JAG (1995–2005): Season 5, Episode 22 - Overdue & Presumed Lost - full transcript

Williams got the shaft
and you know it, Chief.

Look, DiMaggio
hit in 56 straight.

Now, your Teddy boy
ain't never going do that.

Nobody is.

Let's get it to
periscope depth, Chief.

Come up to periscope
depth, aye, sir.

Scope's awash.

Now, you want to talk hitters?

You should've
seen Roger Hornsb...

Good Lord.

What do you see, Skipper?



What's out there?

It looks like the
entire Japanese fleet.

What are they
doing this far east?

We should take her down, sir.

Wait till they pass.

It's too late, X.O.

We're spotted.

X.O.: Crash dive, sir? Negative.

We've got to get word to Pearl.

It's a submarine, sir...

An old submarine.

The first thing you heard
was the hull collapsing.

(explosive crashing, trilling)

Well, what was that other noise?



Sunken vessels make that noise

when they split in half, sir.

Huh. You think that this
is the U.S.S. Dolphin, huh?

Yes, sir.

It departed Midway Island

on December 21,
1941, headed for Hawaii.

It never arrived.

It's been overdue and
presumed lost for 59 years.

The sound was picked
up by listening stations

in the Aleutians, the
Philippines and Hawaii.

The source
triangulates to an area

roughly 37 degrees north,

170 degrees west.

The Dolphin was last heard
from on December 5, 1941.

That day...

They were right in the
path of the Japanese fleet...

on the way to Pearl Harbor.

Yes, sir.

The Dolphin and its
crew might have been

the first American casualties

of World War II.

CHEGWIDDEN:
It's big news, all right,

and somebody's
trying to beat us to it.

Admiral, please have a seat.

Commander.

A civilian salvage operator

by the name of Jack Riggins

got wind of the
discovery of the Dolphin

and dropped his flag on it.

Commander, we cannot
have some damn ghoul

disturbing the tomb
of 60 brave Americans.

No, sir.

The SECNAV asked
Admiral Stanton to represent

the submarine community's
interest in the case.

I served in half a dozen
boats like the Dolphin.

I was at Pearl Harbor
when we were attacked.

But I never expected
to see the day

when the bones of
dead submariners

would be brought up
by a souvenir hunter.

Sir, what do we know
about Riggins' plans?

Well, his press release says
that bringing up the Dolphin

will help him write

"The ultimate chapter
on Pearl Harbor."

He wants to sell artifacts

to finance his
historical undertaking.

Our first move, sir, would be

to file a petition
in federal court

for a temporary
restraining order.

That's exactly
what I'm going to do.

You, sir? I'll take
this one, Commander.

One of the privileges of
rank is taking the opportunity

to squash a parasite
like Riggins myself.

Yes, sir.

(bells tolling)

Thank you, A.J.

I appreciate it.

I'm sure those boys
on the Dolphin will, too.

Sir.

Matthew.

Sir, if there's any
way I can aid in...

Well, as a matter of
fact, Commander, there is.

I've got an appointment with
the armed services committee

about my annual budget proposal.

You'll pinch-hit for me.

We need a 4.3% increase.

Admiral, I hardly
distinguished myself

the last time I entered
into that arena, sir.

Ah, don't be modest, Commander.

You got the funds to
repair the hole you shot

in the courtroom ceiling.

Excuse me. Sergeant?

That's Gunnery Sergeant.

That's what I meant to
say... G-Gunnery Sergeant.

Could you tell me where Lieutenant
Colonel MacKenzie's office is?

She's over there in the corner.

Thanks...

Gunnery Sergeant.

(knock on door) Enter.

Colonel MacKenzie?

Yeah.

Petty Officer Second Class
Potts reporting as ordered, ma'am.

At ease.

You can sit next to
Lieutenant Roberts.

Yes, ma'am.

I explained to the colonel

that you'd be willing to accept

45 days restriction to the ship,

extra duty and some
forfeiture of pay.

But that's not going
to cut it, Petty Officer.

Any deal we make has to include

an other-than-honorable
discharge.

Discharge? But I don't want
to leave the Navy, ma'am.

I-I-I love the Navy.

Then why didn't
you get into shape

before you were
assigned mandatory P.T.?

And once you got it,
why didn't you attend?

Most of all, why didn't
you lay off the diet pills?

I was trying to keep
my weight down, ma'am.

Well, then, next
time, stop eating.

The diet pills are amphetamines.

Colonel, Petty Officer
Potts is not a criminal.

I'm aware of that, Lieutenant.

That's why I'm offering
your client the closest thing

naval justice has
to a free lunch.

Pardon the expression.

Ma'am, isn't this
just an overreaction

to the fact that
Petty Officer Potts

happens not to look like
the poster boy for the SEALs?

The Navy doesn't
want him physically fit

to put his picture on a
calendar, Lieutenant.

It wants him fit so
he can do his job.

He's a system technician...
A computer nerd.

For now, but there's no
telling what crisis may come up,

or where the Navy
might need him.

You know the
standards of readiness.

So he's being
made an example of.

That's not fair, ma'am.

We didn't choose
him, Lieutenant;

he chose himself when he broke

half a dozen articles
and regulations.

So you say, ma'am.

Lieutenant, I'd say
it's fairly obvious.

MAN: I've salvaged Spanish
galleons in the Caribbean

and gold rush paddlewheelers
off the California coast,

but I have never
discovered anything

as exciting as the Dolphin.

To think of the things it saw...

Of the hellacious final
battle that it fought...

Morning, Admiral.

I'm Stuart Grossman.

I'm Jack Riggin" attorney.

A.J. Chegwidden.

The astronomers study the stars.

I study the ocean floor.

And when was the
last time an astronomer

sold a planet at
an auction house?

Jack gets a bit carried away,

but he really is contributing
to human knowledge.

Yeah, and his own pocketbook.

It's a bit unusual for the JAG
to be arguing a case, isn't it?

Not when the case means as
much to the JAG as this one.

Well, this isn't the game
you're used to playing, Admiral.

Judges down here
are a little... different.

WOMAN: "United
States of America,

all 50 of them,

"v. Castaway
Salvage, Incorporated

"and Jack Riggins, individually,

petition for temporary
restraining order."

Who speaks for the government?

Your Honor, I'm
Admiral A.J. Chegwidden,

Navy Judge Advocate General

appointed by the Justice
Department as Special Assistant

United States
Attorney for this matter.

Got the big guns, huh?

Where's this court's authority

to adjudicate conflicting claims

over vessels sunk in
international waters?

Steinmetz and U.S.S.
Hatteras, Your Honor.

These cases establish that

warships belong to
their sovereign nations

in perpetuity, no matter
where they were sunk.

The Dolphin was and is
a U.S. Navy submarine.

After 59 years
on the ocean floor.

No wonder you people
keep asking congress

for money, Admiral.

Your Honor, under
the "law of finds,"

a principle dating back

to the days of
Roman sailing vessels,

any abandoned shipwreck
may be claimed by the finder.

But, Your Honor, abandonment
is hardly the issue here.

The Navy only recently
found the Dolphin.

Furthermore, the Dolphin
is not mere property.

It is a tomb for 60
brave submariners

that should not be desecrated
by a treasure hunter.

My client is a
marine archaeologist.

CHEGWIDDEN: In that
case, I'd like the opportunity

to voir dire
Mr. Grossman's client

as to his intentions
for the Dolphin.

Mr. Riggins,
please step forward.

RIGGINS: I'm not just after
gold doubloons, Admiral.

I put together lost pieces
in the puzzle of history,

and I do my work with
dignity and with respect

for those that have
passed before.

Hmm.

Well, then, maybe
you can explain

why, in the Florida
Keys, you placed lights

inside the skulls
of dead sailors?

Objection. Irrelevant.

Maybe so, but it
sounds interesting.

Uh, overruled.

Your Honor, that was a
very unusual circumstance.

We were working
a Spanish galleon

and there were
recreational divers

poking around at night.

So, we put a few
lights in some skulls

as sort of a... "no
trespassing" sign.

Maybe I'll try that
in my chambers.

(scattered chuckles)

Mr. Riggins, it may
take a little while

to sort through all
the legal issues here.

Would a temporary
restraining order

cause you undue hardship?

Uh, yeah, Your Honor...

Bankruptcy, mental anguish...

probably a divorce.

I have the last of my capital

invested in a ship and crew
parked over the wreck site.

And, Your Honor, that is
what this case is all about:

making a profit off the Dolphin,

defiling the final
resting place...

I am a little tired of having

the Navy wave this desecration
argument at me, Admiral.

It's more than just an
argument, Mr. Riggins.

No, it's a lie.

If the Dolphin was sunk
by a Japanese fleet,

that means it saw
the Japanese fleet,

and if it saw the fleet,
you better be damn sure

it sent a warning the fleet
was on its way to Hawaii.

But the Navy didn't do
anything to protect Pearl Harbor,

and we know why that was.

Your Honor...!

Why?

Because politicians

and military brass in Washington

wanted the attack to happen

so American public
opinion would be outraged;

so that America
would get into the war.

What's in the Dolphin
can prove that.

And that's why the Navy
is jerking all these tears

about final resting places.

It's trying to cover
up its own role

in the deaths of over
2,000 American sailors

at Pearl Harbor.

MacKENZIE: It's ludicrous,
sir, that the Navy would want

to start a war with
a major defeat.

I know, I know.

But some evidence has suggested

people in Washington
deliberately kept

Pearl Harbor in the dark

about the impending attack.

Military people, sir?

Well, the finger
is usually pointed

at President Roosevelt.

Conspiracy nuts have
had a field day with it.

Warnings supposedly
lost or delayed on purpose.

Warships warned away

from intercepting
the Japanese fleet.

But, sir, a congressional
investigation

debunked those myths in 1946.

(knocking on door)

Enter.

Excuse me, Admiral. Colonel.

Thank you, Tiner.

Aye, sir.

It seems Judge Green

never read the
congressional report.

She's denied our application
for a restraining order.

Full arguments in two weeks.

Meantime, Riggins may
continue to explore the wreck.

No destruction of property.

Anything retrieved is to be held

in custody of the court.

Looks like I'm taking a trip.

Sir? Navy's allowed an observer

on the salvage ship.

Think I'll visit Pearl
Harbor on the way.

RENEE: I have a lot of
experience with budgets.

Oh, yeah?

Mm-hmm. I've budgeted
every commercial

and documentary
I've ever produced.

Uh, this is a little
different, Renee.

Really?

Let's see.

"Personnel"...

Same as cast;

"equipment"... props;

"audiovisual"...
That's special effects.

I don't see a
"contingency fund."

Contingency for what?

Contingencies.

Say I need to close
a street for filming,

but I don't have
time to get permits.

You schmear a cop
or a councilman...

you know.

The Navy doesn't
bribe people, Renee.

Well, then, how do
you win so many cases?

(laughing)

I was joking.

Oh, you have got to relax.

What is it?

It's nothing.

Oh, well, there... there's a sub

in the middle of
the Pacific Ocean

that could solve the
mystery of Pearl Harbor,

and I'm stuck here
calculating stationery costs.

Calculating stationery
costs with me.

(sighs)

What?

Well, instead of shipping
off on some rust bucket

and not showering for a week,

you're here with me.

Doesn't that count
for something?

Of course it does.

Yeah? Prove it.

Petty Officer Potts?

Potts.

Potts!

Whoa! Whoa!

Careful.

(pants): No pain,
no gain, Lieutenant.

And "no meeting,
we take a beating."

Sir?

Our meeting?

The wardroom? 1600?

Oh, man, sir!

I... I totally forgot about it.

I'm trying to get in shape
for my court-martial.

You know, get buff.

You work out in a
rubber suit like that

you'll get a heart attack.

How else am I supposed to...?

Stop eating.

Sir, that's what
Colonel MacKenzie said.

I stopped eating.

I lost 20 pounds.

Wow! How did you do that, sir?

I broke my jaw.

Oh. Did that hurt, sir?

Don't even think
about it, Potts.

We got a lot of work
to do on your defense,

so go take a shower.

I don't know, sir.

Maybe I should have
taken that plea bargain.

No.

But, Lieutenant, even with
an "other-than-honorable,"

I think I'd do
okay as a civilian.

No. They're trying
to send a message.

And this case, it's...
it's bigger that you are.

Metaphorically.

RIGGINS: You ever held a
Spanish doubloon, Admiral?

Or touched the
shackles of a slave ship?

It's like you were
there, in lives that ended

centuries before your
grandparents were even born.

Ghosts whisper
their secrets to you

if you know how to listen.

Save it for the press
releases, Riggins.

I'm just trying to prepare you

for what you're about
to experience, Admiral.

Yeah, well, it's a
damn sacrilege,

I don't care how
you sugarcoat it.

Showtime!

RIGGINS: There she
is... the U.S.S. Dolphin.

Looks like it's hung
up on a sea mount.

That's pretty common

in this part of the Pacific.

How far down is she?

About, um...

about 400 feet.

If she had gone all
the way to the bottom,

she'd have been
crushed immediately.

Then you and I
would have never met.

It's different than
a modern sub.

It's got a v-shaped
bow, flat deck,

probably made of teak.

Valuable wood... you can
make keychains out of it.

Let's not start that again.

There!

RIGGINS: Torpedo?

CHEGWIDDEN: No.
More likely a depth charge

or a shell from a deck gun.

It's pulling you
back, isn't it, Admiral?

You ready to transmit?

Yes, sir.

Send this to Com-Sub-15. Urgent.

Highest priority.

Dolphin encountered
large Japanese fleet

including flattops,
battleships and heavy cruisers.

Course: 1-3-5.

Speed: 1-5.

Position: 45 miles
north of Point Tango.

You got that? Yes, sir.

"Com-Sub-15. Urgent."

Just send it.

Aye, aye, sir.

RIGGINS: No matter how it
ended, I guess it wasn't pretty.

I can guarantee
you that, Mr. Riggins.

RIGGINS: Okay, looks
like we're inside now.

Looks like the... crew quarters.

There's, uh...

There's the conn...

Looks damn good after 59 years.

Okay.

Make that R.O.V. do its magic.

No telling what it might find.

RIGGINS: Behold
the past, gentlemen.

Inside this safe
could be the answer

to the mystery of Pearl Harbor.

No property damage, Riggins.

Anything you find goes
to the court's custody

in one piece.

Well, you can hand deliver it

soon as we take a look.

(sighs): Okay.

(grunts)

These seals held better
than they had any right to.

(metallic clank)

(grunts)

It's dry as dust.

Okay.

1400 hours, 3 May.

Contents and inventory of
the U.S.S. Dolphin lockbox.

One metal flask...

containing bourbon.

Aged.

(chuckling)

One...

One pinup girl.

And one...

U.S.S. Dolphin logbook.

Okay.

"Proceed to area K-11.

"Report on all
movement of shipping.

Comsubpac, 23 November, 1941."

Routine op orders...

position reports...

Let's, uh... see
how this thing ends.

Here. Here.

"5 December, 1941.

"Encountered Japanese fleet...

"flattops, destroyers
and heavies...

"45 miles north of Point Tango.

"Dispatched alert, code
orange, to Com-Sub-15.

Message sent, 1730 hours."

"Message sent."

Excuse me, sir.

Is that it?

The logbook from the Dolphin?

Uh, no, it's um... a copy.

The original's with the court.

May I?

Sure.

"24 November, 1941.

"Underway for Hawaiian Islands.

"Minor difficulties
with hydraulic system

"but nothing too serious.

We should have repairs
completed by tomorrow."

It's like opening
a time capsule.

"5 December, 1941.

"Encountered Japanese fleet.

Dispatched alert, code
orange, to Com-Sub-15."

They surfaced in the middle

of Admiral Yamamoto's
war fleet, sir,

and somebody had
the presence of mind

to put the outgoing
message in a lockbox.

The box was in the radio room.

Standard procedure
was for the radio operator

to secure all logs
in a hostile situation.

Was the message
ever received, sir?

We don't know.

Would have been picked
up at Cardinal Point station

on Oahu, at the
far end of the island.

But the station was
destroyed during the attack

on Pearl Harbor, along
with all of its records.

There's no
historical record, sir,

of the command at Pearl Harbor
ever receiving this message.

The procedure was to forward

all flash messages from
Cardinal Point to Washington

and Washington to
decide... which messages

to send back to Pearl Harbor.

You buy the
conspiracy theory, sir?

That F.D.R. knew about
the Japanese invasion

and kept quiet to
get us into the war?

The Dolphin sent a message.

Was it received, Admiral?

I don't know.

If you find out, Admiral,

are you going to
rewrite history?

It wouldn't be me, Harm.

Be those men on the sub.

Have you got word back?

No, sir. It's the... the
atmosphere is all screwy.

It's those sunspots.

Keep listening.

Aye, sir.

We've got to take
her down, Skipper.

Not till we get confirmation.

But we...

Chief...

ready tubes one and two.

Aye, sir.

Ready tubes one and two.

(over radio): Ready
one and two, aye.

(knock on door)

Enter.

Excuse me, sir. There's a...

Good evening, Admiral.

Holds your interest, doesn't it?

That'll be all, Tiner.

Yes, sir.

Game's not over yet, Riggins.

No, it's not.

That's why I was
thinking we should

work something out.

Not interested.

Really?

That's a pretty
hard line to take

seeing as how my case
is already half-proved.

The contents of the
log are not relevant

to the ownership of the Dolphin.

Yeah. Judge Green might
agree with that, or she might not.

Either way,

you're going to help
me dig up the truth.

I am?

Yeah.

You're hooked.

I know the look, Admiral.

You need to know what
happened to that message.

CHIEF MUELLER:
Petty Officer Roland Potts

is in my 0600 P.T. class.

I call it the "sunrise service."

They run till they drop,
puke or pray, ma'am.

And which one did
Petty Officer Potts do?

I don't know, ma'am.

He never showed up.

He had a buddy sign in for him.

I caught him

in his rack one morning

and dragged him

out on the deck.

And when you got him
there, Chief Mueller?

Ma'am, he couldn't do
a pull-up to save his life.

I couldn't tell if
he did a push-up

because his belly was
bigger than his reach.

Plus, he was all jittery,

probably from the speed.

ROBERTS: Move to strike.

That's an opinion.

Overruled.

Government's toxicology
report is in evidence.

Thank you, Your Honor.

No further questions.

ROBERTS: Chief, has anyone
ever won a war doing push-ups?

Physical fitness is essential
for fighting men... and women.

ROBERTS: Really?

What's the Lynx?

A... weapons
system of some kind.

In fact, it's the integrated
fire control system

aboard the McLaren, isn't it?

If you say so, sir.

Can you operate the Lynx?

It's not my job, sir.

No, but it is Petty
Officer Potts's job.

Are you aware that he
received a commendation

for redesigning the
target-acquisition software

and upgrading
the user interface?

No, sir. I am not aware of that.

Are you aware that the
main physical requirement

of his job is to sit in
a chair and operate

a $50 million weapons system,

and that his commanding
officer has expressed the opinion

that he doesn't care about
Petty Officer Potts's size

as long as he doesn't
break the chair?

Objection.

Counsel is presenting
evidence, hearsay at best.

Sustained.

No further questions.

STAFF SERGEANT: How much
longer do you want to look, sir?

I'm not even sure we have

this stuff here.

I spoke to the archivist

who retired four years ago.

He said this was the
place, Staff Sergeant.

War department? Pacific desk?

All incoming communications.

December 5, 1941.

Did the old guy say
where it would be, sir?

Probably between
November and January.

Like right... about...

Bingo.

Here. I'll take that one.

You know, I think someone else

was asking about this, sir.

Communications log.

Huh.

Message traffic
from Cardinal Point,

Midway, Wake, the Philippines.

Boy, it did get
heavy in December.

December 4, morning.

December 4, afternoon.

December 5...

Huh.

Skips from 1600 to 2200.

No messages

for six hours?

Can I see that, sir?

This page has been cut out

close along the binding,

smooth, like it was
sliced with a razor.

You know who could

have done this, Staff Sergeant?

Me, sir?

No, sir, but that
is the book that

that civilian
filed a request for

under those freedom
of information deals.

Oh, man.

I never thought I'd find it.

I'm sure he'll appreciate
your hard work.

Excuse us a minute,
Staff Sergeant.

Sir, when Riggins
sees that log...

He'll scream cover-up

and conspiracy from
the mountaintops.

The page could have been cut out

last week, sir, or 50 years ago.

Yeah.

Cardinal Point
station was destroyed

but not everyone
that worked there.

Can you get me a personnel list?

December 1941, sir?

Not a problem.

Thank you, Staff Sergeant.

Can you tell us how you came
to receive your commendation?

Off-duty, I fool around
designing computer games, sir.

I was working

on this one I call
"combat fleet,"

and I came up with an algorithm

that I thought could help
the Lynx fire control system.

You know, sir,

make it a little less kludgy.

Then why were you
ordered mandatory P.T.?

Uh... I failed my
physical readiness test,

and my B.M.I. was too high.

Your B.M.I.?

Body-mass index.

It's when you take
your weight times 705

and then divide it by the
square of your height in inches.

If your B.M.I. is over 25,
the Navy considers you unfit.

What's your B.M.I.?

33, sir.

What if you were...

six foot two, 185 pounds?

(chuckles)

I wish, sir.

We all do.

What would your B.M.I. be, then?

You need a calculator?

Uh, no...

I'm-I'm pretty good at math.

Uh...

185 times 705 would be...

130,425

divided by 5,476...

That's the square of 74, sir...

The BMI would be...

23 and change, sir.

Pretty much the perfect body.

Yeah, but would that perfect
body be able to do the math?

Your Honor...

ROBERTS: Question withdrawn.

Nothing further.

If you love the Navy so much,

why not just lose the
weight and get in shape?

I tried, ma'am.

I... really did.

You didn't try hard enough
to get up early for P.T.

The "chub club," ma'am.

It reminded me of
the high school gym,

you know, brought back
some bad memories.

So, instead you... you
took amphetamines?

I only did it because I
didn't want to be discharged.

Has it ever occurred
to you, Petty Officer,

that your love for the Navy
seems to be outweighed

by an utter lack of
military discipline?

Commander!

Well, the Hill must not be
as rough as it used to be.

I don't see any wounds.

Nothing worthy of
a Purple Heart, sir.

And the budget.

Did you get the 4.3% increase?

No, sir.

Well, what the hell happened?

Well, sir, Renee made
a few suggestions and...

Renee? Yes, sir.

And I recommended that
we add an inflation factor,

contingency fund
and a travel allowance,

and the committee will support
an 8.1% increase, Admiral.

Nicely done, Commander.

Huh!

Well, from now on, you'll handle
our budget request every year.

Excuse me, Admiral.

You'll want to see this.

The Cardinal Point
station list of personnel, sir.

From the records
center in St. Louis.

Most of those men have
got to be dead by now, sir.

Most.

But not all.

You knew about
the message, Matt.

You were there.

I guess I knew
you'd find out, A.J.

You were always thorough.

You were a radioman before
you were a submariner, Matt.

You were assigned to
Cardinal Point station.

It had a lovely view.

On a clear day, you
could see Molokai.

On Pearl Harbor day,

we could see the
zeroes three miles out

heading to make their
turn on Kahuka Point.

Of course, I was
a little surprised

that our fleet
was still at anchor

since I'd received the
Dolphin's message,

and I sent it on to Washington.

Well, why didn't
you tell anybody?

Tell what?

One message of
thousands got lost

in a government bureaucracy?

I mean, who was I going to tell?

There weren't a lot of reporters

running around
looking for a scandal.

They had other
things on their minds.

So did I... stay alive.

Win the war.

By the time it all ended,

I wasn't even sure I'd
ever seen a message.

I just... seen so much else.

But you got
involved in this case.

To protect those
dead submariners

because I knew what they did.

Not to protect anyone else.

Don't you want to
know what happened?

I know what happened.

We won the war.

That not good enough for you?

No, it's not.

The message was
sent to the Pacific desk

of the war department.

I've got to ask you a question.

There is a page missing

from the Washington comm log.

I don't know anything
about that, A.J.

All I know is, if I sent
the message, they got it.

What did they do with it?

Well, obviously not enough.

It was code orange.

It should have been sent
up to the Secretary of War.

Sent by whom?

Who would have been
the first to handle it?

Well, there was a deputy
undersecretary there

by the name of, um...
Mallory or... Malone.

Maybe it was... Malloy.

MacKENZIE: The
evidence is undisputed.

Petty Officer Roland
Potts violated a lawful order

to attend mandatory
physical training.

In a misguided effort to
lose weight an easier way,

he compounded the infraction

by unlawfully taking
amphetamines.

Now, it's natural to
sympathize with someone

who would otherwise seem
to be an excellent sailor...

Highly competent in his duties.

But sympathy can play
no role in your verdict.

On the evidence submitted,

the defendant
must be found guilty

on all charges.

Lard ass.

Jelly belly.

Tub of guts.

Bubble butt, butterball...

Petty Officer Potts has
been called all of those names

and more.

He knows what it feels like
to be humiliated, rejected.

He knows what it feels like

to not fit in.

But then he joined the
Navy and it changed his life.

Petty Officer Potts
is incredibly good

at what he does.

And his only crime

is that he would do anything

to stay in the Navy.

I'm going to talk to
him in just a minute.

Shouldn't they be back by now?

Just try to relax, Roland.

Why don't you try to relax, Bud.

I know he's a good
kid, and you want to win.

I know that, ma'am. It's just...

It's the names.

You know, bubble
butt, jelly belly...

When I was 14, that was me.

It's not anymore, Bud.

Inside, ma'am...

It's always who you are.

POTTS: Colonel... isn't there

anything I could do
to stay in the Navy?

MAN: why would you want to?

Josh Kaplan,
executive recruiter.

Mr. Potts, how
would you like to be

Not so fast.

Gary Jimirro, Flashpan Gaming.

We have a software
designer position that I think...

I'm talking $100,000
a year, plus car.

$120,000 plus stock options.

Um, yeah, great...

KAPLAN: You want stock options?

40% of our employees

are already millionaires.

Access to our
corporate beach condo,

a golf club membership...

I just want to stay in the Navy.

Ma'am?

Uh...

Uh, well, how about
$20,000 a year,

and you forfeit 30
days pay as penalty.

Cramped quarters

to which you're
restricted for two weeks,

mandatory physical
training, a regulated diet,

biweekly drug tests and
you may end up in combat.

Do you mean it, Colonel?

Should we tell the judge

that we've reached an agreement?

Yes, ma'am.

Oh, you again.

You still tracking
down ancient history?

War department,
5 December, 1941.

Records for Deputy
Undersecretary Malloy

or Mallory or Malone,
maybe Murphy.

How about Howdy Doody?

We might find his stuff

in here, if we look
around for 30 or 40 years.

Really? Then we
better get started.

GROSSMAN: We've listened
to the voices, Your Honor.

The ghosts of 60 martyred
submariners call out to us.

With their last breath

they warned of the
attack at Pearl Harbor,

but someone
destroyed the evidence

as to what happened
to their message.

What is the Navy hiding?

And what other
secrets still lie buried?

Your Honor, I
resent any implication

the Navy is involved
in a cover-up.

We, too, are trying
to discover the fate

of the Dolphin's message, but...

Your Honor, that has
absolutely nothing to do

with the issue
before this court.

GREEN: I have
read the cases cited

in your brief, Admiral,

and they do support
the proposition

that the Navy owns its
warships in perpetuity

whether they're
sailing the high seas

or embedded in the ocean bottom.

But those cases deal with
ownership of rusty cannons

and barnacled hulls,
not historical truth.

Your Honor, it... it's the law.

I am the law

until the appeals court
tells me I'm wrong.

I don't know what's
buried with the Dolphin,

but we're going to find out.

The government's request
for an injunction is denied.

Mr. Riggins' salvage
claim is upheld.

I'll treat it with
respect, Admiral.

If you had any respect,

you wouldn't treat it at all.

Hey, Riggins.

Listen to those ghosts.

What are they saying to you now?

CHEGWIDDEN: "31-Knot" Burke.

Admiral, war hero,
never let the Navy down.

RABB: Neither did you, sir.

You'll win the appeal.

In the meantime, that
bottom-feeding fortune hunter

rummages through the
skeleton of the Dolphin...

(knocking on door)

Enter.

I beg your pardon,
Admiral, Commander...

I thought you'd
want to see this.

From the files

of Deputy Undersecretary
of War Maxwell.

Dated 5 December, 1941.

It was found in a folder

concerning the defense
of the Panama Canal, sir.

"U.S.S. Dolphin. Urgent.

Highest priority flash message."

(quietly): It was misfiled?!

By civilians,
Admiral, not the Navy.

Maybe it was misfiled
on purpose, sir.

Well, how do you know?

I mean, how can you prove it?

Somebody did razor out a
page of a communications log, sir.

What, to cover up a crime

or to cover up
bureaucratic carelessness

that conspiracy freaks
would take as a crime.

May I see it, sir?

"The U.S.S. Dolphin
encountered a large Japanese fleet

"including flattops

"battleships and heavy cruisers.

"Course: 1-3-5 Speed: 1-5.

Position: 45 miles
north of Point Tango."

Range?

Mark 1-5-0-0.

We got through, Skipper!

Pearl confirmed!

The fish in tubes one
and two are ready, sir.

Japanese destroyer,
angle on the bow, zero.

Bearing mark.

3-0-0.

NIELSEN: Range mark...

1,100 yards.

(gunfire)

Prepare to fire.

Aye, sir.

Fire one. Fire one.

Fire two. Fire two.

And so we pay tribute
to the brave men

who helped us rule the seas

during the second World War...

Those who returned home to
make our nation a better place

and those, like the silent
warriors of the U.S.S. Dolphin,

who remain on eternal patrol.

Submariners...

I salute you.

Long way from home, Admiral.

Come to gloat?

I wanted to pay my respects.

I'm pulling my flag
off the Dolphin site.

Turning the logbook
over to the Smithsonian.

You have a heart transplant?

(chuckling)

I listened to the ghosts...

and to you... sir.

(chuckles softly)

Message received.