric is going on between her and me.
I'd been on patrol three months.
And this was my first night ashore.
Now, you guys know how it is.
There she was in a nice, clean, crisp, lacy blouse.
And she looked just like she had a bath.
So she looked like she had a bath.
She even smelled like geranium.
So she even smelled like geraniums. Then what?
Here we are, hove to, with her smelling like geraniums...
...and me with three months' pay in my whites.
- I'll never forget it! - Never forget what, Wolf?
Some dames have lips that are curved all right.
But when you kiss them, you find they have lips as hard as a warhead?
Well, you could tell hers was as soft as silk.
Just enough lipstick. Just right.
Well, what did you do about it?
I was so busy drinking her in out of my starboard lamps...
...that I don't see this Market Street commando hove to alongside her.
I'm trying to get a recognition signal out of her...
...when this sailor busts right in and says:
"Would you like one of those lacy things?"
She says, "Sure." And they go in and buy one.
- Well, what did you do? - Me? I'm murdered!
There I am, anchored, dead in the water...
...looking in the window. She's picking out one.
And this Market Street commando is giving me the gloat!
Am I burnt. I'm dying!
My first night in. There she'd been, standing next to me.
- Smelling like geraniums. - Okay, we been through that.
This Market Street commando peels off some lettuce and pays.
And she's smiling as sweet as a dream.
And there I am, outside the window, bulkheads busted in.
Next thing I know, she gives this guy a kiss.
And the next thing I know, she's making for my anchorage...
...with his stuff under her arm, and she's saying to me:
"Going my way, submariner?"
Then what happened, Wolf?
She was built for speed, but like I said, kid...
...kind of compact too, like a submarine.
According to the orders, we're to pick up the lieutenant here at point x-ray.
A PBY boat will meet us at 1430.
Why are they flying him down?
Save us going out of our way to pick him up. Time's important.
- Who is he? - Aerology specialist.
North Pacific area.
All we have to do is put him ashore in Japan.
You are showing signs of needing a sun lamp.
From now on, sign up. Everybody, once a day.
- You ever want to be a real doctor, Pills? - Yeah.
I was one of those wise guys who didn't know where he was going.
Funny place to find out, on submarines.
- What college did you go to? - California.
Only a year. Then I signed up.
I had an A in chemistry, so they made me a pharmacist's mate.
Ain't it wonderful what an education will do?
When I got out of third grade, I took a job at Coney Island.
- Frying hot dogs. - You should have stuck to hot dogs.
Where's that half-baked barber?
You finishing college when the war's over?
Yep. Putting my pay and a half in war bonds.
Working my way through college underwater.
Pills, if anything happened to us while we're out on patrol...
...if we got conked off, you figure we'd see our folks in the hereafter?
I wouldn't bank on it.
My old man wouldn't be overjoyed to see me. He never thought I was much good.
- I like to think we got souls... - I don't know.
All those guys I cut up at school, never found a soul inside.
Well, what does that prove, Pills?
Say you trust a guy.
You can't see the trust, but it's there.
- I'm from Missouri, Mike. - I'm not exactly religious.
- But don't you think God... - No, I don't.
My angle is, I only believe what I can see.
- Are you an atheist? - Call it what you like.
The Japs turn the heat on us, I'll watch you pray.
I've seen it happen before.
- Say, you guys know what? - No, what?
There's something screwy about this detour or whatever it is.
We'll know before long.
Hey, Yo Yo, mind if I use your office? Something private.
- Sure. - Thanks.
That's the third time he's asked me.
Well, maybe he's writing poems.
There you are, my little scissorbill.
Get thee behind me.
Mind you, no politics, no ball games, no hair down my neck.
Nothing but barbering.
Well, Cookie, looks like we're getting pretty close to enemy waters.
Now, Tommy, don't go getting yourself all worried.
Think we ought to take the hat off?
Well, don't you think we'd better?
- Clippers? - Yes, thanks.
You see, Tommy, there's always one of two things about a submarine.
In the first place, either the enemy finds you, or he doesn't.
If he doesn't find you, there's nothing to worry about.
But if he does, there is still one of two things.
Either he drops a depth charge, or he don't.
If he doesn't, there's nothing to worry about. If he does...
...then there's still one of two things.
Either he drops it close to you or far away.
If he drops them far away, it's foolish to worry.
If he drops them near you...
...then there is still one of two things to worry about.
And that is...
Don't cut too much off.
If your pressure hull holds.
Of course, if it holds, wouldn't it be foolish to worry?
If it doesn't, you won't be able to worry, so why worry?
Are you through?
Yes.
He was worth waiting for. He's a good barber. That looks fine.
You next?
One thousand fathoms, sir.
Rudder amidships. Steady on course.
- Two-nine-zero. - Eight hundred fathoms.
Right, five degrees rudder. New course, 295. All motors stop.
Three hundred fathoms.
Stations for battle surface.
Ready on all main engines.
Down scope.
All engines, ahead one-third.
Has the radio man picked up anything on the frequency?
Contact established, sir.
Plane to starboard, sir.
Hold your fire.
Stand by to challenge.
Okay, Rocky.
Challenge.
Plane answered challenge correctly, captain.
All stop. Rudder amidships.
Always nice to see those stars on the wing.
You know, I'd sure like to hook an Aleutian salmon.
Cute if I opened him up, and there was a Jap in there.
Fried Jap in tartar sauce.
I'll take mine boiled in oil.
I'll go down and get him.
Lieutenant Raymond. McCary. Welcome aboard.
- Thank you. - Come up, meet the captain.
Thanks.
Lieutenant Raymond reporting.
- Glad to have you aboard. - Glad to be aboard.
- Ready on one and two. - You already know McCary.
- Yes, sir. We've met. - How was your trip?
It was pretty rough. Is my aerology gear aboard?
Under lock and key.
If you'll go below, we'll arrange for your berthing later.
- I'd like to get this ship out of here. - Yes, sir.
How do I get below? I've never been aboard a submarine before.
There's the hatch. It goes down.
Yes, sir.
Hey! Bear a hand. I got a bite.
Planes approaching, dead astern!
Jap float Zeros.
All ahead full! Ten degrees right rudder!
Commence firing!
Get him smack in the teeth!
Unexploded bomb forward!
We ought to be diving.
Got six fathoms under us. Gotta get on.
Coming in low! Get down!
Good work, Wolf!
- Is he hurt badly? - I think so, sir.
There he goes.
If that Nip doesn't get out of there, he'll end up with a hot seat.
I could pop him off with a clear conscience.
He looks awful lonesome up there.
Okay.
The unexploded bomb is wedged in the superstructure.
Let's have a look at it. Larry, take the watch.
Pick up that Jap aviator. I want to question him.
We'll have to bring out the cutting torches.
No time.
I'll get your pigeon for you.
Okay, Mike. We'll put him to roost.
Looks like the war is over for you, son.
Mike!
That's enough, kid.
Where's Mike?
Dakota is taking him below.
Mike looked up like he wanted me to do something.
I just stood there.
Me too. It happened so fast.
We need a man to pull the teeth of an unexploded bomb.
Volunteers to the control room.
Mike would be alive now if I hadn't just stood there.
Stow it. These things happen every day.
If you want to take it out on somebody, take it out on the Japs, not yourself.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
It boils down to a matter of thickness. The bomb is wedged in a tight spot.
And neither the captain or I can get to it.
Back home, they used to call me "Slim."
You'll do, "Slim."
Take this and that off.
Your volunteer, captain.
Know what you're volunteering for?
Yes, sir. The bomb.
It's wedged under the superstructure. That's not all.
That Jap may have radioed our position. If planes come while we're down there...
...we'll have to drink a lot of water.
I'll go with you, captain.
Okay, Tommy. Get down below.
In case of another attack, take her down.
Aye, aye, sir.
Clear the decks. Diving stations!
Son...
...that bomb may be a dud because the firing pin's fractured.
If it is, the slightest jar will set it off.
So take it very easy.
Here. You'll need this web wrench.
Tell me when you reach the bomb, but don't touch it.
- Reached the bomb. - Don't touch it yet.
Look carefully around the base of the fuse.
The bomb may be a booby trap, so it will blow up at the slightest touch.
Do you see any hammer marks or slight indentations?
- No, captain. - All right.
Now, very carefully...
...feel the nose.
Can you feel any marks?
No marks, sir.
Very gently now...
...place the web wrench around the fuse.
It unscrews counterclockwise.
Right to left.
You got that?
Yes, sir. It's in place.
- It unscrews left to right, sir. - Right to left! Right to left!
I'm sorry, sir.
I heard you all right. I repeated it wrong.
Right to left, sir. I'm a little nervous.
Stop and take a breath.
You're doing fine.
Well, I guess Mike got it quicker, that's all.
Shut up.
- Talking don't bother a bomb. - It bothers me.
Dakota, I once knew a dame who had a temperament just like a bomb.
Laugh? No laugh.
Start unscrewing it gently. Just use gradual pressure.
Right to left.
- Right. - Easy.
Easy. Just loosen it.
- I've loosened it, sir. - Now, carefully...
...remove the wrench.
Turn the fuse by hand.
Easy.
Very, very gently, son.
Easy does it.
Got "made in U. S. A." stamped on it.
The appeasers' contribution to the war effort.
Take it and stew it, Cookie.
Adams, you did a fine job.
You earned yourself a higher rating.
Thank you, sir.
You got a great pair of shoes to fill, Tommy.
One kid's shoe.
And one pipe...
...stem broken.
That completes the inventory.
Mike was a first-class torpedoman...
...in more ways than one.
Where's the kid?
He went aft. He feels kind of low.
Wonder if we should have told the exec about that package...
...Mike used to keep under his sack. - What package?
Well...
...every time he borrowed Yo Yo's office...
...he took it along with him.
Hey, maybe it's one of them censored records.
Say, we could do with a laugh.
I thought Mike was acting secret when he used to come in here.
Hello, honey.
I hope you play this record once in a while while you're away.
It'll mean you're missing me like I miss you...
...from the moment you shove off, every single time.
Have I ever told you how much those homecoming bear hugs mean to me?
Gosh, darling, you could break all my ribs, having you back is so good.
The kids miss you and make believe you're at the table each night.
I don't think they know what being married 10 years...
...to a sweet guy like you is like.
I do, thank God.
Means you've made me the happiest woman alive.
I hope I've made you happy, Mike.
I always tried my darnedest...
...because I love you...
...with every bit of my heart.
"And whilst we consign...
...his remains to the deep...
...we the living pray thee heavenly Father...
...to grant him eternal peace and rest...
...through Christ Jesus, our Lord."
Amen.
Why weren't you up there?
I got no use for burials.
Oh, coffee's more important, huh?
- You don't think I care he's dead? - Why didn't you come up?
- Sorry for that Jap? - Shut up! I don't take that from nobody!
I'm surprised at you guys, all of you.
You ought to have sense enough not to get such dumb ideas!
- I told you, I had my reasons. - Bilge!
Look.
I had an uncle lived in the old country, see.
A real high-class guy, not like me.
You know what he was?
He was a teacher of philosophy.
To be that in Greece, the home of philosophy...
...you got to be A-number-one smart, and that was my uncle.
So they killed him, them Nazis.
They stood him up against the wall. You know why?
Because he had brains.
And everybody's got to be their slave. Them that won't, like my uncle, they kill.
My old man was no good.
He was a boozer. He died in bed having the D. T.'s.
But my uncle, a man with education and charity...
...who used to send my ma what to eat with.
Him, they stood up against the wall. And that sticks in here with me.
The difference between them and us...
...is, with us even the no-good gets a chance to die in his own bed.
So I don't forget my uncle.
An American flier gets killed, I think of my uncle.
I see pictures of Chinese kids getting bombed, I think of my uncle.
A Russian guerrilla gets hanged, I think of my uncle.
I see Mike lying in there dead, I think of my uncle.
I ain't got room in here to see one of our guys get buried.
Not yet. Not until I've done something to even the score.
So I eat with it, and I sleep with it.
So be sore at me, you dopes.
- I'm sorry, Tin Can. - Attention.
At ease, men.
- Trying to figure out about Mike? - Yes, sir.
Well...
...officers and men on submarines are closer together...
...than in most branches of our Navy.
Mike was with me on my first patrol.
He was my friend. I know his family.
His wife's a fine, great-hearted woman.
I know his kids.
I remember Mike's pride when he bought the first pair of roller skates for his boy.
They were the finest roller skates that money could buy.
Roller skates for a 5-year-old.
Well, that Jap got a present too, when he was 5.
Only it was a dagger.
His old man gave him a dagger, so he'd know what he was supposed to be.
The Japs have a ceremony that goes with it.
At 7, a Jap kid is taking marches under an army instructor.
At 13, he can put a machine gun together blindfolded.
That Jap started on the road 20 years ago to putting a knife in Mike's back.
There are lots of Mikes dying right now.
And a lot more Mikes will die...
...until we wipe out a system that puts daggers in the hands of 5-year-olds.
You know...
...if Mike were here to put it into words now...
...that's just about what he died for.
More roller skates in this world.
Including some for the next generation of Japanese kids...
...because that's the kind of a man Mike was.
- What's that you're reading? - San Francisco telephone directory.
- I collect names. - What do you do with them?
Just meditate. Wonder what kind of people go with the names.
- Wonder what the names mean. - Names don't mean nothing.
- Oh, no? - No.
- Well, my name's Wainwright. - Wainwright. So what?
My grandpa used to build wagons. A wainwright's a guy who builds wagons.
- Like covered wagons? - Sure.
Maybe he built some wagons crossed the plains.
Some grandpas built houses. Name's Carpenter.
Some grandpas made clothes. Name's Tailor.
Some guy's grandpa built wheels for my grandpa's wagons.
Name's Wheelwright, a guy who builds wheels.
Sun lamp ready in the forward room. Come on, GI sunshine.
Don't tell me the captain finally gave up that sun lamp.
Phone books are fascinating. I'm nuts about them.
Personally, I use phone books for long shots.
In San Diego, I had nothing to do and nothing on my mind...
Except skirts.
So I sees this phone book. I flip it open. I come to a name.
Rosalie Riley.
"Pretty name," I says to myself. "I wonder what she's like."
- So... - So you call her up.
No. Why waste time?
I go right out to her house, 21 Valley Road.
Never forget it. Had roses all over the place.
Very pretty. Very pretty indeed.
- Red and pink roses... - Now we're going to pick roses.
I pick a rose. So I got something to talk about when she comes to the door.
Up I go to the door.
I ring the bell. And I hear a very nice voice from the inside.
"Wait a minute," she says. "I'm in the bathtub."
Every girl you meet is in the bathtub!
I haven't met her yet. I'm on her porch!
Naturally, I sit down.
I'm rocking back and forth, back and forth.
Skip the details. Who cares if you're rocking?
I'm just trying to give you the picture!
We got the picture!
You're in the bathtub! She's on the porch!
She's in the bathtub. I'm on the porch!
She comes to the door. My stomach flutters.
- She's beautiful! - Now his stomach flutters.
"Oh," she says, "I thought you were someone else. " "Disappointed?" I says.
You're there with a snappy comeback.
She says, "I can't ask you to come in."
"Of course not," I says, giving her pearly teeth. "But I can ask you to come out."
What did she say to that?
Well, she didn't say anything, that is, right away.
Then I proceeded to pour on the personality.
Then what did you do?
Now, wouldn't you like to know?
You give me a pain in the pancreas. You're always shooting off.
Stow it for the rest of this patrol. Some of us have sweethearts.
Yeah? Well, maybe some of us haven't.
Hasn't he been telling the truth?
No. You haven't been swallowing all that stuff, have you?
Captain.
Oh, this it?
I'm afraid to take a look.
Just hope it won't be Coney Island.
Well, I got on my lucky sweater.
What's the bearing?
Zero-five-zero, captain.
Smack on the button. Take a look.
Right down Fujiyama's throat.
Nice work, Andy. Check your tangents.
Lieutenant Raymond to the conning tower.
Attention, all hands.
We're lying off the Japanese mainland. Thought you'd like to know.
Just like the postcards, huh?
You get a better look inside the bay, captain.
By the way, you think you can get inside the net?
- That's what orders say. - What about minefields?
- Can you see them underwater? - Nope. I wish I could.
But if you do get in, how are you going to get the ship out?
This is a sort of blind date, Raymond.
- We have to wait and see what happens. - Got my tangents, captain.
Okay, Andy. Down scope.
We'll break out a chart of the probable minefields.
Well, boys, looks as if we have to wait for a ticket in.
This is going to be like waiting to have your first tooth yanked.
Checking the gravity, captain.
How'd you happen to volunteer for the submarine service, captain?
Well, when I was a kid...
...I used to get a kick out of swimming underwater.
How's your wife feel about your shoving off on these patrols?
The way the wives of all the men in the services feel.
Did she know what she was getting into?
Not when she met me.
She was a blind date.
Not quite the same as the date we've got ahead.
It was dark. I couldn't see what she looked like.
- You find out what she looked like? - Yes.
You see, we have two kids by now.
I meant that night, sir.
No.
But I found you didn't need to know what a girl looked like to like her.
I liked her voice, the things she said, the way she laughed.
Still do.
I like the way she is with our kids.
I like everything about her.
What made you pick the Navy, Raymond?
Well, I was born and raised in Tokyo.
Tokyo, Japan?
- You speak Japanese? - Yes, he does.
- We expect to make good use of it soon. - Let's hear some.