Dean: Did their son... die?
Bruce: Yeah. He was one of my guys.
Dean: Was he one of your friends that you talked about in your letters?
Bruce: Yeah. James.
Dean: Well, what about Carver or Monte?
Bruce: Still there, but good. You know, Carver has a pet chicken.
Dean: What's his name?
Bruce: Cat. [both laugh]
Dean: That's so Carver.
Bruce: Hey, Dean, let's go over to the hardware store, pick up a few things for the observation deck. I mean, we gotta be ready for when Santa come, right?

Bruce: [chuckles] Um, excuse me, sir. I saw the "help wanted" sign in the window.
Mr. Carlson: We filled that position.
Bruce: Uh-huh. Well, maybe you should take the sign out the window, then.

Bill: So, how'd it go?
Bruce: Well, uh, they offered me a job. But I didn't take it.
Bill: Why not?
Bruce: Because I don't want to be a janitor.
Bill: What? I thought you were interviewing for a teller position.
Bruce: Yeah, me too. But, clearly, they only offer the good jobs to the white veterans. I forget what things are like back here.
Bill: You know what? You're too smart to be a teller. It's time to start college. The GI Bill will cover your tuition. Let your Uncle Sam pay instead of your father.
Bruce: [laughs] Thanks, Dad. But you don't have to worry about me. I know I got options.
Bill: All right, son.

Bill: Good news. The dean of admissions from 'Bama State is gonna meet with you personally the day after Christmas vacation.
Bruce: Thanks. Thanks. But, uh, I wouldn't want him to waste his time.
Lillian: That's fine. [chuckles] Maybe you're not ready for school, but I could ask around at work and see if there's anything.
Bruce: I can take care of myself.
Bill: Hey! Don't speak to your mother that way.
Bruce: I'm sorry, Mama.
Lillian: What's wrong? Tell us.
Bruce: I re-enlisted for another tour. [all gasping] I go back in January.

Bill: You're not thinking straight. We've been watching the news. We know it's getting worse over there every day.
Kim: I've been going to protests and sit-ins to end this war so you could come home. And now you're choosing to go back?
Bruce: Okay, you just don't understand. I...
Lillian: Help us to understand, son.
Bruce: When I'm here, people see me as just a janitor. Over there, my men, they respect me. I'm a leader.
Kim: You really think they respect a Black soldier?
Bruce: Kim, one of the reasons I re-enlisted is because they're gonna promote me to sergeant. I could have a career in the Army, which is a hell of a lot better than sweeping floors for the rest of my life.
Lillian: You'd have a lot more opportunities if you went to college. You made good grades.
Bruce: That was two years ago. So was my last baseball game and my last rally. None of you have any idea what I've been through. I have a lot of friends back there in Vietnam. And I feel bad about that. I think about that a lot. Okay? I feel like I have to go back right now and make sure they get home safely.
Bill: Son, that is noble, but...
Bruce: There's no point in talking. I already signed the papers at the recruitment center. It's too late. It's too late.

Bruce: Hey. Can I join your sit-in?
Dean: No. I'm trying to end this war. And you don't care.
Bruce: Okay. That's not true. I want to end the war, too, but I also want to help my guys from my platoon get home safely.
Dean: So you care about them more than you do your own family?
Bruce: Of course not, Dean. But you all are safe here.
I just want to make sure my buddies get to spend next Christmas with their little brothers.
Adult Dean: When Bruce said that, I realized that all those soldiers I saw enlisting today had families that felt the same way as mine. Or worse, like the parents we visited yesterday who lost their son. I still didn't want my brother to go, but at least I could understand why he was going.
Bruce: So... you think we can get home now? I got something I want to show you.
Dean: Okay.
Bruce: Plus, we gotta get that sign back to Kim's room before she knows it's missing, because she'll murder you. [chuckles]
Adult Dean: By the way, my plan to end the war in Vietnam did work. It just took another seven years.

Bill: Who took my newspaper? [Bruce holds up the paper] You better use your good arm and fold it back.
Bruce: [chuckles] Sorry. I was just checking the want ads for a job.
Bill: Don't rush it, son. The doctor told you to take it easy.
Bruce: Yeah, I know. I know. I'm just ready to get my life going again. And, Dad, I thought you'd be happy to have one less dependent. [Bill chuckles]
Lillian: Does your friend, Tammy, work?
Bruce: Yes, she does, Mama.
Bill: Does she know about the disability check you're getting from the army?
Bruce: She is not after me for my money, just my good looks.

Kim: Now, back to the subject on the table... The futility of violence.
Ernest: I was saying Vietnam is the first American war that can truly be considered immoral.
Bruce: Wait, what... what do you mean "immoral"?
Kim: Um, this is my brother Bruce. He's on his way out.
Ernest: It's obviously immoral. I just read an editorial in the Montgomery Gazette. Makes a pretty convincing case. It says that...
Bruce: Well, I was just in Vietnam for two years, so if you want to know what's really happening, we can talk.

Kim: Okay, Bruce has said his piece. Now let's let him get back to his stuff in... any other room but this one.
Ernest: It's unfair to draft people and force them to fight a w*r that has nothing to do with them.
Bruce: This war affects all of us. If communism gets a foothold there, who knows where it goes next?

Ernest: It just seems like another example of American imperialism, and guys like you are just pawns in a global chess game.
Kim: Uh, hold it right there. My brother is not a pawn. You have no idea the sacrifices he's made.
Adult Dean: Wow. I had never heard Kim defend Bruce like that before. I think Bruce was surprised, too.
Bruce: Look, there may be some truth to what you're saying, but y'all wasn't in the front lines. Trust me, doing this... [snaps fingers] ...doesn't stop bullets, and it doesn't save lives. But I apologize, man. I'm sorry. Um. [scoffs] I didn't mean for this to get so heated.
Ernest: Are you kidding? [chuckles] This has been a gas. You're a smart cat. And I meant no disrespect. You had every right to lay it on me. Next time, I'll keep it mellow.
Kim: Next time. Cool.