JAG (1995–2005): Season 6, Episode 7 - A Separate Peace: Part 1 - full transcript

MAN: Hammer was
leading us into the break.

That's when we got
word from the Air Boss

that your father was in line

to make the 100,000th
trap aboard the Ticonderoga.

The Seventh Fleet historian
had photographers waiting.

The cooks had baked
a chocolate cake.

Hammer was going to be famous.

RABB: Only you got there first.

MAN: The tailhook
was not fully extended.

RABB: So the Air
Boss waved him off.

MAN: And by the time
he'd gotten past the tower



for a visual check...
I'd already trapped

the 100,000th trap.

And what precisely was
wrong with my father's tailhook?

Well, it turned out
to be nothing at all.

( chuckling): Your
father always suspected

I'd gotten him sent
around on purpose.

Well, I wonder
what Dad would think

of you taking command
of the Sixth Fleet, sir.

If your father was
with us tonight

he'd think the whole
world had gone nuts.

Everyone thought he'd be
the one to be CNO one day.

I was just a screwup

who was along for the ride.

Mr. Secretary.



Sorry I'm late, Admiral.

RABB: Good evening, sir.

Commander, please sit.

Now, we have a problem, Tom.

With what, Mr. Secretary?

With... you.

You may as well
hear this, Commander.

It'll be in your life tomorrow.

Tom, my office received
an anonymous tip.

The caller claims
that August 12, 1968

when you were in Long An
Province, Republic of Vietnam

you participated in the murder

of innocent civilians in
the village of Tan Dien.

SECNAV: If word leaks
out that Admiral Boone's

been accused of a war crime

you can kiss his
nomination good-bye.

A.J., I'd like Colonel MacKenzie
to perform a preliminary inquiry

into the accusations
against Admiral Boone

and report directly back to me.

Nothing in writing.

Mr. Secretary, I
think you should know

that Admiral Boone and I
have butted heads in the past.

The Senate Armed Services
Committee confirmation vote

is scheduled in four days.

I want a full and fair

inquiry by then.

What if I need more time, sir?

Hmm.

Admiral Boone's gone
back aboard the Seahawk.

He's expecting you
onboard at 1400.

Admiral.

( clicking heels)

Mr. Secretary, sir, I
have one question.

In 1968, Admiral Boone

was an aviator aboard
the U.S.S. Ticonderoga.

How could him be implicated
in an alleged massacre

by ground troops?

Good question, Commander.

Let's see what the
Colonel finds out.

Sir, I want to be
involved in this.

It's the Colonel's
investigation.

I'll take my lead from her, sir.

I don't have a
problem with that.

It's the tyranny of
the hot line, Mac.

Any lunatic can call
with a wild charge.

Someone with a
grudge or a grievance.

Some loser who was passed over.

A whiner with his feelings hurt.

Tom Boone can tick people off.

I know that from
personal... experience.

Bud, what are you doing here?

It's been a week, ma'am.

That's all the
leave I had coming.

Bud, the Admiral can
grant compassionate leave.

I couldn't ask for
anything more.

Everyone's been so kind
with the cards and the flowers

and coming out to the house.

How's Harriet?

Well, she's not doing
too great, ma'am.

She wasn't expect...

We weren't expecting

any problems with
the baby's delivery.

Well, tell her we're
all thinking about her.

I will, ma'am.

You should be home, Lieutenant.

Harriet thought it'd be
best if I came into work.

Well, then start with this, Bud.

Vietnam, August 12, 1968.

The village of Tan Dien.

The province of Long An.

See if you can find
out what happened

in the village that night.

CHEGWIDDEN: Now,
look, I-I can see my car.

It's right over there.

It's probably evidence.

Evidence of what?

Crime.

That's where they put all
the cars that are evidence.

Look, you give me my car.

If you need it for
evidence, I'll bring it back.

They don't know you're
going to bring it back.

I'm telling you, I'm
going to bring it back.

What difference does it make?

Nobody's even been
charged with a crime.

I'll look it up.

Now, this is from the
Combat Action Report

of the Tan Dien operation.

A pitched battle occurred

between members of the
Vietcong 24th Local Force Battalion

and elements of a
South Vietnamese PRU.

Now that stands for
Provincial Reconnaissance Unit

which is "an elite South
Vietnamese force dedicated

"to the elimination of
suspected Vietcong soldiers

"and sympathizers living among

"the civilian
population of the South.

"The killing of the suspected VC

was known as the
Phoenix Program."

Put in place by the CIA.

That's correct, sir.

And the Phoenix Program
was run by Neville Webb.

Clayton Webb's father?

That's right, sir.

He was a CIA Station
Chief in Saigon.

The body count
at Tan Dien is listed

as "45 Vietcong killed.

No wounded. Three
weapons recovered."

Any numbers on
civilian casualties?

Um, none in the
Combat Action Report, sir.

What do the Vietcong claim?

Well, according to
propaganda leaflets

PRU was accused of
massacring innocent civilians

and I'm quoting

"with the complicity of US
imperialists and their lackeys."

Was there an
after-incident investigation?

No, ma'am.

Was there preliminary bombing

by a Naval aircraft
prior to the attack?

No, sir.

No suppressive fire
during the attack?

Negative, sir.

It doesn't look like Naval
forces were involved.

Uh-oh.

It's been charged.

What do you mean,
it's been charged?

It's a car.

"People versus One
Ford Expedition."

You want the docket number?

What is it charged with?

Transporting marijuana.

Unless you already knew that.

I lent it to somebody else.

Everybody did.

Look, buddy

I lent it to my ex-girlfriend's
son before I realized

he was an oversized
juvenile delinquent.

Look, you want to
get your car back

you need to go downtown
and prove you're innocent.

You got that backwards.

You got to take me to court

and prove that I'm guilty.

Not in a forfeiture case.

Shoe's on the other foot.

I want to see somebody else.

I'm in charge here.

You better get
yourself a lawyer.

Sir, ma'am...

I pulled Admiral
Boone's service record.

August '68, Lieutenant
Boone wasn't aboard the Tico.

He'd been assigned
to the USMACV, Saigon

for temporary additional duty.

"He reviewed surveillance photos

and prepared targeting
schedules for the fleet."

That places him
"in country," Harm.

Saigon's a long way
from Long An Province.

There's a fitness report here
filed by Army Major Evan Parker

commending Lieutenant Boone
for serving "in country" with

"distinction and under
great personal risk."

Not one mention of
murdering civilians.

MacKENZIE: Admiral,
were you in Saigon

the entire six weeks of your
assignment to USMACV?

All but two or three days.

What were your
activities during that time?

I was assigned to a
Forward Air Controller.

Do you recall his name?

No. He was Air Force.

Do you recall
anything about him?

He was a First Lieutenant.

Dates you flew
with the Lieutenant?

Early August.

Can you be more precise, sir?

No.

Tell me what happened
during those "two or three days."

What you would expect.

We, uh, called in air strikes.

Assessed battle damage.

Kept an eye out for the enemy.

(over radio): 323,
323, this is Montezuma.

I'm sending you a pair
of two Navy Phantoms.

Call sign Fairfield 2-4.

Roger, Montezuma.

Send 'em on down. Out.

Tom, we don't want to
get too close to this target.

RABB, SR.: Greenfield 23.

This is Fairfield
2-4. Inbound to you.

BOONE: Roger, Hammer.

Keep it coming.

Tom, is that you?

The one and only.

What's your ordnance, Hammer?

RABB SR.: Six-Mark-82s.

BOONE: What's your posit?

I'm 57 miles on the 120 radial

of Nakom Phanom TACAN

at 10,000.

BOONE: The target's a
wooden bridge at Phu Loc

five miles south of me
at a bend in the river.

Want me to mark it
with a smoke rocket?

No. I see it.

Suggest runs from east to
west to avoid small arms fire.

Recommend single passes.

I'll be rolling in 30 seconds.

Two, you got it? Got it.

Switch is hot. Break.

Destroyed the bridge.

Three trucks.

And a water buffalo.

Stay out of trouble, Tom.

MacKENZIE: Admiral...

during that time,
did you participate

in any ground fighting?

No. I'm an aviator, not a grunt.

Were you ever at the
village of Tan Dien?

Not that I recall.

Sir, is it possible
that you were there

but you simply don't
remember the name?

I've already
answered the question.

Did you return to
Saigon at night?

No.

At the end of each day's action

the Lieutenant
landed his aircraft

at the nearest dirt strip.

We stayed outside
a couple of villages.

Don't know that I ever
knew their names, Colonel

if that's what you
were going to ask next.

Sir, on August 12,
there was a massacre

of 45 innocent South
Vietnamese civilians at Tan Dien.

Colonel...

I'm not sure that there were

45 innocent civilians
in all of Vietnam.

Did I forget we had
an appointment?

In 1968, your father was
CIA Station Chief in Saigon.

Yes.

He headed up The
Phoenix Program.

Yes.

Do you recall

its stated purpose?

To employ the best intelligence
to identify and then eliminate

the Vietcong from South Vietnam.

There are documented
reports of operations

being in violation
of human rights.

There were allegations. Yes.

Sometimes the program was
not precise in its execution.

What part did your father play
in covering up those events?

Get out of my office.

Not until you tell
me what happened

the night of August 12, 1968
in the village of Tan Dien.

I want access to the CIA's files

on the Phoenix program...

In particular, the
confidential file

on the incident at Tan Dien.

What makes you
think such a file exists?

Because there were 45
dead, but no wounded.

There were no
civilians reported killed

but only three
weapons recovered.

So there's reason to believe

there was an unacceptable
number of civilian casualties

which makes it a war crime.

I want to know what
happened there.

No quid pro quo?

Or do you figure my office

is like the drive-up
window at the Dairy Queen?

I can't tell you.

Then I can't help you.

Or you won't.

What did your father tell you

when you asked him about
the Phoenix operation?

Bury the past?

You're paranoid
enough to work here.

I suggest you file a request

under the Freedom
of Information Act.

Return it to our Information
and Privacy Coordinator

at the Office of
Information Services.

The director will take
it under consideration

and forward the request to me.

Then I'll take it
under consideration.

I'm on a pretty strict
timetable, Webb.

In truth, and
regretfully, Commander

some of those files are missing.

( speaking Vietnamese)

Think he's lying, Ellis?

I don't know, Drax.

( speaking Vietnamese)

Then you should have
made something up.

What the hell did
you do that for?

He's the enemy, isn't he?

( knocking) Enter.

Excuse me, Admiral.

What can I do for you, Singer?

Petty Officer Tiner told
me about your car, sir.

I've taken the liberty
of doing a little research

on my own time into The
People v. One Ford Expedition.

You have? Yes, sir.

I'm afraid you won't
be able to prove

that your car was innocent

since it was used to
transport marijuana

but we might try to show
that Danny Walden was

in unlawful
possession of your car.

Uh... well, I lent it to him.

Fine. So we'll
just have to prove

that Danny Walden
transported drugs

without your knowledge,
consent or willful blindness, sir.

( intercom buzzes)

Yeah.

TINER: Sir, Commander Rabb

and Colonel
MacKenzie to see you.

Send them in.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Whatever it takes.

Yes, sir.

You completed
your inquiry, Colonel?

Not yet, sir.

I had an inconclusive
interview with Admiral Boone.

And?

There are still

some unanswered questions, sir

and a key witness
we can't locate.

Colonel, what are
you not telling me?

Admiral Boone

was evasive, sir.

There were too
many "I don't recalls."

Some questions he
didn't answer at all.

It doesn't feel right.

Can you blame him, Colonel?

Where are you on this?

Sir, I have two questions.

Who at the Phoenix program

was responsible for the
massacre at Tan Dien?

And was Lieutenant
Boone involved?

We need to answer
both these questions, sir

conclusively, to clear
the admiral's name.

You disagree with the
Colonel's approach?

Sir, the Colonel is doing
what she needs to do.

Let me do what I think

is right, sir.

SECNAV calls me
every hour on the hour.

We all know that the
longer this drags out

the greater potential
damage to Admiral Boone.

Look...

Take the time you need.

Do the investigation in
whatever way seems best

but, damn it, get it done.

Sir! Ma'am, we
just got the records

on all the operations at
Tan Sahn Nhut, August 1968.

During the period in
question, Lieutenant Boone

flew with a forward air
controller named R.C. Coffin.

Lieutenant Coffin left
the service in 1969.

Find him.

I'm doing the best I can, sir.

Is there a problem?

He's dropped out of sight, sir

and at your request, ma'am

I've got Lieutenant
Boone's C.O...

General Evan Parker,
coming tomorrow

and also, I traced
that anonymous call

to SECNAV's hot line

to a pay phone in a bar
in Wells, New Mexico.

Near your old stomping grounds.

Oh, yes, ma'am.

I've got friends in law
enforcement in New Mexico

and they're going to find
out who made the call.

Have them check on R.C. Coffin.

I already did, ma'am.

He's not listed in
any local directories.

Also, sir, regarding
Lieutenant Coffin

is it possible he was
working for the CIA?

What makes you think that?

Well, I had the National
Personnel Records Center

fax me his DD-214.

In block 18
"remarks" it indicates

Lieutenant R.C. Coffin
was T.A.D. for six months

to the Air Force Field
Operation Intelligence Center.

What'd he do for them?

I don't know for sure, sir.

Does it require special
access to find out?

You got it, sir.

Nice job, Gunny.

Thank you, sir.

Sir? Ma'am?

I just got off the phone

with the Office of
Military Records in Hanoi.

The village Tan Dien
was never rebuilt.

Those who survived
the night of August 12

were placed in relocation camps.

We can't locate
anybody to testify about

what happened that night.

Did you get sleep
last night, Lieutenant?

Not a lot, sir.

Lieutenant Roberts,
this is a direct order.

You are to report
to your residence.

Harriet needs you and
you need to get some sleep.

Aye, aye, ma'am.

Sir.

In 1968, I was Deputy
Director of Air Operations

at Tan Sahn Nhut
Air Base, Saigon.

Lieutenant Boone
was attached to my staff

for a period of six weeks.

General Parker, you
wrote a fitness report

following Lieutenant
Boone's service with you.

Was there anything you left out?

Why would you ask me that?

It's routine, General.

Not in my book.

I never left factual
matters out of my reports.

So just what the
hell are you asking?

We're trying to determine

Admiral Boone's
course of conduct, sir

and there are some
gaps in the record.

So if there is anything that
might lead us in a direction

it would be helpful.

What about rumors, gossip?

I heard things all
the time, Colonel.

I ignored what I
didn't know to be true.

So should you.

Did you ever hear anyone
say that Lieutenant Boone

had run into some trouble
while he was in country?

Our intelligence officer showed
me some VC propaganda.

What did it say, sir?

That a couple of American
pilots had taken part

in shooting up some village.

I heard rumors like
that ten times a day...

most of them spread
by the Vietcong

to make our boys look bad.

Sir, can you tell
us what happened

in the village of Tan Dien?

I don't recall the
name, Commander.

Did Lieutenant
Boone ever express

any particular hatred
towards the enemy?

Damn it, Colonel.

We all hate the
enemy in wartime.

But then you'd have
no way of knowing that.

Sir, I'd like you to think back.

Anything you can
remember might be helpful.

These were taken by
an F-8 photo recon plane

one hour after the
Phantom went down.

BOONE: VF-53.

That's off the Ticonderoga.

Your squadron?

You don't want to
look at this, Tom.

NVA saw the recon plane coming.

She wanted us to see this.

You know the pilot?

Commander Harold Cartig.

My squadron CO aboard the Tico.

General, what did he say then?

Did he express a desire

to avenge the killing
of Commander Cartig?

Yes.

Do you recall his exact words?

That was 30 years ago.

Can you give me a
sense of his words?

What was his frame

of mind?

You see some gook
holding up a severed head

it tends to sour your outlook.

Did he express a direct threat?

He wanted vengeance.
Wouldn't you?

He wanted her dead.

I had them leave off
the mustard and onions.

Oh, too bad.

A girl likes a little spice
in her life now and then.

French fries? Ooh!

Your request...
It's off the record?

Yeah.

You're not going to tell me

why I'm going to
do this for you?

It would put you
in an ethical bind.

( laughs)

Harm, you're always putting
me in some kind of bind.

Why the hell do I
put up with you?

So then...

if I do this for you

you're going to be in my debt.

Absolutely.

And you don't worry about

what I might ask you
to do for me in return?

I think I could handle it.

What do you want me to do?

WEBB: Congresswoman...

Always a pleasure to see you.

Well, I want to talk
to you in person

before the National Security
Subcommittee meets next week

on 2002 appropriations.

I trust there's not a
problem with our request?

Covert ops are very important.

We need that increased funding.

Well, you did
ask for quite a lot.

Hmm... I see you keep lionfish.

That's right.

Here's what I don't understand:

They'll kill any fish
you put in the tank

but they'll leave
each other alone.

Fear, respect, need.

Who knows what motivates a fish?

People are pretty much the same.

Can never tell what drives them.

Congresswoman...

Do you want something?

I'll look forward to seeing
you next week on the Hill.

I think you'll find me one of
your strongest supporters.

Have you no shame?

Hey, you didn't leave
me much choice.

What do you want to
know about Tan Dien?

We believe that an Air
Force Lieutenant, R.C. Coffin

was in or around the area

the night of the
alleged incident.

Was he working for the CIA?

What makes you think that?

Because Lieutenant Coffin

was T.A.D. to Air
Force intelligence

around the time of the
massacre at Tan Dien.

Because his records are sealed.

Because he received a Lieutenant
Colonel's separation package

when he left the service.

He never achieved a
rank higher than Lieutenant.

Enough.

R.C. was one of ours.

He flew for the Air Force by
day and the company by night.

He flew agents

in country and into the North.

What was his role at Tan Dien?

I don't know.

He was not part of
our pacification effort.

Was there another
American pilot there?

Not according to our report.

Who led the raid at Tan Dien?

Harry Drax, Program
Director at Long An Province.

Tell me exactly what happened
the night of August 12, Clay.

Agent Drax issued orders

to carry out a
sweep of the village

and to "neutralize" members
of the VC infrastructure.

He told his men to
expect heavy resistance.

( automatic gunfire)

They went in shooting.

( explosion)

When he was done,
45 people had died.

Was it CIA policy to include
civilians in the body count?

It was the fashion then.

The battle of Tan
Dien came at a time

when the South
Vietnamese needed a victory.

It was written up as such.

Where's Harry Drax now?

Harry Drax underwent a
change of status at Tan Dien.

He was shot in the back

and buried in one
of the mass graves.

Well, who filed the
confidential report?

The field agent, Ellis Burke.

I need you to put
me in touch with him.

( sighs)

Well, most of us never
stray far from the agency.

Ellis Burke lives not
two miles from here.

What really happened that night?

It's been rumored

that Agent Drax lost
his sense of perspective.

What's that?

CIA-speak for killing babies?

Listen to this, Harriet.

"When the baby emerges
through the birth canal

"the prolapsed
cord is compressed

so that the baby's
blood supply is cut off."

Bud?

What is it, sweetie?

A.J. would like to
kiss you good night.

Good night, sweetie.

Listen to this.

There's more.

"Fetal asphyxia
may rapidly ensue

"if circulation through the
cord is not reestablished

and maintained until delivery."

Bud...

we need to talk.

Well, can you hold
on a second, sweetie?

No.

I need you here
with me right now.

Please?

I-I'm here.

No, you're a
thousand miles away.

I never knew that it
would hurt this much.

You lost...

we lost a baby, Harriet.

And that's a...

a terrible, terrible thing.

And it should have
never happened.

I just don't know what to do.

I...

I'm going to find
out what went wrong.

Bud, I know that's
important to you,

but how's it going
to help, really?

I mean, do you really think

you're going to fix
what happened?

I have some good news, Admiral.

I argued your case, and I won.

You got my car back?

There's a problem, sir.

They lost your car.

Well, how the hell can
the police lose my car?

The last they knew it
was in the impound lot

but it has disappeared
without a trace.

Somebody stole my
car from the police?

No, sir, the police lost it.

Or-Or misplaced it.

Or sold it at a public auction

like it was some
damn pimpmobile!

Singer... find my car.

Yes, sir.

Commander. Sir.

I just told the Colonel, sir.

I had a law enforcement
buddy of mine

drop by that bar in Wells.

Turns out Lieutenant
Coffin's a regular.

He lives a couple
miles outside of town.

No phone.

Nice work, Gunny.

Thank you, sir.

Hey. Hey.

I'm going to talk

to Lieutenant Coffin
tomorrow, Harm.

If he's not a credible witness

my report will say that we
found nothing to substantiate

his allegation against
Admiral Boone.

But you're not clearing him?

You're just going to say
that you can't nail him?

There's been a
complicating factor, sir.

Remember the
incident that occurred

at Lieutenant
Cartig's crash site?

Well, it turns out...

Decapitation's a little more
than an incident, Lieutenant.

Uh, yes, sir.

I got the precise location
from U-2 photographs

of the wreckage

at the National
Reconnaissance Office.

Lieutenant Cartig's crash
site was only five miles

from Tan Dien.

His death occurred
only three days prior

to the massacre.

It goes to motive, Harm.

If Lieutenant Boone
was in fact at Tan Dien

he had every reason to
get involved in the fighting.

Well, I have every
reason to believe

that he was not there.

War crimes definitely
occurred at Tan Dien.

PRU troops got out of control.

But according to CIA files,
Admiral Boone was not there.

Are you sure about that?

Yes, I am sure.

One more interview
and it'll be confirmed.

BURKE: The Phoenix
Program was a good program

when Neville Webb managed it.

It, um... it got out of hand

when we turned it over

to the Provincial
Reconnaissance Units.

You were the CIA Field
Officer, Long An Province

during the summer of 1968?

Yes.

You filed a confidential report

on the incident at Tan Dien?

Why are you interested
in Tan Dien, Commander?

What do you plan to
do with the information?

I can assure you, Mr. Burke,
there'll be no written report.

And any information I
discover stays with me.

So, what do you need to know?

Why did Harry Drax turn
that village into a killing field?

Why that village?

Why that night?

We had intelligence
that identified

some of the
inhabitants of that village

as VC sympathizers.

There had been...
incidents near the village.

About three days
prior to the attack

the body of a Navy
pilot was mutilated

after his aircraft crashed.

After Drax got the word
about the decapitation

he issued orders to
the PRU death squads

to pacify the village.

It was payback time, Commander.

Were there any other
Americans with Harry Drax

the night of August 12?

Yes.

Lieutenant R.C. Coffin?

Yes.

Lieutenant Thomas Boone?

Yes.

How was Lieutenant
Boone involved, sir?

BURKE: I was in the
village the next day.

( camera shutter clicking)

We had reports that
Lieutenant Boone

had joined in the fighting.

( camera clicking)

( speaking Vietnamese)

( woman continues speaking)

Why didn't you put that
in you report, Mr. Burke?

There were a lot of
things that I left out

of my report, Commander.

There was a quota set

to neutralize 2,000
suspected members

of the Vietcong infrastructure
every month... every month.

At Tan Dien

that quota was met
with indiscriminate killing.

You do not record war
crimes when you commit them.

Only the Nazis were that stupid.

Your mandate was to get
me an answer in four days;

to clear or not
clear Admiral Boone

of even a shadow of suspicion.

It's taking longer than we
anticipated, Mr. Secretary.

Let me tell you
what I'm faced with.

Calling the Chairman

of the Senate Armed
Forces Committee

and asking him to reschedule

Admiral Boone's
confirmation hearing.

The Chairman's going to
ask me, "Why the delay?"

and "Is there a problem?"

and since I don't
have a good answer

he is going to smell a rat.

Then when and if Admiral Boone
appears before the committee

they are going to
look into everything

that ever happened in his life

down to the last parking ticket.

I beg your pardon,
Mr. Secretary.

With all due respect

the Colonel is doing
everything she can do

to speed this
investigation along, sir.

Then why the delay, Colonel?
Do you have doubts, suspicions?

Is there something

I should know, Colonel?

There's one final
witness, Mr. Secretary.

Someone who was
there at Tan Dien.

I'll interview him later today

and then I'll give
you my report.

Thank you, Colonel, Commander.

That will be all. Dismissed.

BOTH: Aye, aye, sir.

Send the message off
precedence op immediate.

Aye, sir.

JAG officer on the bridge.

Stand easy, Commander.

Why don't you get a
cup of coffee, Lieutenant.

Yes, sir.

What are you doing here?

Sir, I thought

you'd have an easier
time speaking with me

than Colonel MacKenzie.

What makes you think

I haven't told the full
truth up until now?

Admiral, you haven't
told us everything, sir.

Time is running short.

How'd you find me?

We traced your call.

Why did you wait 30
years to let someone know?

I'm dying, Colonel.

T.B.

I'm sorry.

It's my last chance
to set things right.

Sorry I don't have
anything nicer.

I don't get a lot of
company out here.

Are you aware your accusations

may destroy the
career of a good man?

You think that's what I want?

Just 'cause Tom
Boone's up for three stars

and I ended up like this?

I need to know a lot more
about you, Lieutenant Coffin

before I can
answer that question.

RABB: There are
some discrepancies

that need to be cleared up, sir.

You stated to Colonel MacKenzie

that you spent three days
with a Forward Air Controller.

You're certain of that number?

I told the Colonel
what I remembered.

We have reason to believe

that you spent a
full week, Admiral.

You also stated to
Colonel MacKenzie

that you did not recall the name
of this Forward Air Controller.

Correct.

Does Lieutenant R.C.
Coffin ring a bell, sir?

Does now.

What do you recall
about Lieutenant Coffin?

Nothing good.

Care to elaborate, Admiral?

He was a liar and a drunk.

Are you prepared
to talk on the record?

Well, that prospect don't seem
so bad now that you're here.

Did you bring some beer?

I don't drink.

Well, that's nice, but I
wasn't thinking about you.

Lieutenant Coffin, where
did you land your aircraft

on the afternoon
of August 12, 1968?

COFFIN: A dirt strip
outside Tan Dien.

( sheep bleating)

Tom and me had a good afternoon.

We got to see a flag of Phantoms

blow the crap out of a
wood bridge in Phu Loc.

Then we got to drinkin'.

This stuff any good?

The later it gets,
the better it tastes.

It's tomorrow you've
got to worry about.

What the hell is it?

Fermented coconut.

Got a dead snake
curled up in it.

Tam says it adds flavor.

There are 39 ways
to cook dog meat.

Tam knows them all.

What kind of a man
was Lieutenant Boone?

Have you ever been
around Naval aviators?

Did you notice
they're kind of arrogant

and full of themselves?

You know why?

You see, the guys on the ground

at the end of the day,
they've got to go sleep

in some slit trench with
six inches of damn water...

but the aviators, they
fly back to the carrier

take a hot shower...

and have some colored steward
lay out their clothes for them.

What do you recall about
Lieutenant Boone's attitudes

toward the Vietnamese people?

Well, he was sort of upset.

You know, it's one thing to
see the war from up in the clouds

but you get down in
the dirt, it's pretty ugly.

Did he ever express anger
at the Vietnamese people

over the beheading of his
squadron commanding officer?

You done your homework, lady.

Yeah, Tom talked
about that a lot.

That was one ugly-ass war.

Just look what
happened at Tan Dien.

Commander Harold
Cartig, your squadron C.O.

when the Ticonderoga was shot
down five miles from Tan Dien...

he was decapitated
by the Vietcong.

We have eyewitness
testimony, sir

that you saw surveillance
photos of that atrocity.

Why didn't you volunteer
to Colonel MacKenzie

that you'd seen the photos, sir?

It wasn't any of
her damn business.

I didn't want it on
the report, Harm.

Harry's wife never knew.

I didn't want to take a
chance of her finding out now.

Well, I can
understand that, sir.

Admiral, did you
tell Major Parker

that you wanted to kill the
woman who had done that to him?

( sighs)

We all said things like that...

but that's not how
we fought the war.

While you were "in country," sir

did you ever meet a
man named Harry Drax?

He was a CIA agent
that Lieutenant Coffin

transported on
several occasions.

No one flew with us
when I was out there.

Admiral, do you recall
the events that took place

the night of August 12, 1968?

Colonel MacKenzie has informed
me that 45 non-combatants

were rumored to have
died at Tan Dien that night.

Admiral, we have confirmation.

There are reports in
Vietnamese military archives...

Oh, I know those sources.

Yeah, they
generally begin, uh...

"The American devils
divulge their true form."

You have anything credible?

Eyewitness, maybe?

Tan Dien was burned to
the ground that night, sir.

Survivors were relocated
to refugee camps.

There were no names recorded.

What about the
Combat Action Report?

It lists the battle
as a great victory.

There is, sir, however...

a confidential CIA file
that contradicts that.

You've seen that?

Portions of it were read to me.

Does it implicate me?

No, sir.

However, Admiral, I
spoke to the field agent

who filed the report.

He gave me reason to believe

that you participated
in the fighting that night.

Let me get this
straight, Commander.

You talked to somebody,
who talked to somebody...

who claims I shot
up some village?

Isn't that what you
lawyers call hearsay?

Technically, yes.

And on the basis of that

I'm accused of a war crime?

Admiral, unless you
answer my questions, sir...

Fully and completely...

I can't help you.

What role did
Lieutenant Boone play

in the fighting at Tan Dien?

It was our last
night "in country."

It was the best,
the best of times.

( sighs)

What the hell are
you doing here, Drax?

In two minutes, we're going
to neutralize this village.

These people are friendlies.

That woman who makes
your fish soup, Tam?

She's VC.

Better move now.

( bushes rustling )

( burst of gunfire)

I didn't see Boone again
until maybe ten minutes later.

What were you
doing during that time?

I tried to find Tam.

When did you next
see Lieutenant Boone?

After he joined in the killing.

( gunfire)

I saw him use this little
kid as a human shield.

He was shooting into hootches.

It was like he'd lost his mind.

I never expected that from Tom.

Did you find Tam?

Seconds later, in a hootch.

She was one of the
ones Boone killed.

What else can you tell me?

Isn't that enough?

Yes, it is.

( sighs)

No one wanted to get assigned
to Tan Sahn Nhut, Harm.

It was a damn clerk's job.

Harry Cartig came to
Hammer and me, and said...

"One of you have
to go to Saigon."

So, we flipped a coin.

Your father won.

That's how I ended up in Saigon.

Could have gone either way.

Could have been your father.

( gunfire)