I. Good Night, Saigon

(IT IS NIGHT. DARK SHAPES MOVE THROUGH THE JUNGLE. WE CAN HEAR THE SOUNDS OF ROTORS CHOPPING THE NIGHT. SLOWLY, SIMPLE PRIMARY PIANO CHORDS COME ONTO THE TAPE. THE SOUNDTRACK WILL PLAY THE ENTIRE RECORDING OF "GOODNIGHT SAIGON" BY BILLY JOEL ON "THE NYLON CURTAIN" DURING THE FOLLOWING SCENE. ALL EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE, SCREAMS, YELLS, AND THE VOICES OF STRONG MEN CRYING ARE HEARD BUT ARE MUFFLED, MUTED BENEATH THE VOICE SINGING ON THE SOUNDTRACK.)

"We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives.."

(FLOODS FLASH DOWN FROM BENEATH HUEYS HOVERING ABOVE. THERE ARE STARK CONTRASTS BELOW. BLEACHED, OVER-EXPOSED FACES POP IN AND OUT OF BLACK UNDEREXPOSED BLURS OF MOVING SOLDERS IN COMBAT GEAR. THE ENTIRE SCENE IS SHOT IN SEVERE CONTRAST. GUNFIRE FLASHES ARE STARKLY BLINDING AGAINST THE BLACKNESS.)

(THERE IS A FULL PITCH BATTLE GOING ON. AN EXPLOSION FLARES WHITE ON THE RIGHT JOINED BY SCREAMS. MEN ARE CRYING. VARIOUS YOUNG MEN'S VOICES CARRY THE CHAOTIC DIALOGUE.)

SOLDIER: Land mines !!!

SOLDIER: Get some! Get some!

"We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight."

(WE SEE SHARP WHITE AUTOMATIC FIRE FROM DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US, OUR VIEWPOINT IS ONE OF THE SOLDIERS, FIRING AS HE MOVES FORWARD INTO CHAOS.)

"We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all our might."

SOLDIER: Uhhh Uhhh Uhh Uhh

SOLDIER: Ahggggggg!

(THERE ARE MORE EXPLOSIONS DEAD CENTER AHEAD AND TO THE FAR LEFT. BODY PARTS FLYING THROUGH THE AIR ARE STARKLY SEEN IN THE GRUESOME LIGHT.)

"We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write"

SOLDIER: Jack? Jack?

SOLDIER: Momma, momma, momma

"And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together."

(THE HUEYS ARE FIRING CONSTANTLY, BURSTS OF BLISTERING WHITE. ONE OF THEM JERKS, SPURTS SMOKE, THEN FLAMES. IT TILTS ONLY SLIGHTLY AND DROPS, CRASHING INTO THE MIDST OF THE DIMLY SEEN TROOPS. A RAGING BONFIRE NOW IS CENTER LEFT ON THE FIELD OF VISION, MORE MEN ARE SCREAMING, CRYING, SOMEONE IS SEEN RUNNING LIKE A HUMAN TORCH.)

SOLDIER: Where's the f*****g back up?

"Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight."

(THE FACE OF A YOUNG MAN, BARELY MORE THAN A BOY, IS FLASHED ON THE SCREEN IN EXTREME CLOSE UP. HIS MOUTH IS OPEN, HIS EYES ARE VACANT. SOMEONE RUNNING PAST SPLASHES MUD ON HIM, BUT THE BOY NO LONGER CARES. THE GUNFIRE, THE SCREAMS, AND THE CHOP, CHOP, CHOP OF HUEYS CONTINUE.)

SOLDIER: Marc? Here!

"We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island."

(THE VIEWPOINT IS AGAIN THAT OF ONE OF THE SOLDIERS MOVING FORWARD, HIS GUN STILL FIRING. THE CAMERA JERKS AND SHIFTS AS HE MOVES AROUND MORTOR HOLES, AN ARM, A BODY.)

SOLDIER: Marc, help me. Help me. Help me.

"We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive."

(A HUGE BLINDING LIGHT FROM DEAD CENTER DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF OUR VIEWPOINT FILLS THE SCREEN AND BLANKS EVERYTHING OUT. THE SCREEN IS LEFT MOMENTARILY IN STARK WHITE. A WOMAN'S VOICE ECHOES THROUGH THE VOID.)

WOMAN'S VOICE: Marcus, wake up. Wake up.

(A MAN'S VOICE SCREAMS INARTICULATELY. SUDDENLY THE CAMERA IS FOCUSED ON OPS, SITTING UP IN BED. THE BEDCLOTHES ARE TWISTED AND TANGLED. HIS EYES ARE WIDE OPEN, STILL SEEING HIS NIGHTMARE, UNAWARE OF PRESENT REALITY. HE IS DRENCHED IN PERSPIRATION.)

"And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together."

(A WOMAN'S ARMS WRAP AROUND HIM, THEN SHE PICKS UP A CORNER OF THE SHEET AND BEGINS GENTLY WIPING THE SWEAT FROM HIS BACK. HIS EYES FINALLY REGISTER THE PRESENT AND HE CLOSES THEM, SWALLOWING HARD, AND LETS OUT HIS BREATH. HE SITS THERE, SHAKING UNCONTROLLABLY, LETTING HER WIPE HIS FACE AND SHOULDERS.)

MADELEINE: I'm right here, Marcus.

(OPS NODS AND SLIDES HIS ARMS AROUND HER AS THEY LAY BACK DOWN. OPS COLLAPSES WITH HIS HEAD ON HER SHOULDER. MADELEINE WRAPS HER ARMS AROUND HIM AND SILENTLY PATS HIS BACK, COMFORTING HIM LIKE A CHILD.)

(THE SOUNDTRACK ENDS WITH THE CHOP OF ROTORS RECEDING INTO THE NIGHT.)

II. Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

(THE CAMERA IS SCANNING THE MAIN AREA OF SECTION HEADQUARTERS. IT IS QUIET. BIRKHOFF IS SITTING AT THE MAIN CONSOLE ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF HIS GEEKS. THEY APPEAR TO BE ROUTINE WORK. THERE IS A RED VINE, WHICH PERIODICALLY GETS A MUNCH SHORTER, HANGING OUT OF BIRKHOFF'S MOUTH. NIKITA HAS JUST WALKED IN, LOOKS OVER THE AREA IN A SOMEWHAT LACADAISICAL FASHION, AND THEN WALKS OVER TO BIRKHOFF. THE SOUNDTRACK IN THE BACKGROUND IS SOFTLY PLAYING AN OLD PIECE SUNG BY PETER, PAUL AND MARY, "WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE".)

"Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Gone to young girls, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?"

NIKITA: Hi, Birky.

BIRKHOFF: Lo, Nikita.

NIKITA: Anything going on?

BIRKHOFF: Not much. Finally getting caught up on installing some new subroutines.

NIKITA: Have you seen Walter?

BIRKHOFF: Walter took a couple of days off.

(BIRKHOFF STOPS WHAT HE'S DOING AND LOOKS AT NIKITA. HE LOWERS HIS VOICE LEVEL.)

BIRKHOFF: I asked him if was going anywhere interesting. He said he was going to a funeral for someone who'd been dead for 25 years.

"Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone to young men, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?"

(NIKITA'S EYEBROWS RAISE AND SHE REARS BACK. SHE ALSO STARTS SPEAKING SOFTLY.)

NIKITA: Whoa!

BIRKHOFF: He sure didn't want to talk about it, just turned around and walked off.

NIKITA: Michael probably knows.

BIRKHOFF: Michael left for Paris 2 hours ago.

NIKITA: (SARCASTICALLY) Thanks for dropping around and saying "Goodbye", Michael.

BIRKHOFF: There wasn't any notice. Madeleine came in and told him "leave" and he went. You know how it is.

(NIKITA DROPS INTO AN EMPTY CHAIR NEXT TO BIRKHOFF AND HEAVES A SIGH.)

NIKITA: Yeah, I know. I'm just bitchy today.

BIRKHOFF: You said it, I didn't.

NIKITA: And bored. I need a playmate.

(BIRKHOFF HANDS HER A STACK OF PAPERS.)

BIRKHOFF: If you're going to hang out here, be useful. Type in this code for me.

NIKITA: (GRIMACING) I'm not that bored.

(BIRKHOFF IS STILL HOLDING OUT THE STACK OF PAPERS. HE NODS UPWARD TOWARD OP'S LAIR.)

BIRKHOFF: If you sit here long enough, Madeleine will find something for you to do.

(NIKITA GLANCES UP AT THE LAIR AND SEES, NOT OPS, BUT MADELEINE IN OPS' USUAL POSITION.)

NIKITA: Where's Ops?

BIRKHOFF: Took a couple of days off to go to a funeral.

"Where have all the young men gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young men gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone to soldiers, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?"

(NIKITA IS NOW ALERT. SHE TAKES THE PAPERS FROM BIRKHOFF AND LEANS FORWARD.)

NIKITA: You know more than you're telling. Spill it.

BIRKHOFF: Type?

NIKITA: Deal.

(SHE PULLS HERSELF INTO POSITION NEXT TO BIRKHOFF AND BEGINS ENTERING CODE.)

NIKITA: Talk.

(BIRKHOFF TURNS TO THE TWO GEEKS HELPING HIM, AND RAISES HIS VOICE.)

BIRKHOFF: That should do it. You two go assemble the experimental transmitter array.

(THE TWO GEEKS DEPART.)

BIRKHOFF: Ops and Walter are from the same town. Apparently it's someone they both knew as kids.

NIKITA: I may choke you. How long have you known this?

BIRKHOFF: I've always suspected some history between them, but this just surfaced from one of the Bugs downstairs.

NIKITA: Billy?

BIRKHOFF: Bobby. Seems Walter and Ops have both had some names flagged. If they come up in newspapers, whatever, they are to be notified. This time, they both had the same name flagged.

NIKITA: Who?

"And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soldiers gone, a long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?"

BIRKHOFF: (SHRUGGING) Daniel Oftedahl.

NIKTA: What about him?

BIRKHOFF: I snooped. Same home town. Wounded in Nam in '69. Been in a VA hospital ever since. Guy was apparently a vegetable. Stepped on a Claymore or something. Funeral is tomorrow.

NIKITA: So they went to his funeral together?

BIRKHOFF: Not together. Separately.

"And where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, every one!
When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?"

III. Purple Haze

(THE SCENE AROUND US GROWS SLOWLY BRIGHTER, AS IF LIT BY A RISING SUN, UNTIL WE CAN SEE CLEARLY. THE CAMERA IS PANNING AROUND FROM THE MIDST OF A CROWD OF ABOUT 50,000 YOUNG PEOPLE, MID-TEENS THROUGH AT MOST MID-TWENTIES. THEY ARE DRESSED VARIOUSLY IN BELL-BOTTOMS, LOVE BEADS, FEATHERS, BODY PAINT, AND NOTHING AT ALL. HERE AND THERE ARE NAKED COUPLES LYING ON THE GROUND MAKING LOVE. IN THE DISTANCE IS A MAJOR STAGE WITH THE WHO PLAYING, THERE ARE OTHER SMALLER STAGES IN THE AREA WITH OTHER GROUPS PLAYING. THE SOUNDTRACK BEGINS MORE OR LESS COHERENTLY WITH THE GENERAL NOISE OF A LARGE CROWD. SEVERAL OVERLAID PIECES OF MUSIC BEGIN TO BE HEARD, THEIR VOLUMES RISING AND LOWERING AS FIRST ONE, THEN THE OTHER TAKES DOMINANCE, AT TIMES THEY APPEAR TO BE PLAYING SIMULTANEOUSLY. WHAT APPEARS TO BE A LARGE CONCERT CROWD SCENE WILL BECOME INCREASING BIZARRE AS THE SCENE EVOLVES, WITH THE SOUNDTRACK FOLLOWING SUIT. PIECES HEARD AT VARIOUS TIMES ON THE SOUNDTRACK WILL INCLUDE JEFFERSON AIRPLANE'S "WHITE RABBIT", JIMI HENDRIX'S "PURPLE HAZE", DONOVAN'S "MELLOW YELLOW", COUNTRY JOE'S "FIXIN' TO DIE RAG".)

"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all."

MICHAEL LANG: Dammit Abbie, stay off the stage.

(ON STAGE, PETER TOWNSHEND CLUBS ABBIE HOFFMAN ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH HIS GUITAR.)

"I'm just mad about Saffron,
Saffron's mad about me."

(THE CAMERA BEGINS TO SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH THE CROWD, MANUEVERING AROUND A COUPLE ON THE GROUND. IT FOCUSES MOMEMTARILY ON ONE GROUP OF ABOUT A DOZEN, A MIX OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, PASSING AROUND A ROACH. ONE OF THE GIRLS IS LAYING ACROSS THE LAPS OF FOUR YOUNG MEN, WHEN THE CLIP REACHES THE ONE NEAREST THE GIRL'S HEAD, HE HOLDS IT DOWN SO SHE CAN TAKE A DRAG OFF OF IT.)

"Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall."

(DRIFTS OF CONVERSATION SLIP THEIR WAY ONTO THE SOUND TRACK AS THE CAMERAS PASS TWO GIRLS TALKING.)

GIRL: I was born in the USA, but I wasn't made until I went to Canada.

(THE CAMERA CONTINUES ITS SLOW WAY BACK AND FORTH THROUGH THE CROWD. ON THE LEFT, INCONGRUOUSLY, IS A MAN IN MILITARY DRESS UNIFORM. THE CAMERA CONTINUES.)

"And it's one, two, three, four
What are we fighting for?
I don't give a damn.
Next stop, Vietnam."

(WALKING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA IS A NAKED MAN. A WOMAN IS SITTING ON HIS SHOULDERS. A CHANT ARISES (AND WILL DO SO PERIODICALLY) FROM HUNDREDS OF VOICES IN UNISON.)

VOICES: Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll! Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll!

(THE NAKED COUPLE WALKS THROUGH A GROUP OF SIX SOLDIERS STANDING AT RIGID ATTENTION. THEY ARE ALL OBLIVIOUS TO ONE ANOTHER.)

"Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
'Scuse me while I kiss the sky."

(A SMALL GROUP STANDS WATCHING A RIDICULOUS SCENE. A MAN IS ON HIS BACK, WITH HIS ARMS CLASPED BEHIND HIS KNEES, KNEES DRAWN UP TO HIS CHEST. A WOMAN IS LEANING OVER HIM. SPINNING HIM AROUND AND AROUND LIKE A TOP IN THE MUD.)

VOICES: Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll! Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll!

(CRAWLING PAST THE SPINNING MAN IS AN ENORMOUS, LONG, BLACK SNAKE. IT CIRCLES THE GIRL'S FEET AND SLITHERS OFF, IGNORED BY EVERYONE. AS THE CAMERA PANS THE CROWD OF HAPPY FACES, THERE IS AN OCCASIONAL BLOTCH OF RED ON THE SCENE, BARELY MORE THAN A COUPLE OF FRAMES, ALMOST SUBLIMINAL. MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CROWD ARE DANCING OR AT LEAST CLAPPING TO THE RHYTHM OF THE BEAT.)

"Electrical banana
Is gonna be a sudden craze.
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase."

(A COUPLE TO THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN ARE DANCING, HE HAS ON LEATHER LEGGINGS AND BODY PAINT, SHE IS WEARING AN ARMY NURSE'S UNIFORM. HER HAIR IS A SHINY MASS OF DARK CURLS. AS THEY GYRATE, SHE TURNS, AND WE SEE THAT HER FACE IS MISSING. WHERE IT SHOULD BE IS A BLOODY PULP. THE SNAKE HAS WRAPPED ITSELF AROUND HER ANKLE.)

"And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call
And call Alice, when she was just small."

VOICES: Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll! Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll!

(THERE IS A CIRCLE OF PEOPLE, ARMS WRAPPED AROUND ONE ANOTHER'S SHOULDERS, DANCING IN A CIRCLE, STEP, STEP, STEP, KICK, STEP, STEP, STEP, KICK. MOST OF THEM HAVE FEATHERS WOVEN INTO THEIR HAIR. FROM THE RIGHT, AND MARCHING PAST THEM AS IF IN A PARADE IS A TEEN AGE BOY WEARING FULL HIGHLAND GEAR AND KILT, CARRYING AND PLAYING A BAGPIPE. JUST BEFORE HE APPEARS ON THE RIGHT OF THE SCREEN AND FOR A BIT AFTER HE DEPARTS ON THE LEFT, WE CAN HEAR A BAGPIPE PLAYING "SCOTLAND THE BRAVE". THE LONG BLACK SNAKE IS FOLLOWING HIM.)

"And it's five, six, seven, eight,
Open up the Pearly Gates,
Be the first one on your block
To have your son come home in a box."

(FROM THE LEFT ENTERS JOAN BAEZ AND HER MANAGER. HER GUITAR IS SLUNG OVER HER RIGHT SHOULDER. THEY PAUSE AND WAIT UNTIL THE SNAKES SLITHERS THROUGH BUT DO NOT PAY IT ANY ATTENTION.)

MANAGER: Why did you play for 40 minutes on the free stage? You know you still have to play on the Big Stage.

(JOAN JUST SHRUGS AND KEEPS ON WALKING. THEY WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH THE WRITHING MASS OF DANCERS.)

"When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice, I think she'll know."

(THE CAMERA FOCUSES FOR A BIT ON A YOUNG MAN SITTING ON THE GROUND. HE IS MOVING HIS HAND SLOWLY BACK AND FORTH IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. HE SLOWLY WRIGGLES HIS FINGERS, THEN DOES IT AGAIN, AND AGAIN. HE TURNS HIS FACE TO THE CAMERA AND BREAKS THE FOURTH WALL, SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO THE CAMERA.)

MAN: My fingers can do the most amazing things.

VOICES: Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll! Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll!

(FROM BEHIND HIM COME THE GROUP OF SIX SOLDIERS AGAIN, MARCHING THROUGH THE CROWD. ONE HAS LOST AN ARM, BLOOD SPURTING FROM SHOULDER; ANOTHER IS HOPPING ON ONE LEG, THE OTHER A BLOODY STUMP; STILL ANOTHER MARCHES AS THOUGH HE HAS NO PROBLEM, BUT HIS STOMACH IS RIPPED OPEN AND HIS INTESTINES TRAIL BEHIND HIM. SLITHERING ALONGSIDE THEM IS THE SNAKE.)

(THE CAMERA BEGINS TO BACK UP AND SEE FEWER INDIVIDUALS AND MORE THE GREATER MASS. SCATTERED IN AND THROUGH THE CROWD OF SINGERS AND DANCERS ARE WOUNDED SOLDIERS, STANDING AT ATTENTION. THE ONE NEAREST THE CAMERA HAS NO HEAD. THE SNAKE IS WRAPPED AROUND HIS FEET.)

"When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head."

(WALTER LEAPS FROM BED WITH A CRY AND STANDS, NAKED AND SHAKING IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS HOTEL ROOM. THERE IS VERY FAINT LIGHT COMING THROUGH THE CURTAINS. AT MOST, IT IS VERY VERY EARLY MORNING, NOT QUITE DAWN. HE STANDS THERE, SHAKING FOR A WHILE, AND STUMBLES OVER TO THE PSEUDO-WOOD TABLE AND CHAIR EVERY HOTEL PROVIDES. HE COLLAPSES IN THE CHAIR, THEN GETS UP AND GOES TO HIS SHAVING KIT, REACHING AROUND INSIDE UNTIL HE COMES UP WITH WHAT HE WANTS AND RETURNS TO THE CHAIR. HE ROLLS A JOINT, LIGHTS IT, AND TAKES A DEEP HIT. THEN ANOTHER HIT OR TWO. HIS FACE BEGINS TO RELAX, THE DEEPLY ETCHED LINES IN IT SMOOTHING.)

"Purple haze all in my eyes,
Don't know if it's day or night
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?"

IV. STAR SPANGLED BANNER

(IN THE DISTANT FOREGROUND IS A GROUP OF MOURNERS GATHERED AROUND A GRAVE SITE. THE INTERNMENT RITES ARE NEARING COMPLETION. IT IS WINDY, CHILLY, THE MOURNERS ALTERNATELY DABBING AT THEIR EYES AND HUGGING THEMSELVES FOR WARMTH. THE WIND CARRIES THE PRIEST'S WORDS IN INTERMITTANT GUSTS.)

PRIEST: In the midst of life we are in death.

(IN THE DISTANCE BEYOND THEM IS FAINTLY SEEN A MAN IN A DARK SUIT AND OVERCOAT, WEARING SUNGLASSES. HE IS STANDING IN THE SHADOW BEHIND A MONUMENT, WATCHING THE SERVICE.)

PRIEST: .and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return.

(THERE IS THE SOUND OF EARTH FALLING ON A CASKET.)

PRIEST: .we commend to Almighty God our brother, Daniel; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

(A DRIFT OF SMOKE WAFTS ACROSS THE SCREEN AND WE BECOME AWARE THAT OUR VIEWPOINT IS THAT OF ANOTHER MAN, ALSO IN THE SHADOWS, WATCHING THE SERVICE. HE DROPS A CHEROOTE AND SNUFFS IT OUT.)

PRIEST: .and give him peace. Amen.

(THE MOURNERS AND PRIEST SLOWLY DEPART. THE GRAVEDIGGERS FINISH THEIR JOB AND LEAVE. THE CAMERA PULLS BACK TO WHERE WE CAN SEE BOTH OF THE LURKING MEN SLOWLY WALKING FORWARD TO THE GRAVESITE. ONE OF THEM IS WALTER, BARELY RECOGNIZABLE IN DARK GRAY SUIT AND TIE, HAIR NEATLY PONY-TAILED AT THE NAPE OF HIS NECK, WEARING A DARK FEDORA. THE OTHER IS OPS, WEARING A BLACK SUIT, CONSERVATIVE TIE AND A DARK GRAY FEDORA. THEY ARE BOTH WEARING DARK GLASSES. THEY MEET AT THE GRAVE SITE, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE GRAVE. THE SOUNDTRACK BEGINS PLAYING "STAR SPANGLED BANNER" AS PLAYED BY JIMI HENDRIX AT THE CLOSING OF WOODSTOCK. THERE IS NO VOCAL. THE MUSIC BEGINS AS A STRAIGHT RENDITION.)

OPS: Hello, Walter.

WALTER: Marcus.

OPS: Nice day, at least.

WALTER: Yeah, thought it was going to rain earlier.

OPS: Cleared off OK.

WALTER: Yes.

(THEY BOTH LOOK AROUND THEM UNCOMFORTABLY.)

OPS: Good turnout.

WALTER: Considering.

OPS: I saw Larry's mom. Thought she was institutionalized.

WALTER: Her sister brought her.

OPS: Oh, that was her sister? Never met her.

(THEY ARE SILENT FOR A LONG WHILE. WALTER BEGINS TO SMILE A LITTLE. OPS LOOKS AT HIM QUIZZICALLY.)

WALTER: Remember that last Thanksgiving we were all together?

OPS: The football game.

WALTER: Worst fumble in history.

(WALTER LAUGHS A LITTLE, AND PUTS HIS SUNGLASSES IN HIS POCKET.)

OPS: Christ. They should have shot that quarterback on the spot.

WALTER: Larry.

(OPS STARTS TO LAUGH, AND PULLS OFF HIS SUNGLASSES.)

OPS: Oh, God. Trying to stuff the turkey.

WALTER: Plastered to the gills.

OPS: Couldn't even find the damn bird.

(THEY ARE BOTH LAUGHING NOW, BUT IT HAS AN UNEASY, NOT QUITE HYSTERICAL TONE TO IT.)

WALTER: The hangover.

OPS: Got over mine about Christmas Eve.

WALTER: Larry was such an asshole.

(THEY DROP INTO SILENCE AGAIN. THEY START SLOWLY WALKING AWAY, THEN HESITATE WHEN THEY REALIZE THEY ARE GOING THE SAME DIRECTION. OPS SHRUGS AND STEPS ON A SLIGHT DISTANCE TO ANOTHER GRAVESITE. WALTER JOINS HIM.)

WALTER: (NODDING HIS HEAD TOWARD THE GRAVE MARKER) Maggie had the cutest little turned up nose. And all those tight little dark curls all over her head.

OPS: Why did she keep trying to straighten her hair?

WALTER: Shit. It was the style.

OPS: She had more freckles on her nose than she had nose.

WALTER: You don't have to tell me, I spend a whole night once counting them: 76.

OPS: Really?

WALTER: 76.

OPS: Why would any sane woman join a MASH unit?

(THEY TURN AND WALK PART WAY BACK TO THE ORIGINAL GRAVESITE. THE MUSIC ON THE SOUNDTRACK HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY STRIDENT.)

OPS: Carol and Sam..

WALTER: Yeah

OPS: Biology, freshman year

WALTER: Right, Dr. What the f**k was his name?

OPS: Summers

WALTER: Right.

OPS: (CRACKING UP, ALMOST INCOHERENT) How do you feel?

WALTER: (LAUGHING AGAIN, SPUTTERING) And Sam says, "All over."

(THEY BOTH LAUGH AGAIN, AND AGAIN DROP INTO A STRAINED SILENCE.)

OPS: Everyone though they were crazy getting married their freshman year.

WALTER: How long did they have?

OPS: About 6 months.

WALTER: What happened to him?

OPS: Stepped on one of our own Claymores, I think.

(THEY CONTINUE WALKING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL GRAVESITE.)

OPS: Do you remember Dave?

WALTER: Jesus! Remember when he was learning the pipes for the school bagpipe marching band?

OPS: His Mom made him take his chanter to the back of their lot to practice, as far away from the house as she could get him.

(THEY ARE SMILING AGAIN. THEY HAVE ARRIVED BACK AT DANIEL'S GRAVE.)

WALTER: The back of their lot was right under our kitchen window.

OPS: Good God, he was bad.

WALTER: Got better.

OPS: Yeah, by the time he was drafted he was the lead piper.

WALTER: But that first summer.

OPS: Ouch. Still hurts thinking about it.

WALTER: His Mom would like to hear it now.

(THEY FALL SILENT AGAIN, STANDING SIDE BY SIDE. WALTER FISHES THE GLASSES OUT OF HIS POCKET. THE "STAR SPANGLED BANNER" NOW HAS SHARP RASPING SOUNDS, ALMOST LIKE GUNFIRE IN IT FROM JIMI'S GUITAR.)

WALTER: 28 years, laying in a bed like a G**d***n lump of cauliflower.

(OPS JAW CLENCHES TIGHT BUT HE SAYS NOTHING. HE REACHES IN HIS POCKET FOR HIS GLASSES.)

WALTER: He would have followed you anywhere.

(OPS PUTS ON HIS SUNGLASSES.)

WALTER: You were his f*****g idol.

OPS: We walked into a trap. There was nothing I could do.

WALTER: You told me you'd take care of Danny.

OPS: (HIS VOICE IS RISING) I tried!

WALTER: (SHOUTING) You promised you'd take care of him, you f*****g b*****d! You promised me!

OP: (SHOUTING) Maybe if YOU hadn't blown up the g*dd**ned armories all over the place..

(THE REST OF THEIR CONVERSATION IS IN ANGRY SHOUTS. JIMI'S GUITAR IS NOW CREATING THE SOUNDS OF MISSILES AND EXPLOSIONS ON THE SOUNDTRACK. OPS AND WALTER BEGIN JABBING ONE ANOTHER WITH A FINGER, ESCALATING INTO A FIGHT.)

WALTER: He went with YOU!

OPS: Maybe we could have gotten enough support.

WALTER: Why didn't you just f*****g shoot him yourself? He'd have been better off!

OPS: You went to Canada, you m****rf****r, what the hell do you know about it?

WALTER: At least I tried to STOP the f*****g war!

(JIMI'S GUITAR IS NOW EMULATING A FULL-FLEDGED BATTLE, THE ANTHEM, "STAR SPANGLED BANNER," IS BARELY DISCERNABLE UNDER THE CHAOS OF SOUNDS HE CREATES.)

(OPS AND WALTER LUNGE AT ONE ANOTHER'S THROATS, STRUGGLING WITH ONE ANOTHER. THEY BOTH FALL DOWN INTO THE FRESHLY DUG EARTH, AND STOP. THEY SLOWLY RISE, BRUSH THEMSELVES OFF, AND WALK AWAY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. IN THE DISTANCE A SILENT TRANSPARENT BAGPIPER MARCHES ACROSS THE CEMETERY.)

V. Amazing Grace

(WE ARE IN A CAR WITH OPS, WEARING HIS TURTLENECK AGAIN UNDER A SUIT JACKET. HE IS DRIVING THROUGH WASHINGTON, D. C. THE SOUNDTRACK IS PLAYING "THREE, FIVE - ZERO, ZERO" FROM 'HAIR". THE BEGINNING IS SOFT, ALMOST HISSED.)

"Ripped open by metal explosion,
Caught in barbed wire,
Fireball, bullet shock.
Bayonet, electricity,
Shrapnelled, throbbing meat.
Electronic data processing
Black uniforms.
Bare feet, carbines,
Mail order rifles,
Shoot the missiles."

(WE ARE IN A CAR WITH WALTER, ONCE AGAIN RECOGNIZABLE. HE IS WEARING BLACK LEATHER PANTS AND JACKET, AND A RED BANDANA. THE SOUNDTRACK IS STILL PLAYING AS HE PARKS THE CAR AND GETS OUT. THE BEGINNING OF THIS SECTION OF THE MUSIC IS ALMOST A CHANT AND THEN BECOMES AN UPBEAT IRONICALLY RAGTIME PIECE. HE BEGINS WALKING ACROSS A LARGE PARK.)

Two hundred fifty-six Viet Cong captured.
Two hundred fifty-six Viet Cong captured.
Prisoners in Niggertown
It's a dirty little war
Three, five -zero, zero-
Take weapons up and begin to kill,
Watch the long, long, armies drifting home."

(AS OPS PARKS HIS CAR, THE MUSIC SEQUES SMOOTHLY INTO "LET THE SUNSHINE IN", ALSO FROM "HAIR" AND THE MUSIC CONTINUES AS HE BEGINS WALKING. THE CAMERA FOLLOWS HIM.)

"We starve, look at one another short of breath,
Walking proudly in our winter coats,
Wearing smells from lab'ratories,
Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy,
Listening for the new told lies
With supreme visions of lonely tunes."

(THERE IS A SMALL COPSE OF TREES ON THE LEFT, THEN THE VIET NAM MEMORIAL APPEARS AS A RIFT IN THE EARTH. WE SEE A LONG, POLISHED, BLACK STONE WALL, EMERGING AND RECEDING ON EITHER SIDE, GROWING OUT OF THE EARTH. IT EXTENDS AND CONVERGES AT A POINT BELOW AND AHEAD OF OPS. THERE ARE BENCHES AND ON ONE AT THE CENTER OF THE MONUMENT IS WALTER.)

"Somewhere, inside something,
There is a rush of greatness,
Who knows what stands in front of our lives:
I fashion my future on films in space.
Silence tells me secretly
Everything, everything."

(OPS COMES TO A HALT BEHIND WALTER WHO DOES NOT MOVE. THEY ARE BOTH TOTALLY SILENT.)

"Singing my space songs on a spiderweb sitar,
"Life is around you and in you."
Answer for Timothy Leary, Deary.
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in.
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in.
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in, the sunshine in."

(OPS MOVES AROUND THE BENCH AND SITS NEXT TO WALTER. THEY ARE BOTH STARING AT THE MONUMENT, NOT LOOKING AT ONE ANOTHER. THE MUSIC GROWS QUIETER AND NOW WE CAN HEAR THE INCREASING VOLUME OF A LONE BAGPIPER PLAYING "AMAZING GRACE." THE BAGPIPER IS HEARD PLAYING THROUGHOUT THE FOLLOWING SCENE. THE MUSIC BEGINS SOFTLY WEAVING ITSELF INTO THE END OF "SUNSHINE" AND SWELLS NEAR THE END BEFORE FADING. OPS SOUNDS EXHAUSTED.)

OPS: I really tried, Walt. I know it wasn't enough.

(THE CAMERA MOVES AROUND FROM THE BACK OF THE BENCH TO THE FRONT, AND WE CAN SEE THAT DESPITE THE CALMNESS OF HIS VOICE, THERE ARE TEARS FORMING IN OPS' EYES. WALTER'S FACE IS ALREADY STREAKED WITH TEARS. HIS VOICE IS OLD, AND VERY VERY TIRED.)

WALTER: I know you did, Marc. You wouldn't be yourself if you hadn't.

OPS: They were my friends, too. No matter what I did, it wasn't enough.

(THEY ARE SILENT FOR A WHILE AS OPS STRUGGLES TO MAINTAIN CONTROL.)

OPS: They just . kept . dying . on me. I thought we were right; then it didn't matter. Just take care of your friends. (PAUSE) But . I couldn't.

(THERE ARE NOW TEARS FALLING FROM OPS EYES.)

OPS: They just kept dying.

(WALTER AND OPS TURN TO FACE ONE ANOTHER. WALTER IS OPENLY WEEPING.)

WALTER: I didn't want . anyone to die. None of them.

(WALTER CHOKES, THEN CONTINUES.)

WALTER: I just wanted it to stop. Just tried to stop it. Didn't know how.

(OPS PUTS HIS ARM AROUND WALTER WHO LEANS INTO HIS SHOULDER.)

WALTER: I didn't want . to lose you either, Marc. I just wanted . everyone to quit dying.

(THE CAMERA MOVES AROUND TO IN BACK OF THEM AS THEY EMBRACE ONE ANOTHER, WEEPING. THE CAMERA PULLS BACK, BACK, BACK, UNTIL THE ENTIRE MONUMENT CAN BE SEEN AND WALTER AND OPS ARE JUST TWO OLD MEN, CRYING FOR LOST LOVES, LOST FRIENDS, LOST YOUTH. WALTER'S RED BANDANA, LIKE BLOOD FROM A FRESH WOUND, IS THE ONLY SPOT OF COLOR IN A DISMAL SCENE.)

(THE LONE BAGPIPER PLAYS ON AS WE SEE THE ENTIRETY OF THE WALL, RISING OUT THE GROUND, LOOPING HIGH IN THE CENTER, SINKING BACK INTO THE GROUND AGAIN. IT LOOKS NOT UNLIKE A GREAT BLACK SNAKE.)

FADE TO BLACK, THE BAGPIPER STILL PLAYING.

Author's Note -

The Viet Nam War Memorial contains 58,209 names. These are of the names of military personnel who were wounded in Viet Nam between 1957 - 1975 and ultimately died of their wounds. There are the names of 8 women, all nurses, and 16 chaplains. 120 persons who listed foreign countries as the home are included. The names of some of my classmates are on the Wall. Other of my classmates went to Canada to avoid the draft. The warmth and kindness of our Canadian neighbors persuaded many to remain there. I remain forever grateful to those anonymous Canadians who offered them hospitality.

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