Look here, boy, I want you out.
Yeah! Play it, Luther!
Oh, honey, play it. Play it soft now, Luther.
See, that's what I was trying to tell you.... Sarge?
He's so drunk.
He's drunk.
What in the hell does he think he's doing? That drunken....
TYNIN, LOUISIANA - 1944
They still...
...hate you.
They still...
...hate you.
You can put your arms down when the search team finishes with you.
We don't want anybody from this fort going into Tynin looking for rednecks.
-May I speak, sir? -Cobb?
Colonel Nivens must know nobody coloured killed the Sarge.
Well, this is precautionary, Cobb.
We can't have the Army engaged in revenge on civilians.
-Sir, are there any suspects? -None.
Come on, now. Everybody knows it was the Klan.
Were you an eyewitness, soldier?
They lynched Jefferson the week I got here. Two weeks after that it was--
Unless you saw it, you keep your opinions to yourself.
Yes, sir.
-And that applies to everybody else. -Yes, sir!
Tynin has been placed off-limits to all enlisted personnel.
Come on, Captain.
Any man found in the town will be immediately subject to court-martial.
Sergeant Waters' replacement will be assigned in a couple of weeks.
Until then, Cobb...
...you're barrack's NCO. Any questions?
Carry on.
Now, what do you think?
Taylor and that goddamn colonel, they know who killed Waters.
Anybody feel like playing with me some Pitty Pat?
Wilkie, I thought all you could play was flunky.
Yeah. Wilkie, whose ass are you gonna kiss...
...now that your Number One ass is dead?
You know what you can do for me, Henson. You too, Peterson.
-Take it easy. -Look, I'm the one that lost three stripes.
I'm the only man here with kids. So when the man said "jump," I jumped.
Come on, don't put your wife and kids between you and Waters' ass.
I don't kiss nobody's ass, Henson. I just wanted my stripes back.
You ain't never been no place. You ain't never had nothin'.
You can't understand a man like me. I was once top sergeant of this platoon.
Yeah? Well, now you ain't nothin'. Nothin', Wilkie.
Recruits, over here. Let me see your passes. Let's go!
Wake up, boy!
You said Tynin, didn't you?
Yeah.
Come on, boy.
Let's go!
Captain Davenport?
Corporal Ellis, at your disposal, sir. I'm to take you to Colonel Nivens, sir.
-Well, let's get rolling, soldier. -Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, Captain Davenport.
We're rolling, Captain.
This is where they killed Sergeant Waters last month, sir.
Why did you say, "They" killed him, Corporal?
Who's "they"?
The Klan, sir. They ain't too crazy about us tan Yanks down here.
I suppose whoever drove you in from the station...
...showed you the spot where the killing took place.
Told you I had all the troops' personal effects searched for weapons.
He tell you all that?
Is there a point the colonel is trying to make, sir?
There's a point.
This thing has been blown all the hell out of shape.
This is the Army's business.
Not the NAACP.
Not the Negro press.
Not those paper-shufflin' desk jockeys in Washington.
I was brought up in the South, Davenport.
You ever hear of Threadgill County, Alabama?
No, sir.
No matter.
I've been commanding coloured troops all my life, Davenport.
The worst thing you can do in this part of the country...
...is pay too much attention to the death of a Negro under mysterious circumstances.
Especially a soldier.
People get itchy. Uneasy.
White folk in the town, coloured at the fort...
...keep turning this thing over.
Sooner or later, you're bound to have an explosion.
Now, I've lived here in Hunter Parish for three years.
I'm fond of the place. I like the duty.
You get my meaning?
What is it you want, Colonel?
I want whatever you came here to do completed in three days.
Sir, I request immediate permission to notify Washington.
-Permission denied. -I'm under direct orders--
I don't care if Roosevelt himself sent you!
I'm trying to keep my coloured troops from going into that town and killing somebody.
I don't care what you think.
You can always return to Washington if you like.
No, sir. I was assigned this case and I intend to file a report, sir.
Here are your instructions and our reports.
Captain Taylor's men will help you get settled. Taylor was Waters' CO.
That'll be all, Davenport.
And...
...Captain....
Remember, you're the first coloured officer most of these men have ever seen.
The Army expects you to set an example for the coloured troops...
...and be a credit to your race.
Is that clear, Captain?
Yes, Colonel.
Sir?
Sir, are you all right?
-Would you like to go to your quarters? -No, I'll see Captain Taylor first.
You don't want to unpack, sir? Freshen up? It didn't go too good--
You got a hearing problem?
No, sir! My ears are big. I was born with them.
It runs in my family. My grandmother had big ears....
I used to drive a fire truck, Captain.
Then the Army took and let me drive an ambulance.
I've been driving this jeep for six months. Only turned over twice.
-Twice? -Yes, sir.
Good.
Good afternoon, sir.
Sergeant Washington, sir.
Can I help you, Captain?
Captain Davenport to see Captain Taylor.
Just a moment, sir.
Yes?
Captain Davenport to see you, sir.
Send him in.
Yes, sir.
Every member of the lodge is rooting for you, sir.
-Have a seat. -Thank you.
I like your flowers, Captain.
Where's he from?
He's from Washington, DC. He's here on special assignment.
Washington?
Yes, sir.
You gotta be shittin' me.
So, they assigned a lawyer to the Military Police?
Where'd you graduate at law school?
Howard University.
Your parents rich or something?
No, my father's a mailman.
I graduated at the Point. I didn't see any Negroes at the Point.
In fact, I never saw a Negro until I was...
...I think, 12 or 13.
Have you seen my orders, Captain?
Yes, as soon as Colonel Nivens received them.
Look, I think it only fair to tell you...
...that had I known you'd be a Negro...
...I would have requested the immediate suspension of the investigation.
-Now, look, may I speak freely? -You haven't stopped yet.
Look, these local people aren't going to charge a white man in this parish...
...on your say-so.
Nivens knows that.
He doesn't give a damn about this killing. Your being here proves it.
They're making a fool out of you.
Can't you see? Will you take off those damn sunglasses?
I like these. They're like MacArthur's.
All right now, look. Let me explain something to you.
You go near Tynin in your uniform, sounding white and charging local people...
...and you'll wind up just as dead as Waters.
This isn't Washington, Davenport.
I know where I am.
Do you know how many times I've asked Nivens to look into this killing?
Every day since it happened.
-Do you suspect someone? -Don't play lawyer with me, soldier!
With you on this case, we are not going to get anywhere.
Like it or not, Captain, I am all you've got.
Your orders instruct you to cooperate.
Now...
...is there anything else?
-Ellis! -Yes, sir?
Captain Davenport will need some assistance with the men.
-You'll excuse me, won't you, Captain? -I'm glad I met you.
Captain.
I hope we get to fight soon, sir.
Next, they'll have us picking this year's cotton crop.
Don't worry, Corporal. They don't grow much cotton in Germany.
Yes, sir.
How long was Captain Taylor's investigation?
Two days, sir.
Two days? Who did he question?
Well, mostly guys who had contact with Sarge that day: guys in his platoon...
...then anybody who could've seen him on the road. Wasn't but a handful.
-Did you see him that day? -Nope.
No, sir.
Did your sergeant drink a lot?
I didn't know him well enough to say, sir.
All right, soldiers, let's get back to those exercises.
Haven't you ever seen a coloured officer before?
No, sir. Have you, sir?
Ten-hut!
This is it, sir.
The captain instructed everyone in the sergeant's platoon to be here.
As you were.
Sergeant Waters' room is right there, sir.
Sir....
I think I ought to tell you, sir:
Captain Taylor questioned two white officers from this fort that night.
How do you know?
I delivered his report to Colonel Nivens, sir.
And on the way over, the jeep hit a hole.
The papers flew all over the road, and.... I just happened to notice it, sir.
Who are they?
No names, sir. Just the mentioning of the questioning.
It seems they were on the road that night.
Well...
...don't let any more reports fly away from you, Corporal.
No, sir.
Sir, may I say something, though?
It sure is good seeing one of us wearing captain's bars, sir.
Call in the first man, Corporal.
Yes, sir.
Private Wilkie, Captain wants to see you!
Yes, indeedy. On my way.
Private Wilkie reports as ordered, sir.
Close the door.
-Have a seat. -Yes, sir.
-I'm Captain Davenport. I'm conducting-- -We all know that, sir.
Word went out on the grapevine you were here the minute you hit the fort.
I'm conducting an inquiry into the events surrounding the death of Sergeant Waters.
The report I file will be confidential.
How long did you know the sergeant?
About a year, sir.
You see, this company, sir, was basically a baseball team.
Most of the guys had played in the Negro League, so...
...naturally, the Army put us all together.
The Army sent Sergeant Waters here to manage the team in the summer of '42...
...right after the invasion of North Africa.
He'd been in Field Artillery, a gunnery sergeant.
He had a FEF and an ETO, a "Croix de Guerre" from World War I.
What kind of man was he?
He was all spit and polish, sir.
He took my stripes, sir, but I was in the wrong.
Sergeant Wilkie.
You're a noncommissioned officer in the Army of a country at war.
The penalty for being drunk on duty is severe.
So don't bring me no:
"Us coloured folks can't do nothin' unless they're drunk" shit as an excuse.
You're supposed to be an example to your men.
I'm going to put you in the stockade for 10 days and take those stripes.
-Wait a minute, Sergeant-- -Teach you a lesson.
You're in the Army.
Coloured folks always talkin' about what they'll do...
...if the white man give 'em a chance. You get it, and what do you do with it?
You wind up drunk on guard duty.
I don't blame the white man.
Why the hell should he put coloured and white together?
You can't even guard your own quarters.
-Wait a minute, Sergeant-- -Where's your pride?
Where's your respect for this uniform?
Get out of my sight, Private.
How was he with the other men?
Sometimes the Southern guys caught hell.
Sergeant wasn't too big on guys from the South.
Me, I'm from Detroit.
Did you know that Joe Louis got his start in Detroit?
What about the Southern men?
Sarge didn't like 'em. Except for CJ.
It could've been because CJ was the best ballplayer on the team.
He could sing, too. Boy, could he sing.
"Well, it's a low-down low-down dirty shame
"Yes, it's a low-down low-down dirty shame
"They say we fightin' Hitler But they won't let us in the game, Lord
"Yes, it's a low-down dirty shame
"Yes, it's a low-down dirty stinkin' shame"
Sing it for Big Mary, you little sweet thing.
"Left home to join this Army Won't somebody tell me who's to blame?"
I'll tell you something, CJ, right now.
"I'm gonna kill my man
"Then I'm gonna turn around and kill myself
"I'm gonna kill him with a razor Yes, I am
"And then I'm going to use it on myself
"I'd rather see us both dead and buried
"Than see him with someone else
"Well, it's a low-down dirty shame
"Yes, it's a low-down
"dirty shame
"You ain't nothin' in this man's army Till Big Mary knows your name"
All right. Drink up, boys.
A man can't make no money when the US Army stops sippin'...
...so drink up now, 'cause I need a new car.
I'm gonna ask that boy something. Come on, Wilkie.
Boy....
You ever heard of Blind Willie Reynolds? Son House?
I knew it. I bet you're from Mississippi, too, ain't ya?
Yes, sir.
I used to hear him at the...
...Bandana Club outside Camp JJ Reilly.
Folks came from everywhere, Wilkie.
Folks would be dancing, sweating....
Reminded me of a place I used to go in France.
The whiskey, the women.
Place called the Cafe Napoleon.
Where'd you learn to play, son?
My daddy taught me, Sarge.
You play pretty good, boy.
Wilkie, wasn't that good?
That was good, Sarge.
Take it easy, son.
I mostly agreed with the sergeant, sir. He was a good man.
Good to his men. Talked about his wife and kid all the time.
As a matter of fact, he wrote home to his wife everyday.
I just don't see why anybody would want to kill the Sarge.
See this?
My wife let a neighbour take this just a couple of weeks ago.
Army's not for my son.
See, when this war is over, things are gonna change.
I want him to be ready for it.
I'll send him to some big white college.
Let him rub elbows with the whites.
Learn the white man's language, how he does things.
White don't rub off.
Well, what are we gonna do? Stay behind in everything?
Hell, you can see it in the Army. The white man's running rings around us.
Lot of us ain't had the chance them white boys had, Sarge.
That ain't no excuse.
My daddy shovelled coal from a wagon all his life.
Couldn't read or write, but he saw to it that we did.
Now, not having is no excuse for not getting.
You can't get pee from a tree, Sarge.
You're just like the rest of them, Wilkie: ignorant, scared.
-Stop thinking like a nigger! -Take it easy.
-All I said-- -Is the equipment ready for the game?
-No. -Then see that it gets ready.
Here's to the war, gents.
To the war.
Two people, sir.
Mr. Warm and Mr. Cold.
But, deep down, a real nice guy.
You could always borrow $10 from him if you needed it.
Did you see him the night he was killed?
I saw him in town, at the club, earlier.
But I left around 10:00. He was juicin' pretty heavy.
Is it true, sir, that when they found him...
...his stripes and insignia were still on the uniform?
Yes.
Something's wrong, ain't it, sir?
I mean, those Klan boys, they can't stand to see us in these uniforms.
They usually take the stripes and stuff off before they lynch us.
That'll be all, Private.
Yes, sir.
Sir, can you do anything about allotment cheques?
My wife didn't get hers last month.
Did you see the finance officer?
Yes, I did, sir.
Well, I'II....
I'll speak to Captain Taylor.
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Yes indeedy.
Would you like me to send the next man in?
Yes.
Private First Class Melvin Peterson, reporting as ordered, sir.
Sit down, Private.
Where are you from, Peterson?
Hollywood, California...
...by way of Alabama, sir.
You see, I enlisted in '42.
I thought we'd get a chance to fight, sir.
Did you know the sergeant well?
No, sir. He was already with the company when I got assigned and...
...PFCs and sergeants, we don't mix too well, sir.
You played ball for him.
Yes, sir. I played shortstop.
Did you like the sergeant?
No, sir.
It goes back to the team.
-Stone-ass felt that-- -"Stone-ass"?
I'm the only one who called him that, sir. Sergeant Waters, sir.
Didn't mean no offence, sir.
When I got here, the team had already won...
...9 or maybe 10 games in a row.
It was even rumoured we'd get the chance to play the Yankees in exhibition.
Anyway, we were playing the 35th Ordinance this particular day.
It was a real big game, too.
The YWCA sent a whole busload of women to see us.
A real big day, sir.
Let it fly there. Let's go, Pete.
Come on, batter, hit the ball.
That's a hell of a ballplayer.
Come on, hit it!
Throw another one up here.
Come on, CJ, next county.
Hell of a ballplayer! Did you see....
All right, CJ.
Come on, boy.
Did you see that ball? I mean, did you see it go?
We played fairly well. I had two hits. Smalls had a couple and CJ....
CJ was incredible.
We beat 'em something like 9, 10-0.
Like we always did after a game, we went to the mess hall to celebrate.
CJ.
Who was that fine river-hip thing you was talkin' to before the game?
The woman had tits like two helmets.
-Did you see the size of them knockers? -No, he didn't.
Smalls couldn't even see a ball go right in his glove.
How the hell he gonna see CJ by the truck?
I saw CJ, man.
Will you all let CJ tell me about this woman?
She looked mighty good to me, CJ.
All she asked me for was my autograph.
She looked like she was askin' for more than that.
Moved in close.
Breathin' heavy.
Wavin' them tits all in your face.
He's right on that, CJ.
If I'd given that gal what she asked me for...
...she'd give me somethin' I didn't want.
Around home, there's a fella folks used to call Little Jimmy One-Leg...
...on account of his thing was so big.
A couple of years ago...
...a young pretty thing laid clap on Jimmy so bad...
...he lost the one good leg he had. Now folks just call him Little.
That pretty young thing talking to me ain't look too clean.
Them dirty ones'll give you the clap every time. Right, Henson?
I hear tell they're on the verge of gettin' all of us together.
The coloured, the white. Say they want one army.
You can forget that, CJ.
White folks ain't never gonna integrate no army.
I don't know. If they do, I'm gonna be ready for 'em.
"Get me a bright red zoot suit"
Yeah.
"And a pair of patent leather shoes
"And the woman sittin' at home waitin'
"for the day we get the news Lord, Lord"
Go!
"Lord, Lord
"Look out, Adolf Hitler You and Tojo gonna be singing the blues"
All right.
"Gotta little problem It's about 5-foot-2
"And they call him Sarge And he's after you
"Got to watch what you're sayin' Got to watch what you do
"'Cause that low-down dirty Waters is gonna roll all over you
"Lord, Lord"
Knock it off.
We don't need no more guitar-picking, sittin'-around-the-shack music today.
I want all you men out of those baseball uniforms and into work clothes.
You'll report to me at 16:00.
We've got a work detail: painting the lobby of the Officers' Club.
Why can't those officers paint their own club?
Hell no, Smalls.
Let the Great Coloured Cleanup Company do it.
Our motto is:
"Anything you don't want to do, the coloured troops will do for you."
"Anything you don't want to do The coloured troops will do for you"
That's enough.
Let me tell all you fancy-assed ballplayin' Negroes something.
The reasons for any orders given by a superior officer...
...is none of you-all's business. You obey them.
This country is at war.
You niggers are soldiers, nothin' else.
And something else: from now on, when I tell you to do something...
...I want it done. Is that clear?
Yes, sir.
Now, get out of those baseball uniforms.
I could smell you suckers before I hit the door.
What kind of coloured man are you?
I'm a soldier, Peterson.
The kind of coloured man that don't like lazy, shiftless Negroes.
Well, sir, you ain't got to come in here calling us names.
The Nazis call you "Schwarze".
You gonna complain to Hitler that he hurt your feelings?
It don't look like we could do too much to them Nazis...
...with paintbrushes, Sarge.
You trying to mock me, CJ?
No, sir, Sarge.
Good.
Because whatever an ignorant, low-class Geechee like you has to say...
...ain't worth paying attention to.
Is it?
I reckon not, Sarge.
You're a creep, Waters!
Sarge's just jokin', Pete. He don't mean no harm.
No, he does.
I mean, we take enough from them white boys.
Yes, you do. And if it wasn't for you Southern niggers...
...white folks wouldn't think we was all fools.
Well, where are you from? England?
Wilkie.
Looks like we got us a wiseass Alabama boy here.
Yes, sir.
Now, don't you get smart, nigger.
Get your fuckin' hands off me!
You wanna hit old Sergeant Waters, boy?
Come on.
Please.
Come on, nigger!
Ten-hut!
At ease. Now, what's going on here, Sergeant?
Nothing, sir.
I was going over some batting techniques, sir.
Is there something you wanted? Something I can do, sir?
No, nothing. I just wanted to congratulate you men on the game you won today.
The way I figure it, only seven more...
...and we'll be the first coloured team in Army history to play the Yankees.
The entire regiment is counting on you. Sergeant?
Sir.
As far as I'm concerned, these men can have the rest of the day off.
Beg your pardon, sir.
Excuse me, sir.
They don't need time off. They need all the work they can get.
Our fellas in North Africa don't get time off.
Besides, they have orders to report for a paint detail at 16:00.
-Who issued that order? -Major Harris, sir.
-I'll speak to the major. -Sir?
I don't think it's a good idea to have a coloured NCO...
...mixed up with your officers, sir.
I said I'd speak to him, Sergeant.
Yes, sir.
Memphis....
About that catch you made in centre field today:
How in the hell did you get up that high?
They say I got bird in my blood, sir.
I hope it's an American Eagle.
No, sir.
Crow.
See, a man told my daddy the day I was born:
He said, "The boy got the shadow of crow wings in his chest--"
That's fine, Memphis.
Men, you played a great game today.
-Sergeant? -Ten-hut!
Carry on.
How long a story were you gonna tell the man there, CJ?
Peterson!
I ain't forgot you, boy.
It's time to teach you a lesson.
-Wilkie. -Sir.
Go outside and make sure everything is set up.
You want all the NCOs?
I'm going outside to wait for you, Geechee. And when you come out...
...I'm gonna whup your black Southern ass.
Let the whole company watch, too.
You need to learn respect for these stripes.
The rest of you...
...get those goddamn uniforms off like I said.
You ain't gonna fight him, are you?
Don't do it. He'll fight dirty.
You can't whup the Sarge.
You wanna fight in my place, Cobb?
Pete, I got some Farmer's Dust.
A pinch of this will make you strong as a bull.
Would you get out of here with that backwater crap?
You can't speak up for yourself. You let him treat you like a dog.
Calling names ain't nothin'. I know who I is.
Sarge ain't so bad. He's been good to me.
The man despises you.
You're wrong, Pete. Plus, I feel sorry for him myself.
Any man ain't sure where he belong gotta be in a whole lot of pain.
Look, don't you all even care about nothing?
Don't none of us like it, Pete...
...but this is the Army and Sarge got all the stripes.
I'll go get the captain.
You ain't got to go out there and get your head beaten in.
Somebody's got to fight him.
Waters, what's going on?
I had a problem with one of the guys.
Yeah?
Don't worry about it.
Come on now, boy.
Let's take your whuppin' like a man.
Kick his ass, Pete.
Watch him, Pete.
Come on out here and kick old Sarge's ass.
Come on, Geechee.
You don't want the Sarge to grow old waitin' for you, now.
Fight him!
Watch him, Pete!
He got him!
That got him!
Get up, Sarge!
You throw a pretty mean punch, boy.
But old Sarge is here to kick your ass.
-There you go. -Get up, Peterson.
-Get up, Pete. -Get him, Sarge.
Vernon!
That's enough.
Yeah, he beat me pretty bad that day, sir.
Did anybody report the fight to an officer?
No, sir, I never reported it. I know I should have, but...
...he left me alone after that so I just played ball.
I appreciate your honesty, Peterson.
Thank you, sir.
Did you see Sergeant Waters the night he was killed?
No, sir. Smalls and I had guard duty.
-Thank you. That'll be all for now. -Yes, sir.
Did the team ever get to play the Yankees?
No, sir. We lost the last game to a sanitation company.
What brings you out to my neighbourhood? Slumming?
I wanted you to see the request...
...I've sent to Colonel Nivens to have your investigation terminated.
Now, my reasons have nothing to do with you personally.
My request won't hurt your Army career in any way.
It's just that there are other considerations in this case.
Only the colour of my skin.
Now, hold it, Davenport!
I want the people that killed Waters prosecuted.
So do I.
Then give this up.
White people down here, they won't see their duty or justice.
They'll see you. And you can't possibly get at the truth.
Why? Because two white officers are involved in this?
You can't get them charged, court-marshalled or anything else.
Why wasn't there any mention of them in my report?
You think I'm gonna let you get away with this?
I was ordered not to include it.
-By who? -Colonel Nivens.
Now, look.
They took two .45 calibre slugs out of Waters, Army issue.
Now, if my men thought a white officer had killed him...
...there would have been a slaughter.
Who are the officers?
Lieutenant Byrd in Ordinance and Captain Wilcox, 12th Hospital Group.
Private Seymour saw them on the road.
When I checked the officers' billet, I found them both asleep.
They admitted they'd had an argument with the sergeant...
...but said they'd left him on the road.
So, you never believed the Klan was involved.
No.
No. Now can you see why this thing needs somebody else?
Tell me what they told you.
Look, hotshot.
They're not going to let you charge those two men.
Tell me what they told you.
Left, two, three, four....
Left, two, three, four.
You wanna move your ass off the goddamn road, Sergeant?
Well, I'll be damned.
If it ain't the white boys!
-Did you hear what he said? Shit! -Let it go!
"Let it go," my ass!
Come here, Sergeant.
White boys, all starched and stiff.
Want everybody to learn that symphony shit.
That's what you said in France...
...and you know, I listened to it.
Am I all right now? Am I?
You'd better straighten up and salute an officer...
...or I'll take your fuckin' stripes, boy!
That's better.