NCIS (2003–…): Season 17, Episode 20 - The Arizona - full transcript

Well, I tell you what,
it is good to be home.

Just got back to port
an hour ago,

I've already got
my land legs back.

Oh, I appreciate that,
Captain, but

Gloria's makingher blue-ribbon lasagne tonight.

Yep.

Word is she even
baked a cherry pie,

so maybe she missed me
as much as I missed her.

You bet.
0800 tomorrow morning,

and we'll get right into...

I got to call you back.

Gloria?

Gloria?

Gloria?

Gloria!

Look, I...

That's... Yes, that's-that's
what I've been trying to say

for the last five minutes, okay?

No.

I cannot help you here, okay?

Just tell everyone, okay? Aunts, uncles, cousins,

just... stop calling me!

Damn, that was harsh.Yeah.

If I talked to my familylike that, my mom would kill me.

Yeah, it wasn't family.

Some guy, I don't even know him. Why is he
calling you?

Because peopledon't proofread.

See, last night,

Aunt Lupe Garcia of Falls Church

decided to send an invite
to her entire enormous family

to Uncle Roland'spotluck birthday fiesta,

and she accidentally
mistyped the RSVP number.

So now I have every Garciaand their mother

calling to tell me
who they're bringing

and what dish. Well, okay,

next time someone calls you,
you should just ask them

to send out a corrected e-mail.

Aunt Lupe is the only one
with the list, okay?

She BCC'd everyone else,

and I can't get a hold
of Aunt Lupe.

Oh, come on.

McGee.

You have the wrong number.

I can't live like this.

Torres eat your yogurt again?

Uh, no, boss. I keep getting these calls...

Grab your gear.

Uh, we got a dead body?

I don't know what we got.

Oh, got to be kidding me.

Well, if you talk to her, please have her call me

at once?
Thank you.

The gentleman on the phone
is Admiral Michael Caplinger.

He's head
of the Fleet Forces Command.

He just got backfrom a major-level exercise,

45 days at sea.

Abductee is his wife Gloria.

She was last seen at a speaking
engagement last night.

Her purse and keys
are missing, but the car's

in the garage. Nothing on the
intruder so far

other than the broken
glass, obviously,

when they broke in.

Hey, Gibbs?

Canvass the area. Find a witness.

What do you got, Bishop?

Well, it looks like therewas some sort of scuffle.

Stool's tipped over,
there's blood on the floor,

and the back door was open.

So, Gibbs, if the intruder
forced Gloria out the door,

it's possible that
she was incapacitated.

Gloria?

I've got her.

I've got her on the phone.

Where is she? Hold on, honey.

She's with a friend. She didn't realize

she had her phone offfrom last night,

but she's okay, she's okay.

No, honey, I'm fine.

So... if thatwasn't Gloria's blood,

whose was it?

Door's open.

And there's a note.

"I took it!"

Took what?

Admiral.

What kind of burglarleaves a note?

What is it?

There anything missing in there?

Yeah.

It's a Purple Heart.

My daughter's.

Are you telling mewhoever broke in here

stole thatand left everything else?

That doesn't make any sense.

Gibbs, there's some writingon the back of this.

"Stargazer Motel.
Room eight.

I'll be waiting."

What is that...
Some kind of threat?

NCIS.
Come out slowly,

your handson top of your head.

Sir, we have reasonto believe that you...

You bet your ass I did.

Name's Joseph Smith.
Write it down.

I broke intothe admiral's house,

stole the Purple Heart,

the whole shebang.

Uh, Gibbs?

You want me to grab him? I don't think

he's gonna outrun you, Nick.

Let's go, people.

Get the cuffs.

Haul me out.

Mr. Smith, hold on a second.

I'd like to ask you
a few questions.

I bet you would.
You'd like to know

where your Purple Heart is,
don't you?

Well, I'm not gonna
say a damn thing

till I get a root beer.

Gibbs, you know the admiral.

This is his wife Gloria.

Ma'am. Gibbs, the Caplingers

have asked
for a moment of our time.

We wanted to talk to you
about the Purple Heart.

It was awardedto our daughter.

Her name was Julia.

She was a first lieutenantin the Marines.

She was finishing up
her last week

in Afghanistan...

and she wason a patrol convoy...

Lead vehicle was
hit with an IED.

Julia went to assistthe wounded.

Second IED detonated.

We're sorry for your loss.

Admiral, Mrs. Caplinger,

know that we hear you.

And if all else fails,

a replacement medal
will be issued.

I'll see to it myself.

Afraid it's not quite that easy.

My father wasan admiral, too,

but the job that he
took the most pride in

was being a
grandfather to Julia.

He engraved a message on the
back of that medal by hand,

and he passed away
two months after she did. Director Vance,

that Purple Heart, it's...

it's irreplaceable.

We'll get it back.

We already have

the intruder in custody.

So you have a location
on the medal?

Uh, no. Well, what's the holdup?

Suspect's 95.I don't
understand...

Is that code for something?

No, it's his age, ma'am.

Are you telling me
that a 95-year-old man

broke the leaded glass
on my front door? Yes, sir.

He's old, but he's not
done kickin' yet.

He's smarter than a whip.

He's also a pain in the ass.

Meaning what, exactly?

Well, he demanded a root beer
before he talked.

Um...

Mmm.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.

Mr. Smith,

how-how did you get cut?

If you're gonna talk to me...

call me Joe.

Okay.
How'd you get hurt, Joe?

I tripped

on a stool.

The admiral needs to read a book

on feng shui.

Where's the Purple Heart?

I'll tell you what,

you answer my questions,

and then I'll answer
your questions.

What do you know
about World War II?

00:08:16,583 --> 00:08:17,758
to '45.

Uh, the Axis powers versus

the Allies.

You.

What was the date

of the attack on Pearl Harbor?

Uh...

Too slow.

You.

How many casualties

on the U.S.S. Arizona?

I...

know it was a lot.

Eighty?

Huh? 800?

How many people died...

on the U.S.S. Arizona?

Uh, I...

I-I actually don't know.

And you two work for the Navy?

You're a disgrace, both of you.

Get me the guy in charge.

I'm wasting my time

talking to you two clowns. Okay,

let's take it down a notch. Get that

gray-haired leatherneck.

Or I'm gonna

say...

"lawyer."

McGEE:
Listen, sir...

Okay.

Uncle Frank,
you have the wrong number.

Oh, and, uh, by the way,
don't bring guacamole,

because cousin Maria's
already bringing some.

Yeah.
With the good chips.

You're welcome.

Hey, boss.

What do we know?

Oh, Joseph Smith.

About all he had on him
was his license.

No vehicle registered
to his name.

And he didn't have a carat the motel.

So he might have been on foot...

You gonna get that?

Nah. I'll let it go
to voice mail.

Where's the Purple Heart, McGee? Boss, we searched

that motel top to bottom,
we didn't find a thing.

What about his house?

Uh, address on his
license is old.

We haven't been able to track
down a current residence.

There's a ton of Joseph
Smiths in the area.

It's also possible he's
living with a relative.

So, long story short, we don't
know where the Purple Heart is.

Did you get the guyhis root beer and just ask him?

Hey, Gibbs. We need your help.

Joe gave us a quiz,
and we failed.

Did he tell you
where the medal is or not?

Not.
He said that

we were a disgrace to the Navy.

Gibbs, he only wantsto talk to you.

Agent Gibbs... Omar, don't talk to me now.

Got a place for empties?

I've got a grievingfamily upstairs.

One way or another, that Purple Heart

is going back to them.

Where is it?

What do you know about war?

Look, you gotyour root beer.

You got me.

Time to talk.

It ain't about

a fizzy drink.

It's about

getting someone with perspective

to set it down,

to sit down in front of me...

and listen.

What do you knowabout war, son?

Enough to know
I don't want to go back. Well, I do.

December 7, 1941.

Attack on Pearl Harbor.

I was on the USS Arizona.

When I die,

I want my ashes

interred on that ship.

Any survivor of the Arizona
has the right

to be laid to rest there.

Yeah. Well...

February '41,

I enlisted in the Navy.

If you do the math...

You were too young.I...

was only 16.

I had an older brother.

Henry Smith was his name.

I used his birth certificateto join.

I served under his name.

But I'm telling you, I served.

Have to confirm that.

It'll take time.

Red tape means years.

I'm 95 years old.

I read an article about

Admiral Caplinger.

Said he used to be

commanderof the Pacific Fleet.

He attended every interment

on the USS Arizona

when he was out there.

That means

he's got connections.

He's got perspective.

So, I wrote him,

asked him for his help.

Three letters.

He never answered any of them.

He was at sea.

I want it from the admiral
in writing,

with his signature,

saying my ashes will be interred

on that ship.

Once I have that, I'll give him back

his Purple Heart.

It's not the way to do it.

You see that?

I'm telling you,

I was on the Arizona

when those bombs hit.

And I want his word

that I'll be laid to rest there.

Blackmail is not the way
to get it done.

I tried to do it the right way.

Now I'm doing it my way.

On the morning
of December 7, 1941,

the Japanese
launched a surprise attack

on the U.S. Naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Now, 15 minutes in,
a Kate attack plane dropped

an 800-kilogram bomb
onto the USS Arizona.

It ignited a million pounds
of gunpowder

in a cataclysmic explosion
that tore the ship apart

and sunk it. TORRES:
Over 2,400

Americans diedin the attack of Pearl Harbor.

And almost half were
crewmen aboard the Arizona.

I started looking stuff up, too, after Joe shamed us.

Hmm. Well, this

is the USS Arizona
Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

That's where Joe
wants to be buried?

Yeah, the wreckage of the ship

is still underwater.

And any survivorof the Arizona

can have their ashes
placed within the ship,

among their fallen comrades.

Where are we with Joe Smith?

Well, the math checks out.

Yeah, Joe, uh, turned 16 in January

of 1941, and there is a record

of a Henry Smith
having enlisted in the Navy

in February of '41
at the age of 18.

He served as an electrician's
mate aboard the Arizona.

That was Joe, serving
under his brother's name.

Well, actually, we're not sure
which one of them that is.

The rest of the service records

for Henry Smith
were lost in the war.

Got a picture of the brother? No. Joe said he wasn't
big into pictures.

He wasn't big on his
brother, either. They were

estranged,
and brother Henry died

in a car accident
at the age of 30.

Well, put Joe's picture up.

That him or not?

Well, the bone structure
is similar,

but it's impossible to say
for sure if that's Joe.

Almost done here, Joe.

Well, make it quick.

I didn't sign up to be prodded like a 4-H hog.

Um, you should be happy

that we're trying
to help you out at all.

I didn't askfor a nanny up my ass, either.

Actually, you did.
See, when you confess

to a crime,
you earn yourself an escort.

What's his problem?

Oh, he's been getting
some annoying phone calls.

He's usually way more
pleasant than this.

Hey. I mean, uh...

Well, at any rate, uh,

Joe, your scars are consistent
with third-degree burns

that occurred a significant
amount of time ago.

And the majority
of Arizonasurvivors

did suffer burns from the fires.

There you go.

I like this kid.

I was also ableto dig up your brother's

1953 autopsy report.

It says that
he was killed instantly

when his head hit
the car windshield, and...

I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to...

Idiot had a few in him.

Got what was coming to him.

Well, bottom line, there's no mention

of any previous scarsor injuries on Henry's body.

Ah.

Thank you, my friend.

Thank you.

Wait a second. That
doesn't prove anything.

The explosion on the Arizona
threw some men overboard

that weren't burned at all.

What do you call that?

A rug burn?

Wait.

Where are you going? Joe...
Where is he going?

Joe? Joe, listen to me.

I want to believe you, okay?

We all want
to believe you.Yeah.

Then tell the admiralto pull a few strings.

No, Admiral Caplinger has no
real power in this situation.

This all comes
down to us proving

that you were on that ship.

So the best thing
for you to do is

tell us where the
Purple Heart is.

Then we can release you
and we can focus on the case.

Nah.

I'm not falling for that.

What? I know the drill.

Old people get conned

and then tossed aside.

Joe. Joe?

The medal stayswhere it is as...

What do you call 'em?

What?

Leverage. Where are you even
going right now?

You realize that you're not
in charge here, right?

Okay, fine.
You're in charge.

You have all the leverage.
Is that what you want to hear?

I want to hear that you got some DNA proof

that I was on the Arizona.

I was in the hospitalwith my burn right after.

Track down some old jarwith a skin sample.

I know how it works.

I watched CSI.

Actually, our best bet
at proving it is

for you to tell us
everything you can remember

about the attack.

I don't think so. Look, we're out of leads here.

Okay? So any detail
that you can remember

about that day...
It could lead us... I told you,

I'm not talking about it. I thought you wanted

someone to sit down
in front of you and listen.

I've said my piece.

Now I'm done talking.

Go get the DNA

and be grumpy some place else.

Life's too short
to get all out of shape

over crap phone calls,
you schmuck.

At home

in the middle of a workday? What you up to?

Well, I'm working.

Okay.

Uh, listen, I looked
at the recordings

from Interrogation.

From what I can tell,
Joe is hiding something.

Jack, that's who these guys are. They hide everything.

And by "these guys," you mean

World War II vets like your dad?

What do you got?

Kasie tracked down
a surveillance camera

outside of the motel.

Joe wasn't traveling
on foot after all.

You find the cab?

Bishop's working on it.

Good chance that the cabbie
might know something

about what Joe did
with the Purple Heart.

In order to find the medal,

we got to get Joe to talk. Ah!

To prove he wason the Arizona,

we got to get Joe to talk.

Huh. And according to McGee...

Joe refuses to speak at all now.

He thinks we can prove
his story with DNA.

Yeah, so I heard.

Two things get my dad talk.

This is one of 'em.

A slide projector?

Something about watching
memories in a dark room

makes one feel safe, maybe?

Oh, yeah.

And what was the other thing
that got your dad talking?

Having a job to do.

Hmm.

Appreciate the help.Mm.

You know, figured you being
an electrician and all.

We got time to kill.

DNA doesn't work as fast

they make it seem on TV.

You doing some kind
of slide show for the family?

No. I wanted to fix
it for a friend.

I was never bigon pictures.

My mom had a fewl was supposed to end up with,

but she sent me to live with my uncle.

My brother was supposedto pick me up.

He didn't.

So, that's the end of that.

Ah.

You're looking at me

like I spent 95 years without...

Hmm?

I knew... love.

I did.

It just never, ever lasts, does it?

Ah.

Hey.Uh.

I did it!

I still got it.

You said you were

doing this for a friend. I am.

I'm not your friend.

What is this?

Some kind of trick

to make me talk about it?

I told you to do your DNA thing.

Joe, we got nothing.

We need something to go on here. The things

I saw that day shouldn't comeout of anyone's mouth.

You've seen war.

How many people

did you tellabout the worst of it?

Hey.

If it was so bad,

why do you want to
be buried there?

Why are you asking me questionsyou know the answers to?

Just leave me alone.

What are we doing here?

Seriously?
I just told you.

Oh, yeah. I
wasn't listening.

I was reading about
Pearl Harbor on my phone.

If that dude's gonna quiz me
again, I'm gonna be ready.

Well, the guy who dropped
off Joe at the motel drives

cab number 6234.

Name is Kevin Deacon.

Uh, excuse me.

We're lookingfor a driver named Kevin Deacon.

Yeah. Second cab is his.

He went around the corner
to get some coffee.

Should be right back.

Thank you.

McGee.

Aunt Lupe.

Oh, thank God you called.

Uh, I-I've been waiting...

Ooh. No hablo español.

Uh... uno momento.

Tell her to send out the rightRSVP number to everyone.

Okay.

Aló?

Sí.

No, no, no, no, es su amigo.

Ah, qué bonito.Okay.

Okay, muy bien.

El estará allí.

Gracias.

Be there at 6:00. You're
bringing the enchiladas.

Wait, what?

Yeah, she felt so bad
about the trouble

that, uh, she invited
you to the party.

It'd be so rude to not
show up for Tía Lupe.

That's our guy.

Hey, uh, Kevin Deacon?

Yeah.

NCIS. You dropped offa fare this morning

at the Stargazer Motel?

Someone needs to move this cab.

Hey, you got to get this
out of the way!

Yes, sir, understood.

Admiral Caplinger.

He's done playing
the old man's games.

He wants to press charges.

We got a lot of loose ends
around here.

Cabbie. He ran.
We don't know why.

Actually, I have an idea.

Seems that Mr. Deacon

has a rap sheet a mile long

for fraud.Yeah.

So? Gibbs, I know

that you believe Joe.

I know that you respect him.

But we have to consider
the alternative.

You think he's lying. Look,

the cabbie ran as soon as he
knew we were there about Joe.

This could all be
some sort of a con.

Could be Joe refuses
to talk about Pearl Harbor

because he wasn't there.

Because his brotherwas the one

I'm not buying it.
Why would he lie about that?

Stolen valor?

I-It happens all the time.

Joe and his brother
were estranged.

This could be
Joe's final victory

in his family beef.

Or who knows? It could befor financial gain.

What the hell
are you doing, Jack?

What am I doing?
What are youdoing?

Gibbs,

take a look at what's
in front of us

and tell me what we're doing
for the victims here.

I want you to charge

Joe Smith with theft,
breaking and entering

and obstruction of justice. I'm not doing that, Leon.

He's not lying.

You cannot ask me
to walk in there

and tell him
that we've given up on him.Gibbs.

Just because
you knew your father

does not mean you know Joe.

I said to leave me be.

We found the cabbie

that dropped you off
at the motel.

He ran from us, Joe.

You know why?

I don't know. He know where the
Purple Heart is?

No.

Heard there might be fireworks.

You really think Joe's lying?

No idea. What?

You made a pretty good caseup in my office.

Yeah, well, it could allbe true or not.

Either way, Gibbs needed
a push to find out.

Oh, wow.

Full house here, huh?

Hey, Joe. Look at me.

This all some kind of con?

Con? You thinkthis is some kind of con?

The Arizona.

Were you on it or not?

Would you like meto show you

my arm again? No.

No, I want you
to prove it to me.

You prove it!

That's your job!

Get the DNA.

There is no DNA, Joe.

You are the only DNA we have.

What's in your head?
Your story? Something.

Anything that we can verify.

What do you think you're doing?

You say you wereon the Arizona.

What'd you see, Joe?

Huh?

What'd you smell?

What'd you taste?

Damn it, Joe.

You want to go back? There's
only one way to go back.

Right now.

Was it your brother
or was it you?

It was me!

I was on the quarterdeck,

waiting for colors.

And then me and Ozzie O'Connor
were-were gonna

catch the liberty launch

and toss the football

on the beach.

Then I hearda plane approaching.

I looked up.

I saw the red ball on its wing,

and I knew.

I ran to my battle station

in the gun pit,

and that's when we caught
the big bomb.

It was like the devil
opened his mouth

and made a noise

that was all screaming.

The steel!

The fire!

The men.

I got orders to go topside.

What I saw was body parts

all over the deck.

Men stumbling through,

no hair,

no clothes...

charred to the bone.

The smell...

I threw up.

That's when the plane...

strafed us again.

My arm was screaming,

like nerves exposed.

Shrapnel was hitting

what was already raw.

I was loaded intoa rescue launch.

I pulled three men
out of the water.

Two I didn't know.
The third...

The third was Ozzie...

O'Connor.

He was trying to put
a piece of flesh

back on his face.

I remember thinking about

all the times

his mother must have

kissed that cheek.

And how we should have been

tossing a football.

Then I got hit by...

God knows what.

I fell in the water,

woke up in the hospital.

I don't even know...

who rescued me.

The point is, we saved each other.

All of us.

You've been in a war.

You know why I want to go back.

Shipmates are your brothers.

More than my own blood.

A bond...

that never leaves.

I want to be laid to rest

with my family.

I want to go home.

This is what you wanted, Joe.

With my signature.

When you die,

your ashes will be

interred on the Arizona.

But we still don't
have any hard proof.

Can Gibbs really promise that?

No. No, he can't.

Joe?

All right, then.

I'll take you

to the Purple Heart.

It's back at the hotel.

I don't get it.

How could the Purple
Heart be at the motel?

We searched that place,
like, five times.

Well, we should'vedone it six.

We got a hit on the BOLO.

Cabbie Deacon?

Yeah, MPD picked him up
for speeding.

They're holding him for us. I'll update Vance.

Look, man,
I can't go back to prison.

And what exactly were you afraidyou'd be going back for?

Mr. Deacon, the more cooperation

we get here, the more
a judge might understand.

Yesterday, I dropped off a fare

across the street
from the old man's place.

You know him? Uh-uh. He saw me.

He called me over.

He was outside getting some airor something.

What did he say? He offered me 200 bucks
on top of my fare

to drive him around.

All I had to do
was show up today,

pretend to be his
grandson, and...

sign him out.

Sign him out of where?

The nursing home.
That's where he lives.

I mean, they made it
seem like the guy

ain't doing too good, like...

he's really sick, man.

Purple Heart's right in there.

You use a screwdriver? No, wouldn't need one.

It just popped right off.

You know,

I didn't want to...

talk about that day.

But I feel like

I did something that kept it
from being forgotten.

You want to talk
about what you saw?

Uh,

it may...

make you lighter, too.

Hmm?

Come on.

Give it a shot, son.

It's empty.

What?

That's impossible.

Yeah, I'm telling you,
there's nothing in there.

No, I-I put it in there.

I know I s...

It was, uh...

It was just...

Joe. Joseph. I put it in the
safest place possible.

I was always gonnagive it back.

Sit down. Joe.

Joe.

Hey.

So, how is he?

It was a massive heart attack.

He's in surgery.

Well, we, uh...

we spoke to the nursing
home where Joe lives.

He was being treated for
coronary artery disease,

and he's in the early
stages of dementia.

What? Yeah.

How early?

McGEE: Nurse says he has
his good days and his bad days,

but he was diagnosed before
he started writing letters

to the admiral.

He knew the endwas coming.

He wanted to make sure his asheswere back on the Arizona.

Or maybe

he was just confused.

What if Joe's memories
were really just stories

his brother told him?

This whole thing could
just be in his head.

Hey, did you findanything?

Nope. We, uh...
we questioned Deacon again.

He swears he never
saw a Purple Heart,

and he said that Joe
never even mentioned it.

You search the cab? Yeah, and it wasn'tat Deacon's place either.

So Joe's the only onewho knows what he did with it,

and now even he doesn't know.

Well, that mightnot be entirely true.

According to Gibbs,

Joe insists that he put
the medal in a safe place.

That feeling was probably real. Yeah, well,

feeling isn't
really much to go on.

Yeah, he could've buried it
anywhere

and thought that he put it
in the vent.

Or, more likely,
he could've just transposed

a few of the details.

You mean like maybe
it was a different vent?

So,
Joe knew that he removed a vent cover

and put the Purple Heart inside.

We think he remembered

the location
of the vent incorrectly.

Well, he didn't need
a screwdriver.

It's here.

Is it damaged?

No.

It's perfect.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hey, Gibbs. We found it.

Joe was right.

He kept it
in the safest place possible.

Never even left the house.

That's great, Bishop.

That's good work.

Uh, I'll call you back.

Agent Gibbs,

we did all we could.

Unfortunately,
Mr. Smith died in recovery.

Do you know where the body should be sent?

Your hunch was right, Gibbs.

I was able to find two piecesof metal embedded in the skin

beneath Joe's burns.

"Shrapnel

hit what was already raw."

That's exactly what Joe said.

He wasn't kidding.

Kasie was also able to determinethat one of the pieces

was actually a minuscule...

It was part of a bolt, Gibbs,

complete with fire damage.

There's a...

I'm sorry, Dr. Palmer.
I-I got a little excited.

By all means, sir, it's all you.

So, a section of the
USS Arizona'ssuperstructure

is on display at the Arizona
State Capitol Museum.

I made a call and I was able
to convince a very nice lady

to rush us a sample

of one of these bolts.

It's a match.

Mm-hmm. So not only

was Joe on the Arizona

when it was attacked, he also has been carrying

a tiny piece of the ship
inside of him ever since.

I called the memorial.

They're making arrangements
now for Joe's interment.

Gibbs,

Joe's going back to the Arizona.

Hey.

Hey, boss.

It's over there, by the door.

Ah. Great.

The longer you marinate
steaks, the better they are.

Oh, no, I'm actually, uh...

I'm actually gonna use itfor enchiladas.

Yeah, Torres says that, uh,

grilling 'em really brings it
to the next level.

It's for that, uh, party
next weekend I had mentioned.

I'm actually
looking forward to going.

Yeah, well, keep it
as long as you need it.

Thanks.

Um, boss, listen, uh,

I know, uh...

I know that Joe didn'tlike me very much, but, uh,

you sure you don't want meto go with you?

Oh, he liked you, McGee.

Just how those guys are.

No.

I'm good.

Go home to your family.

Thanks.

All right.

Hey, McGee.

Yeah.

You got a minute?

Yeah.

Yeah.
What's up, boss?

Uh...

I want to tell you
something about Joe.

Something about me.

What I saw in Kuwait...

Before that, I was different.

It took something from me.

That's what war does.

Sometimes I think if my girls

had been there when I got home,

maybe they wouldn't have
recognized me.

Maybe there wouldn't have been
enough of me left

for them to hang on to.

Maybe the best of me

was gone.

You come home

and you're like half a person.

The other half of you
is still back there,

where at least it made sense.

Where, even with the bullets

and the blood and the chaos,

you knew what mattered.

You knew that
the guy next to you

was willing to die for you

and you for him.

And you look around and think...

it shouldn't take a war

to make the world that simple.

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