 Family Theater presents Ricardo Montalbán and Paul Paccerini from Hollywood the mutual network and cooperation with Family Theater Presents under fire starring Paul Paccerini Now here is your host Ricardo Montalbán Thank You Tony LaFranco Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives If we are to win peace for ourselves peace for our families and peace for the world Family Theater urges you to pray Pray together as a family and now to our transcribed drama Under fire starring Paul Paccerini as Ben I don't well, maybe he's on one of the back cars All right, but remember Sam if you meet him first try to be as natural as possible On the platform up there. Oh, yeah, he's looking this way. Yo Ben remember what you said about acting master. Yes, uh, I will We we won't even mention it unless he brings it up himself then Ben. We're over here You're all right Fine just fine Nancy you look wonderful then so do you we thought you'd be wearing your uniform sport. No, I I didn't want to Come on son. We're all going back to the house for dinner I've got everything you like even your favorite dessert. Don't tell me ice-box I Shouldn't have said that about his uniform. I was trying to act natural. It wasn't your fault Sam. He just hasn't gotten over it Yeah, I guess we can figure he's gonna be a little touchy on the subject for a while anyway probably say I meant to ask How come your brother didn't come down to meet the train? Well, Mike was pretty busy at the bank this afternoon. So was I but old man Peters let me off We'd better start back to the house Sam. Mrs. Taylor's plan dinner for six. Wait a minute Is Mike sore because of what happened to Ben? I've tried to explain it to him. Ben's his best friend I know but Mike says he went through a war too. Then you'd think he'd understand seems to be just why he can't He says no matter how you look at it no matter how you try to explain it It always comes out the same way. What's that? Ben's a coward More ice-box cake anyone Sam Nancy. No, thanks plenty for me. Mrs. Taylor Ben you finish it up. Oh, I couldn't do it mom I've been around twice already. Well, I guess I'm just have to throw it out. You will not Put it in the refrigerator. I'll eat it tonight Can we help with the dishes, Mrs. Taylor? No, no, I've got Hannah tonight you young folks go out on the front I'd love to help. We'll be through in a jiffy. You go ahead Then smoke. Oh, thanks. Oh Boy, that was a lot of groceries. Would you rather stay in here then? No, no, let's go out on the porch I'll fall asleep. I don't get some air if you're tired. No, no, that's all right. I can imagine It's been a pretty hectic day. Why do you say that? Why just homecoming? Isn't that always pretty hectic? I guess so Say, uh, have you folks got anything special on for tonight? Oh, I know not unless Ben wants to do something No, I just thought I'd stick around the house. Why well, um, I've got kind of a date to one of the new girls down at the bank Which one's this? The little redhead we plan to take in a movie. How about you folks coming along? No, I don't think so Sam Do you mind Nancy? Don't be silly. Well, I told her I'd be by around eight Well, you go ahead Sam. I'll tell mom you got sick from a cooking No, I'm parked out in the back. Anyway, I'll go through the house and thank her for the meal Good luck with the redhead. You sure you don't want to come along? No, thanks. Well, I'll see you around Welcome home Buster. So long Sam. How does it feel to be home, Ben? Oh Pretty good. I'm still kind of getting used to it. We all missed you me especially Really? You got my letters. You bet I did you never stopped writing you and mom Even after I fold it up like a tent Do you want to talk about it? Was that why Mike stopped? In a way, he wasn't quite sure what happened to you. That makes two of us. I wasn't either I'm still not sure. Ben, it's over now. You've got to put it behind you I suppose he didn't want to come down to the train this afternoon either. He was tied up at the bank Mr. Peters had some reports to get out. Yeah. Yeah, okay. I get it You mustn't be too hard on him, Ben. Sure. Sure. I know Mike was a hero shot down five Japs Bought a plane that was half burned up back to his carrier. You know, he's never tried to capitalize on that. That isn't what I meant It's just well Remember how I used to get him to tell me about it over and over and over again when he first came home You're the only one he ever would talk to about it. He knew I was just a wide-eyed kid But I made up my mind and that if if ever I got into the war I'd be just like Mike Just as modest just as brave then And then five years later. I got my wish. I Got my wish right in the teeth. I got it. You're just torturing yourself. No, I'm not Nancy I'm trying to see what went wrong. What happened. It's happened other men, but not to me It shouldn't have happened to me I'd been in the line before about three separate times. I thought I was used to it I'll never believe anyone gets used to it Yeah, you try to tell yourself you are anyhow It was about a month before the ceasefire Right at the end Our whole company was dug in along a ridge up front But for almost two weeks to there hadn't been much going on Then around 10 o'clock one morning It was a Sunday, I think But a hundred red seemed to come from nowhere boiling up the rigidus Yelling banging pots and pans. I don't know whether it was a surprise or what But for a few minutes I I just I just froze I Guess I got in use of the idea that I was through fighting You know, I thought it was almost all over and I all I had to do was sit around and wait Then I heard shooting and looked around and I saw our guys were We're starting to pour it back at the Reds. It kind of shook me out of it for a minute I I grabbed my own gun and started firing and everything Everything seemed all right for a while and every time I squeezed one off I I began to feel a little better a little more like I was going to be all right And I think I would have been all right if I if what then If I hadn't seen this this one red I'd stopped to reload and I was I was still pretty shaky and the clip fell out of my hand I bent down to scoop it off the ground and when I looked up There was this commie rifleman staring at me Staring at me from over the ridge. He wasn't more than five yards away He had a perfect beat on me. I saw his hand tighten on the trigger and pull it. I was as I was as good as dead I'm not sure what happened next. I Think his gun must have jammed because he looked down at it and he made a face and then somebody lobbed a grenade at him It went off right at his feet What happened then then That's when I did it I threw down my gun and ran ran for all I was worth I Ran until they caught me And they shipped me back to a hospital But didn't the doctor say you were suffering from battle fatigue when that happened? I guess that's what they said well Then all I know is I ran away And after all the doctors and psychologists are through with you. It's all anyone remembers. You just ran away You've got to stop running sometime, Ben. I think I have stopped I finally came home. I face that much anyhow What are you going to do now? I don't know. I haven't really thought about it You've got a job at the bank. You know if you still want it With Mike working there. Oh, what's the difference? You can't go rearranging your whole life just because of Mike You know that sounds funny coming from you. All right. He's my brother and I love him But what happens to you was a lot more important to me than his outrage sense of honor or whatever it is Nancy then Then it's been such a long time since you've put your arms around me. I Wasn't sure you still wanted me to all I haven't changed darling Don't you know that? Yes, I know it now You you really think I ought to go back to the bank. Do you want to? Yes, I do then I wouldn't let anything in the world stop me Mr. Peters wants to see you in his office. Okay. Oh say will you ask Miss Carpenter to pull the file on the Winston realty account? Sure, you just have her leave it on my desk. Okay. Oh By the way Mike. Yeah Have you seen Ben since he got home? I hear he's coming back here to work So my sister tells me Well, I just wondered if you'd heard Yeah, I heard Don't forget about that Winston account, will you? Don't worry. I'm on come in. Oh Come in Mike Say have you seen this fire inspector's report in that old building? We've got the back record stored in oh, no, sir I haven't we better clean some of that stuff out. He says we're violating about four different ordinances. Good enough Oh anything special we ought to keep a lot of its old correspondence that goes back more than 20 years You can clean that part out wholesale. All right, sir But I'd call through the property loan and mortgage records pretty closely over title policies and whatnot Yeah, anything that looks like it might come up again Could turn out to be a big bundle if it gets too big wheel microfilment. Good enough. I'll get on it right away So I think tomorrow morning will be soon enough All right, sir. Is that all? Well as a matter of fact Mike there is something else I Guess you know Ben Taylor's back from the army Yes, sir. He's coming in this morning to start work. I'm putting him under Hanson in the personal loan department All right Normally, I wouldn't bring a thing like this up because I believe that one employee's personal attitude toward another is nobody's business But his own I'm glad you feel that way, sir Unless that attitude interferes with the proper discharge of his duties or those of the other employee in which event I Feel the employer has an obligation to enter the picture. There isn't going to be any trouble. Mr. Peters Mike you and Ben used to be pretty close, didn't you I? Don't see what that has got to do with it. Do you think you're being altogether fair to him? It's not a case of fair or unfair He quit he he threw his gun down Mike I don't know what your experience was in the Pacific, but I served in France during World War one and It can happen one minute a man's a pretty good soldier and the next thing you know He's gone to pieces. All right, but what if everybody did that when things got rough the only answer I know that is that fortunately everybody doesn't because they don't let themselves like you can afford to think that way You think I'm talking like this because I want some metals. You got a perfect right to I was scared to death Every time I went up. I was so scared. I couldn't even think straight And so was everyone else. I know the fact remains, but they stuck That's the fact that remains they kept going up every time they had to and you don't believe there is such a thing as a Man reaching the breaking point Of course, I believe it But I also believe a man's got something to say about when he reaches that point. You're wrong my look I Got the Navy Cross for bringing my plane back to a carrier after been half shot the pieces. I Made three passes getting it down. It was on fire And I was half crazy because when I came in for the third pass the flames had reached the cockpit Well that last time in all I kept thinking was I've had it I'm through. I'll never be with another nickel as a flyer. I Was right, but you brought the plane in that's the point I'm trying to make sir no matter how close you get to falling apart There's always a little something left and reserve it if you really need it. I wonder I Don't It's the only reason I'm alive. Maybe Ben didn't have that reserve He had it He was just afraid to use it Well as I said Mike your private feelings in this matter are your own you don't have to worry mr. Peters I I won't bother Ben. I hope not you can depend on it, sir If he's able to live with himself after what's happened My opinion won't affect him one way or another And is that all he said that's all I can remember and he said he went all through this yesterday with with mr. Peters He said Peters brought it up. I'm surprised. He'd come home and unload the whole conversation on you I could be wrong Ben, but I have the feeling Mike thinks he has to justify the way he feels about you. That's rich No, really you mean justify it to you partly but to himself, too He doesn't have to do that. He's right. He is not. He's right on one point if everyone threw down his gun You'd have no army Isn't he spoken to you at all? Yeah in two days. He said two things. No one thing, but he said it twice Hello, Ben, it's not like him. It really isn't like him at all You know, there's something funny about it about what the ways change just in the few days. You've been home You said he was pretty disappointed with me when he first heard about it. Yes, but it was mixed in with worry, too He was concerned about you. He thought you'd done something wrong But he was more trouble than angry Then when I came home from seeing you the first night. I told him how you said it had happened I made him listen to the whole thing It made him furious. Well, I'm not surprised Here's the funny part. I had the feeling after he stormed upstairs That it wasn't me or you he was furious with It was himself. Well, maybe he just wishes he didn't hate me so much. I don't think that's it In fact, I don't think he hates you at all Look, it's too much of a tangle for me Here's the old homestead. Oh, isn't that your mother on the front porch? Yeah, come on in We'll have some iced tea before I walk you home Yeah, mom thought we'd stop in and raid the icebox Oh, Ben, Mr. Hansen from the bank has been trying to get you what at eight o'clock at night Yes, he was very apologetic, but he wondered if you'd mind helping out on some work this evening Oh, sure. He says it'll only be for an hour or so He was going to do it himself But his wife came down with some kind of an infection this afternoon. I wrote down the address here Well, isn't it at the bank? No, he says it's over at the records Warehouse. Yes. Here it is 1681 prospect. I'll get you the car keys. They're right on the whole table I remember what this is. Is anything wrong? Hansen told me this afternoon They they had a kick from the fire inspector on the records building and he was tagged to clean out some of the old Loan correspondence tonight. Well The man he was supposed to help is Mike look Nancy. This is nonsense. I'm gonna take you home Please dear I'm asking you as a personal favor. Let me come along. Well, it's silly. I'm not afraid of Mike It's not a case of being afraid. I I just don't want either of you to stumble into something You'll both be sorry for later. Look, you told me the other night and you were right that I had to stop running Well, that includes running from Mike to I know that dear. I know all right So if he wants to call me a few names you can go ahead and get it out of a system That's not what I'm afraid of. I was a year in a rehabilitation hospital telling myself what a skunk I was you were sick you taken too much you didn't push too far all I know is they don't give you medals for it Then listen, this is just for me Maybe you don't need it, but I need it I have to know you and Mike aren't at one another's throats tonight For that reason alone just for my peace of mind Please Well, it looks like you won the filibuster anyhow. Here's prospect Street. I Promise I promise I'll never ask you for anything like this again You know, maybe it's just as well you are coming along. Oh, I Don't know all of a sudden. I'm beginning to wonder who Mike thinks he is. I know Say that looks like it up ahead two-story building with the lighted windows. Let's see the numbers on these other places aren't very clear 1675 yes, we're in the right block. Yeah, that place right across the street is 1678. Yeah, this is it. All right Hey, let me give you a hand The doors unlocked look at the bales of paper. Would you wow now? You know what happens your old deposit slips wonder where Mike is Well, it looks like he was working at that desk for a while cigarette still burning in the ashtray There's a flight of stairs. They're on the back. Yeah up to the second floor Well, I don't see any other doors. I guess that's it Are you going to go through all these records good grief? No, you'd be here forever Hanson is that you Say hi about giving you it's not Hanson Mike. It's me What are you doing here? Hanson couldn't make it his wife sick. He asked me to come down instead Nancy I just came along for the ride any objection Not at all. Maybe I can help. Yeah, what can we do? Looks like you've got plenty to keep you busy here All right, come on See this stack of letters. Yeah, they run from K through Z Have you ever seen one of our title insurance invoices? No, I'm not sure This is one We'll cut up the stack three ways every time you find a letter with one of these invoices stapled on it Pull it out the whole thing or just the invoice letter and everything good enough Look at here. What is it? By the name of kids apopoulos no kidding. Mr. George kids apopoulos isn't that grand could have been worse They might have named them Henry kids apopoulos will you shut up? No, I don't think so Mike. I don't think we'll shut up. You came down here to work I didn't I came down here to find out what happened to the guy who used to be my best friend You got a lot of nerve asking that one. All right. I got a lot of nerve What's the answer you ran? That's the answer. You dropped your gun and you ran. That's right. I ran Because I looked down at the barrel of another gun that would have killed me and if it hadn't jammed you could have stuck Stuck a little longer. I'd already stuck a little longer Mike There was one guy left for my original platoon me And when that gun jammed I knew it was the last break I was gonna get what if everybody felt that way I don't know. I just don't know What? The stairs are on fire fire the stairs. It must have been that cigarette Mike. Is there any other way out? I don't know no look. It's just smoke the fire hasn't reached the stairs yet. Come on We can still get down this way. No, no the whole room's burning down. There's no other way Mike. Come on You've got to Where's the reserve Mike the one you were telling Peter's about Nancy take his other arm You use it up somewhere Mike. Is that where it went use it up bringing that chip of yours down That guy's gun All right, honey cover up your face and get ready to make a run for it the door is still clear pull it open as soon as you get there You're all set Mike. I won't make it So you will now Mike hang on hang on tight and keep moving. Okay, honey shut off How's the ankle Mike? All right, just turned it a little My eyes are still smarting something off. I'll keep blinking them. It'll give the tears a chance to wash them out That's what I'm doing. I Don't know how you can see to drive. I'm working with one eye at a time Ben Yeah The fireman said there wasn't much left of the stuff downstairs. No, but the second floor wasn't touched I think we just lost a lot of scrap paper. I hope you're right Bright one leaving the cigarette down off forget it. It's a crummy storage building. Anyhow Peter's will probably give you a medal I Guess I deserve that. I was only kidding Mike. I didn't mean it the way it sounded Go ahead and mean it Maybe it'll make up a little for what I've been cramming down your throat for the last few days Look Mike if it's all the same to you would I'd rather call it square and drop the whole thing I'm sorry kid. I'm really sorry. I Was wrong but as wrong as you can get no no no Mike. I don't buy that You just saw it with your own eyes It's not that easy Mike tomorrow night a guy might come along with a gun and you'd have to leave me downstairs I wonder if I could you bet you could Yeah Yeah, maybe what it comes down to was this But nobody can face everything alone. Oh listen, would you two minds spreading out a little? What's wrong, honey? Well sitting in the middle of this front seats a bit cramped Here, let me get my arms up around both of you This is Ricardo Montalbán again a Friend of mine recently paid a visit to the United Nations building in New York City and While he was there he attended a session of the Security Council Now this friend of mine is a hard-headed Practical man with a tendency to disparage the lumbering machinery of international diplomacy He feels the problems of the world could be dealt with much more swiftly and efficiently if diplomats would just forget their niceties of protocol and get down to business Well, at least that's how he used to feel But after visiting the United Nations he expressed real amazement that any international conference had ever settled a thing It's the language barrier. He told me everything's got to be thrashed out so that the French understand That what the delegate from Siam told the Greek representative in English Means the same thing to the people from Yugoslavia when it's explained to them by a Dutchman working through an interpreter I'm surprised they can even come to an understanding on when to break for lunch Well as I said my friend is a realist and He would be the last man alive to declare that the challenging and in some ways Terrifying problems which confront the world today could be solved merely by the adoption of a common language But it is true, and I think our ablest statement Realized that what is missing from the language of diplomacy today is a common vocabulary of terms Words like honor and justice Good and evil right and wrong No longer mean what they used to For the sorry reason that a great segment of mankind has ceased to heed the moral laws which first gave meaning to those words But the laws behind those meanings still exist And there's a sovereign law giver To whom we can always appeal for guidance in understanding them Whether we are statesmen or stock clerks each of us will find Almighty God a willing and affectionate listener when we speak to him in his language a Language having the power to wipe evil and misunderstanding from the face of the earth the language of prayer It's true a world that prayer will be a world at peace just as anywhere in this world The family that prays together stays together More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of From Hollywood family theater has brought you transcribed under fire starring Paul Picerni Ricardo Mandelban was your host others now cast were Irene Tedrow Gloria Grant John Larch Herb Butterfield and Sam Edwards The script was written and directed for family theater by John T. Kelly with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman This series of family theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program By the mutual network which has responded to this need and by the hundreds of stars of state screen and radio We'll give so unselfishly of their time and talent to appear on our family theater stage to them and to you our humble Thanks, this is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of family theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and Inviting you to be with us next week when family theater will present Down payment starring Robert Francis and Blythe will be your hostess Join us, won't you? Family theater is broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network This is mutual the radio network for all America