You know how hard they tried to wash us out in flight school? the colored flyers, it was...
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Lt. Lincoln A. Scott:
You know how hard they tried to wash us out in flight school? the colored flyers, it was test after test, anything they can come up to turn us into the cooks, the drivers, the shit shovelers, but I refused to wash out, so did Archer, come hell or high water, we hit the books, we were determined not to spend the war being some niggers, with all due respect, sir I'd like to exercise my right to address this court, I've been sitting down ever since I got here and I should've said something when you quartered us with the enlisted men instead of quartering us properly as officers, but it's ok, because colored men expect to jump through a few hoops in this man's army, Archer knew that, we all did. there's camp right outside Bacon, where I'm from and that's where the army sends the German POW's, picking cotton, what's strange every once and a while, we'd see them around town going to the movies, eating at diners, but if I wanted to go see the same movie I'd half to sit way up in the balcony, those diners were closed to me, even in uniform this must've happened to half the guys at Tuskegee and the German POW's were allowed to sit there and eat but we kept telling ourselves because no matter what, as long as we did our job, it would all be worth it because the war would end, we could home and be free to walk down any street in America with our heads held high as men, so that's what we did, we did our jobs, we served our country, Archer and I, and what you let happened to him, what you "allowed" to happen to him is appalling, and so is this
You know how hard they tried to wash us out in flight school? the colored flyers, it was test after test, anything they can come up to turn us into the cooks, the drivers, the shit shovelers, but I refused to wash out, so did Archer, come hell or high water, we hit the books, we were determined not to spend the war being some niggers, with all due respect, sir I'd like to exercise my right to address this court, I've been sitting down ever since I got here and I should've said something when you quartered us with the enlisted men instead of quartering us properly as officers, but it's ok, because colored men expect to jump through a few hoops in this man's army, Archer knew that, we all did. there's camp right outside Bacon, where I'm from and that's where the army sends the German POW's, picking cotton, what's strange every once and a while, we'd see them around town going to the movies, eating at diners, but if I wanted to go see the same movie I'd half to sit way up in the balcony, those diners were closed to me, even in uniform this must've happened to half the guys at Tuskegee and the German POW's were allowed to sit there and eat but we kept telling ourselves because no matter what, as long as we did our job, it would all be worth it because the war would end, we could home and be free to walk down any street in America with our heads held high as men, so that's what we did, we did our jobs, we served our country, Archer and I, and what you let happened to him, what you "allowed" to happen to him is appalling, and so is this
Full Transcript
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You know how hard they tried
00:00:02.301 --> 00:00:06.829
to wash us out of flight school the colored flyers
00:00:07.054 --> 00:00:08.973
Your testimony's been entered Lieutenant
00:00:09.642 --> 00:00:10.768
You can step down
00:00:10.081 --> 00:00:12.368
It was test after test
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I mean anything they could come up with to turn us
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into the cooks or the drivers or the shit shovelers
00:00:20.953 --> 00:00:22.511
Your Honor this is highly unnecessary
00:00:22.555 --> 00:00:26.002
The witness has already But I refused to wash out
00:00:26.001 --> 00:00:29.062
So did Archer I mean come hell or high water
00:00:29.662 --> 00:00:30.959
We hit the books
00:00:30.997 --> 00:00:32.487
We were just determined
00:00:32.532 --> 00:00:36.491
that we were not going to spend the war being some niggers
00:00:36.536 --> 00:00:38.436
That's enough Lieutenant You will take your seat
00:00:38.471 --> 00:00:39.631
With all due respect sir
00:00:39.672 --> 00:00:42.505
I would like to exercise my right and address this court
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Movie Summary
Fourth-generation Army Col. William McNamara is imprisoned in a brutal German POW camp. Still, as the senior-ranking American officer, he commands his fellow inmates, keeping a sense of honor alive in a place where honor is easy to destroy, all under the dangerous eye of the Luftwafe vetran Col. Wilhelm Visser. Never giving up the fight to win the war, McNamara is silently planning, waiting for his moment to strike back at the enemy. A murder in the camp gives him the chance to set a risky plan in motion. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted, McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant, enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Tommy Hart. Together with his men, McNamara uses a hero's resolve to carry out his mission, ultimately forced to weigh the value of his life against the good of his country.
Actors
Lt. Lincoln A. Scott