 Lux presents Hollywood the Lux Radio Theatre brings you Brian Don Levy, Robert Preston and Broderick Crawford in Wake Island Ladies and gentlemen your producer Mr. Cecil B. DeMille Greetings from Hollywood ladies and gentlemen a producer who couldn't find dramatic material today Would be like the man who couldn't see the forest for the trees Some of the greatest dramas in human experience are being enacted all around us The worldwide theater of war and because tomorrow is Navy Day we re-enact for you tonight One of the simplest and strongest of all these dramas One that only a few months old and yet has already become immortal It's called Wake Island and it was written not in pen and ink by some pallid playwright But in blood and fire by part of our Navy the United States Marines Tonight you'll hear two of the same stars who are in the Great Paramount Picture Brian Don Levy and Robert Preston and with them Broderick Crawford Bear in mind that the story you hear is a reconstruction from the cold facts Of reports and dispatches of what actually happened out there on that little island in the Pacific Ocean Where a handful of American leathernecks went down fighting for a cause that we must win We won't use their real names tonight but history will One of the most important services that a national theater can render to our country It to make sure that the greatest possible number of people can hear dramas like Wake Island To know the heroism of this nation's sons and to remember it That is one of the duration assignments that the makers of Lux Flakes have pledged this theater to carry out With the help and support of the national audience that is behind both the theater and the product You have welcomed us of the Lux Radio Theater into your homes each Monday night And we hope to enjoy and deserve that welcome for a long time to come The same welcome you have given Lux Flakes for many years gone by Now the Lux Radio Theater has the honor to present a drama of American valor Wake Island, starring Brian Dunlevy as Major Jeffrey Caten Robert Preston as Joe and Bradrick Crawford as Smaxy Wake Island is a tiny dot in the midst of the Pacific 4,254 air miles from San Francisco Until 1941 it was known only as a stepping stone for Pan American Clippers In June of that year the United States Marines landed By the end of October 1941 these troops in typical marine fashion had made progress 6,5-inch naval guns had been emplaced and 12 mobile 3-inch anti-aircraft A squadron of 12 Grumman F-4F3's nicknamed Wildcats were based at Wake Constantly on the alert patrolling the skies daily Late in 1941, headquarters Marine Corps assigned a new commanding officer to this tiny garrison His name, Major Jeffrey Caten, his record, long and active In Pearl Harbor on a November morning, Major Caten makes his farewells What's the compliments of your daughter, sir? Well, what's this? It's a cigarette case This is something Open it, there's something written on the inside To daddy from Cynthia, November 1941 Say, that's fine Cost me an awful lot of money I'll bet it did Practically all my savings Well, I guess I know what that means Needs some money, huh? Oh, no Well, you are getting a little thin Here, you'd better catch up on your ice cream sodas Thanks, daddy I may be gone a long time You'd better take some more Thanks a lot Well, what goes with thanks? A hug Daddy, are you sure I can't come? Not this trip, darling Mother used to go everywhere with you She used to say you needed someone to look after you Can't I? Well, can't I sort of take her place and look after you like she did? You are taking her place, darling But don't you worry about me, understand? I'll send for you later Just as soon as I can All right Say, where is this Wake Island anyway? What's it like? Oh, it's just a little strip of sand with a lot of water all around Another Marine said goodbye that morning An aviator, Lieutenant Bruce Cameron To his bride in three weeks Oh, Bruce, good-byes are awful, aren't they? Well, you let yourself in for a lot of them when you married a Marine I know Bruce, no handkerchief What, again? Oh, I'd feel like this if you were going away overnight Next time I leave, I'm going to bring a bucket Oh, come on, darling, come on The third passenger on the clipper was a civilian, Shad Mclotsky Well, so long, baby Here's where I leave you You're going now? Yeah, for now, pronto, right away Thanks for showing me the town, baby Goodbye Aloha, miliki Yeah, yeah, that's fine Save it until I come back, will you? Hey, hold it! Hold it! Hey! Mclotsky Hey, Mclotsky, wake up Well, what? Good morning Oh, morning I suppose you got a bar on this thing, have you? No, I can't even offer you a cold shower Have we got to wake yet? No, we won't be in for some time Would you like to slick up a little? I can lend you a razor Yeah, now look, General Major, Major Capen Look, General, you're a soldier and I'm a civilian I've got a government contract with a mighty important job to do But there's not a word in it about taking orders from brass hats And that goes for suggestions about shaving too Call me when we get to Wake Island, that's all I want from you Well, good enough Oh, Cameron, have you got that map? Right here, Major Fine, let's have another look at our future home Wake Island, a strip of beach in the heart of a mighty ocean And on that strip of beach Two members of the First Defense Battalion, United States Marines Two Leathernecks, sunning themselves with their helmets over their eyes Yeah, Joe, I can see them in my mind's eye Big ones, little ones, all guzzling and grunting and putting on weight Yeah, Joe, hundreds of them Hundreds of which? Hogs, yeah That's what the ex-wrestling champ of the Pacific Fleet has finally decided on Out of this outfit, onto a hog ranch Last week it was turkeys you were going to raise No, no, Turks is out I just read a book Turks has got 249 pages of diseases No, kid Yeah, Turks is out, I decided on that Hey, look, Joe, here comes the clipper Yeah Ain't that pretty? Ain't that sweet, Joe? Hello there, you great, big, beautiful, sweetheart, Joe Just one more week, Joe, and I'll be aboard one of those things Mr. Allen, it was just K. Randall, United States citizen, tourist deluxe Nah, stop dreaming, Smaxy Monkeys like you don't rate no clippers No, well, I got the dough and I got the old man's say-so So don't you worry, Bob, I'll be on it all right Hey, look, Smaxy Right here I got ten bucks, and I'm going to bet you the whole thing that you- Where at did you get ten bucks? I got it all right And right now that ten bucks is saying that you don't leave this island Clipper or no clipper Because why? Because you'll ship over, that's why Yeah, you'll re-enlist I will, me? Sure, you'll be a Marine till I wheel you out in a chair Come on, go on, you're slapping, Joe Who is? You Are you bad boon-based? Now you see, you look yourself wide open for an arm lock I don't want to hear any of that wrestling talk I just want to punch you right in the nose Okay, Joe, there it is, go ahead All right Hey, wait Chow Chow Hey, skipper, come on Come on, skipper, chow Come on, go Come on Hey, how's everybody? Cook, what's on a menu? Stove, fellas, stew Oh boy, oh boy, here we go again Good old stew, come on, now heap it up, bub Okay, Smaxy, move on, will you? Oh, hello, Sparks Hiya, Sparks, what are you here on the radio? I got some hot news for you guys The new CO just got in on the Clipper Yeah, what's his name? Jeff Caten Caten Hey, wait a minute, that must be artillery, Caten I knew him in China, that guy eats him up alive Tough, huh? Tough, he had me in and out of the brig so much I wore it out Hey boys, the honeymoon's over, from now on you're Marines Hello, Jeff How are you, Johnson? Glad to see you Have a good trip Fine, thank you Jeff, our commanding officer Commander Roberts, Major Caten Reporting, sir Major, I'm glad to have you share our exile with us Thank you, sir This is Parkman, our doctor, Major Caten How do you do? Play bridge, Major Well, I play at it, sir Certainly need new blood here This way, Major, you'll probably want to see your quarters Thank you very much Later this afternoon I'll show you around the island Mr. McCluskey? Yeah, that's right Well, I'm Hogan, Pete Hogan, your foreman How are you? Well, I'm glad there's somebody here to meet me Well, if I'd have thought of it, I'd have had some of our boys lined up for you with shovels How you been making out? Oh, fair to middling We built quarters for the men and spotted some of the groundwork We've sort of been waiting around for you Why? Did you pour any concrete yet? Not yet, no, the excavation ain't finished Well, let's finish it, mister I've never been late with a contract yet, not even a government one And I'm not going to start in on this bird sanctuary Get going, Hogan And there's the airfield over that way, Major You can just about see the whole works from the tower here So, this is all there is to it? That's all Well, you could hardly call this place a Gibraltar, could you, Commander? Twenty-one feet at its highest elevation And in any sort of a breeze, my friend, it all shakes Well, sir, if the Navy had survived, I guess the Marines can You know, Commander, my outfit's supposed to be a defense battalion I don't see much to defend here Matter of fact, not much to defend it with Only Marines Well, now that you've landed, Major, you'd better get the situation in hand We will, sir Starting straight away, I have an inspection in ten minutes Inspection in ten minutes! Snap it up, Smexy Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I won't have to take his gup any longer, Joe Seven more days and all you'll see are my tail feathers Hey, I still got that ten bucks and it still says you don't leave Do you really want to lose ten bucks? Put up a shut up Okay, here, here's my ten, you can hold it It's a bet Wait a minute, wait a minute, where's your dough? I got it all right, don't worry Let me see it Well, it's very dangerous to leave money laying around here The captain's holding it for me Give me back that ten bucks, come on, give me, give me Oh, so you don't trust me, huh? Not ten bucks worth, I don't Hey, Skipper, come here Ah, girl, how's the girl today? Come on, Smexy, straighten up that mess in there Yeah, yeah, yeah, right away All right, take it easy, Skipper Hey, who took that picture I had? Oh, there it is Hello, beautiful That's for you, honey Hey, hey, what's that thing? That ain't no thing, it's a picture of a dame Let me see Eh, it could be You got it upside down, turn it around, there I like it better the other way Listen, brother, when you act disrespectful about her You're acting disrespectful about the dame What's practically Mrs. Aloysius K Randall And I don't like it, see Why, you thick-headed clunk You mean to tell me you're thinking about getting married? Certainly, why not? You mean to tell me you found a dame that would marry you? The nuptials is being performed in Frisco New Year's morning Besides, they're more looking clucks than me, get married Name one Well, for... why you... Hey, lay off, you big slut I'll murder you Oh, yeah? Yeah Hey, you and who else, brother? This is just a sample I'll go ahead, look, let's see what you've got I'll learn you'll knock your teeth out Yeah, you and who else Me and myself, Jesus Christ I'll murder you Come, turn Educate Well, what's going on around here? Who's responsible for this? Hi, I'm Major Who are these men, Sergeant? Private Randall and Doyle, sir Oh, yes Haven't we met before, Randall? Yes, sir, the China station, sir I suppose you've already discovered, Randall, that we have no brig here Yes, sir You know, I haven't got much faith in brigs anyway No, sir Putting a marine in the brig is a waste of good manpower That's right, sir I'll see these men in the morning, Sergeant In the meantime, I'll try and think of some way of diverting their surplus energy into a more useful and constructive channel Listen Hey I don't like the sound of that constructive channel stuff Yeah, to me, that sounds like digging holes or something And what did I tell you, Joe? I said digging holes, didn't I? Yeah Now, if this is a sample of Caton's constructive channels, give me the brig Yeah, a couple of good Marines digging holes with a bunch of civilians Hey, what are we digging here anyway? Slit trench Huh? Bomb shelter for air raids What bombs in what air raids? Do I know? Hiya, boys How's it going? Who's that mug? McCloskey What's on your mind, pal? Oh, nothing I just want to see what happens when Marines have to do a good day's work Hey, Joe, what are you supposed to give you for belting a civilian? With or without provocation Both Huh? If I bust in a guy like that, I guess they'll give you a medal of honor Hey, there she blows Come on, Smanks Ah, what a prick Hey, you guys, get back here Get back in a trench and start digging Hold it Hey, hold it Yes, sir What goes on around here? What's everybody running for? Orders, Mr. McCloskey Whose orders, for what? Air raid drill Here, here it is on this notice A poach of enemy aircraft will be signaled by long blast of plaxon horn All civilian workers will thereupon take cover Where did you get that? Major Caton's office Oh, Major Caton, eh? Well, I might as well shake that guy out of my hair right now Get those men back to work Get those men out there working in the machinery rolling But if they're going to run in the bushes every time a brass hat toots a horn I'm going to wind up behind the eight ball Responsibility for the life of every man on this island is vested in us, Mr. McCloskey In times like these, air raid drill is necessary In times like these, it's necessary for you guys So let me get my job done We're just as anxious as you are for you to finish your job Right, then quit stampeding my men with that auto horn and let me get to it Everybody must participate in the air raid drill There will be no exceptions Oh, so it's a must, is it? It's a must Well, General, the first man of mine that ducks in the bushes when that horn blows is going to get a two by four over his head Mr. McCloskey, just a moment, please I'm going to give you a bit of advice Orders from the United States Navy Department will be obeyed That's all, Mr. McCloskey This was the life of Wake Island When on the afternoon of November 9th a clipper ship arrived bearing a special Japanese envoy en route to the United States His name, Saburo Kurosu Gentlemen, it is my great privilege to propose a toast to that great executive of your great democracy whose lasting peace it is my country's greatest wish to preserve Gentlemen, I give you President of the United States Franklin Derano Roosevelt Here, here Gentlemen, I give you His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Hirohito of Japan Thank you As you all know, I am on my way to Washington With me, I carry a message from my emperor to president of your country Gentlemen, it is a message of peace I regret very much to say that between my people and your people there have been some small misunderstanding But it is therefore my emperor's desire that I show to your president the heart of Japanese people And I do solemnly swear that in that heart he will find no thought of war But rather a yearning for lasting peace Therefore, gentlemen I ask that you wish me Godspeed This was the life of Wake Island When on the peaceful Sunday morning of December 7th, 1941 Mr. Cordell Howell received in conference Japanese Ambassador Nomura and Saburo Kurosu, the envoy of peace This morning, envoy Kurosu stated that his emperor's message word that he was confident solved the Pacific problem So today, for the first time in many anxious months a new note of optimism and hope marks the temple of the Washington sea Why don't you quit listening to that stuff Joe, get something romantic, will you? Romantic? For you? Yeah, hey, put this picture in my bag, will you? It's Myrtle, you remember? Myrtle, honey I'm on my way, baby So you're really gonna go, huh? Yeah, no, by the way, before I go, you owe me 10 bucks Oh, no, you haven't left yet Well, I ain't dressed up for no Sunday morning inspection How you like my civvies, Joe? You're just beautiful One look at you and that outfit and the old man will throw the book at you Yeah, well, I got his permission, see, Mr. Smart Guy Mr. Randall Caten says you are now a gentleman of leisure and if you wish to travel in formal attire he says it's okay by me Mr. Allen wishes K Randall Esquire is back in circulation and how do you like that? So long, Josie Hey, what's your hurry? Clipper doesn't leave just this minute Well, I'm going over to see Sparks I want him to radio myrtle delay in a supply of orange blossoms World, here I come Here you are, Sparks. I got a message for you to send Ah, yes, Maxie. Let's have it So I'm written down here. See, there's just one thing Honey, spell nuptials Nuptials? N-U-P-T-I Hey, hold on a second N-U-P-T-I You don't have to eat my head off for you What's the matter with you? Your wife hasn't tripled or something? The Japs have just attacked Honolulu. They bombed Pearl Harbor Holy smokes Your permission will hear act two of Wake Island starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston and Broderick Crawford In the meantime, in many homes today you might find young wives writing letters like this one Sorry, I haven't written before, but I just don't have a minute Bob is working nights now, making airplane engines and what with the kids at school it seems as though I'm cooking or packing lunchboxes or washing dishes for some of us the whole time But in spite of all those extra dishes to wash the hands that are writing this letter are soft and smooth and lovely You'd never guess to look at them now that not so long ago they were rough and red What made the difference? A very simple thing changing from a strong dishwashing soap to gentle lux flakes Careful tests have shown that making this one simple change gets rid of dishpan redness The women who made these tests used no creams or lotions on their hands They just changed to lux flakes Now isn't that an easy thing to do? And all it costs is less than a penny a day That ugly dishpan look goes so quickly too and you change to lux In the tests, hands were noticeably lovelier in from two to seven days And men do notice things like pretty hands as smart wives know So let lux flakes help you have the smooth, soft hands that every woman wants Use a thrifty big box of lux flakes first thing tomorrow and use it for your dishes every day Now the second act of Wake Island starring Brian Donlevy as Major Jeffrey Caton Robert Preston as Joe and Broderick Crawford as Smaxy Hiding in the black night of December 6th the Jap bared his fangs On the morning of December 7th he struck A wounded nation struggled to its feet and cried for vengeance On Wake Island, the handful of Marines leaped to battle stations Four of the twelve planes took to the skies Plane all set to go for Ben's game Yes, sir Good shape Yes, sir But airplanes, Lieutenant, they're like women Sometimes they act good, sometimes bad Sometimes you cannot tell I'll take a chance on this one You're the best mechanic I've ever met Thank you Russian, aren't you? You're Lieutenant Polish What got you into the Marine Corps? I had a wife and two children They were in Warsaw Ready on number five Good luck, sir Thanks My wife is at Pearl Harbor I was just hearing the doctor's plan, sir Emergency stations have been set up at all key positions Very good How about you, Patrick? Four planes in the air, sir The other eight in reserve They'll always be four aloft Is that right? That's right, sir What have you been able to do about the civilians, Major? I've ordered them to take cover in the slit trenches wherever possible, sir Good, I'd like to see those stations, doctor Hey, Caton Yes? I want to see you Oh, well, McCloskey Listen, that air raid alarm's got my men running around like gophers again How do you expect me to get my job done? Well, evidently, you don't know You've got a piece of paper you can have my resignation You want to run my job? Well, go ahead and run it I'm afraid that won't be practical at the moment, Mr. McCloskey The Japs have just bombed Pearl Harbor What? Say that again The Japs have just bombed Pearl Harbor The Pan-American Clipper will take off as soon as Commander Roberts deems it advisable There'll be a place on it for you In the meantime, find yourself some shelter and stay out of the way Mr. Kate Yes? Enemy plane sighted, sir Bearing Southwest 24 of them 24 24 against 4 Well, happy birthday to us Patrick Yes, sir? Attack as you see fit Yes, sir We didn't do so bad, you know Well, they come again, that's all Come on, come on, you guys Get that ammunition stacked up there Under way, Sarge When you're finished, go on down to the next gun in place Yeah, okay Hi, guys What you doing? Hey, Tommy Don't look now but I think we got a fifth columnist with us I'll cut it out, will you? He ain't no fifth columnist, Joe That's Smaxy Randall, remember? Oh, yeah, I thought I recognized him Didn't he used to be a Marine? That's what I hear I'll lay you up on me, will you? Gee, he looks pretty, don't he? Pipe that hat Yeah Don't get those clothes dirty, Smaxy Well, you quit it I was just passing the time La Clipper leaves and Well, I was wondering how your new partner was making out, Joe Oh, now, don't you worry about us, Smaxy I'm doing fine, Smaxy Ain't I, Joe? Sure Yeah, well, why don't you put that ammunition box on straight, then Oh, yes, sir, yes, sir, excuse me Who's that over there? Oh, hello, Sarge, it's me, remember? Yeah, well, on your way, Randall, go on, beat it Hey, are you talking to me? Yeah, I'm talking to you Go on, scram Listen, you lay off on me before I take a poke at that thing you call a face You're talking to a civilian, see? That's just it, buddy Civilians belong in the slit trenches Major Kate and Jordan's Come on, Randall, over to us All right, all right, don't shove me Don't shove me Take good care of that civilian, Sarge and don't let nothing happen to that elegant hat Major Kate Yes, doctor I think you can see Commander Roberts now Thank you Just a moment, Major Yes He's been hurt very badly I wouldn't stay too long All right Go ahead Commander Roberts Major Kate in reporting, sir Oh, oh, come in, Kate Come in I... I've been waiting to hear about the attack Yes, sir Everything's all right, sir Did they do much damage? I'm checking on it now, sir Major, this is the room where we entertain those peace boys, isn't it? Yes, sir Seems like a long time ago Yes, sir I... I take back that toast I gave to his imperial majesty Major Yes If you don't mind, you'd better leave Of course I'll drop in later, if I may Major, I have that report, sir Lewis, just a minute We'll have to move Dr. Parkman in the wounded underground Aye, sir This has been a checkerboard bombing That sort of stuff is no respecter of hospitals Suppose you pick out a likely spot in detail at work party Aye, sir Well, Patrick, how'd you make out with your outfit? Twenty-three wounded, seven killed, sir Seven planes out of commission All the oil and gasoline on the field destroyed Even the big tanks? That's right, sir Not so good How did the defense battalion make out, sir? Not bad, considering the straffing we got You'll have to admit they did a pretty thorough job of it With mathematical precision Square yard by square yard When they attack again, I have a feeling they won't bomb the same square twice So it's up to us to move our guns equipment and supplies into the areas already bombed I suggest you follow the same procedure with your planes Aye, aye, sir Patrick, you and your boys have done a fine job We're proud of you Thank you, sir Keep pitching Aye, aye, sir Captain Gordon of the Clipper, sir Oh, yes, come in, Captain My name's Kayton How'd you do, sir? Is the clipper all right? Lots of near misses, but it wasn't damaged, sir Well, that's a help Are you ready to take off? With your permission, sir Well, I don't see anything to hold you Unless our Japanese friends pay us another visit before you get away All your passengers aboard Well, it should be by now, sir They were boarding when I left Well, good luck And happy landings Okay, civilian, on the clipper, come on Take it easy, lug Corporal lug to you Get on that plane Hey, where's that dog of mine? Hey, Skipper Here, Skipper, come on, girl Never mind the dog, get going That's funny, I ain't seen her since the attack Now listen, dope, the clipper's waiting You're holding up the parade Look, look, don't crowd me, will you? Get on that clipper and get on it fast That's an order Listen, Squirt, I'll get on I'm good and ready and don't give me no orders I'm a civilian, see? Hey, Bill Mac, come here Take this here, civilian and toss him on board the clipper Oh, yeah, try it Go on, get going Oh, boy, come on, boys Come and get it Come and get it Hey, take him in Hey, what do you think you're doing? Go on, Sergeant What happened then? Well, as I understand it, sir He accused here, refused to get aboard the clipper spoke disrespectful to Corporal Bennett and assaulted first-class private Riley Enrichment causing them grievous bodily harm I see Well, Randall, what have you got to say for yourself? Well, sir, it's these clothes here, sir What? Well, since I've been wearing this civilian outfit I just don't seem to have no control Control? Over my emotions Randall, if my memory serves me correctly weren't you before me on a similar charge back in Shanghai? Oh, no, sir No? No, sir, at that time it was the captain of that Italian gunboat Remember the one with the long whiskers? Oh, yes Yes, I remember now You did a pretty good job on him Thank you, sir Well, Major, if it's all the same to you I'd like to make the same request now I made then You mean to extend your enlistment to ship over? Yes, sir Randall, as man to man I congratulate you on your decision But as your commanding officer I can tell you now that since the beginning of hostilities you've never been out You're a marine for the duration Yeah? If you'd gotten aboard the clipper they would have told you Now, Randall I have a request to make of you Yes, sir Burn that dog catcher's outfit you're wearing and get back into uniform Yes, sir Sergeant, post him for duty That's all That's all, Corporal Mr. Hogan is here, sir Oh, yes, hello, Hogan Hello, Major I've brought my report Let me see Not so good No, sir Any further instructions? No Just tell the rest of your men to stay undercover What's left of it? Yes, sir Oh, by the way Hogan, did your Mr. McCloskey get off on the clipper? As far as I know So far as he knows he's all wet Oh, so you didn't leave after all, McCloskey? Well, you thought I was going to run out on you, huh? Well, I... Well, I was but I changed my mind McCloskey I'm glad you're staying Why? Because I need a man like you Good, give me a gun No No, you can be more valuable than that What do I do? Dig Dig holes, lots of them Revetments for our planes Shelter trenches You'd better start by digging a big one One big enough to hold all the casualties in our emergency hospital Consider it done Thank you, McCloskey Good evening, Lieutenant Cameron Good evening, sir Hard added, I see Yes, sir We're running out of spare parts for the plane, sir So we're rolling our own Well, I just thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing Thank you How's the rest of the world doing, sir? Not so good Cameron Yes, sir? Sit down, Cameron I've got some bad news Yeah, I've heard about it, sir What? You mean about Commander Roberts, don't you? I've heard he's in pretty bad shape It's not the Commander, it's your wife She was killed in the bombing at Pearl Harbor Killed? I know there's nothing I can say that will comfort you You know, Cameron Memories are funny things They mold a man From the time a man can remember His mother, his sisters His first sweetheart His wife Even those women he might like to forget Even they give him memories that might help sometime No, there's nothing I can say that will comfort you You're like me now A man with a memory But we're not alone In this war In any part of the world Wherever they've dropped even a stick of bombs They've made thousands like us Men without wives Without children Without a single thing they've ever loved Or held dear And for those men there's a job to do To fight Fight with guns and bayonets And tanks and ships and planes Fight to destroy destruction We've got to destroy destruction, Bruce That's our job Seven out of twelve planes Lost or disabled The tiny island pockmarked by enemy bombs And now the Jap returns to finish the job This time the danger is not from the sky Enemy fleet approaching Some destroyers, light cruisers Troop ships, possible submarines Bearing one three zero true Range one seven zero zero zero About ten miles Yes, sir Looks like they have no intention of stopping That's up to us Sir? I... I'm going to try and pull an old Chinese trick, Captain Get all the men under cover Conceal all guns and planes When the fleet gets into range, they'll start shelling us Do not return their fire Enemy changing formation Changing formation They're preparing to attack us, sir Well, that's what they came for Range nine zero five zero They're closing in, sir Shall we return their fire now, sir? No, not yet Range eight zero five zero Four zero zero Signal from the Jap, sir What is it? Will you surrender? We'll give them the answer in a few moments Range five three zero zero Range five two zero zero Lewis, did you ever hear of Colonel William Prescott? No, sir Well, he was the gentleman at the battle of Bunker Hill Who said, don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes You know, I've always remembered that Well, I'll certainly remember it from now on, sir Look at those ships, Joe, right up under our noses I could drop a shell on one of those babies and wipe out a hundred chaps Yeah, let's take a crack at them right now What do you say, Smexy? Wait a minute, wait a minute You know the orders We're supposed to hold our fire Yeah, well, I don't know what's for They're getting closer They'll blow this island to bits Why do you care? It ain't your island, is it? Brother, that one was close Yeah Hey, you know, Joe, there's an awful lot of door being wasted around here How do you mean? Look at all them shells dropping When a price of one of them alone It set me and Myrtle a pretty on a little chicken ranch Chickens? I thought you were all set for hogs No, hogs is out, I decided that Why? They stink Hey Hey, you all right, Smexy? Smexy? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm all right I'm okay, just knock the wind out of me, that's all Oh, why don't Kate and let us fire? We could murder him Yeah, anyway, like I was telling you, Joe Hogs is definitely out there That was a real price thing we gave them, sir They came right up under our guns Yes, I imagine they got quite a surprise Enemy, eight-inch gun cruiser sizes Bearing two, three, zero, true What's the distance? About 15 miles, sir 15 miles, not so good Well, that's way beyond our range, sir You can lay out there and smear as it will Thanks, Kate Well, Lieutenant Cameron I think I can get that cruiser, sir What? Yes, sir How do you propose to do it? If I strip my plane to the bone and limit the gas load I can make a take-off for the double-oader bombs Enough to do the job, sir If you get two direct hits I think I can, sir Request granted, Lieutenant Cameron Thank you, sir And Bruce, good hunting Through the grey sky, still heavy with the smoke of battle A lone airplane roars toward its target From the Jap guns, red tongues of flame flash upward Battered and full of holes, the plane flies on And then, swoops down Direct hits, the Jap cruiser rocks and turns on its side Bruce Cameron, the pilot, returned As he brought his ship to the field for a landing His lifeblood stained the uniform he wore Nice job, Bruce Bruce, that was a... He... he cannot hear you, sir He's dead Yes Pass the word for Bensky Burial service after dark, usual time We have a grave ready, sir Bring him over here Have you got the prayer book, Lewis? No, sir The only one left was in the barracks, sir It was destroyed I see Bruce was a good Marine, sir Couldn't you, well, just sort of say something for us? I'll try Our father, which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done Thy will be done on earth As it is in heaven Give us this day, our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us Lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory Forever and ever Amen Lower way And recognize this Yes, that's one of the anti-aircraft guns The AK-AK, the Marines used at Wake Island Did you ever stop to think how the ammunition For guns like these is made? Believe me, it's a big job And a lot of materials are used in the making One of these is glycerin And one of the biggest sources of glycerin Right now is your kitchen Glycerin is made from waste kitchen fats Greases and meat drippings You save all of these in a clean, wide-top can And take them to your meat dealer As soon as you have a pound or more He'll pay you for them And those guns will deliver a special message From you to the Axis We pause now for station identification This is the Columbia Broadcasting System Now, here's something interesting Something I never knew until now And perhaps many women may not know The way you wash woolens The difference in their warmth Here's the reason The tiny wool fibers interlock Forming little air pockets that hold the heat If you rub wool in washing These fibers mat together and shrink Many of the tiny air spaces disappear And your sweater or dress or blanket Won't keep you as warm as it did before That's one reason it's so important To avoid cake soap rubbing To wash woolens the gentle luxe way You avoid other enemies of wool too Hot water and harmful alkali As experts will tell you Even a weak solution of alkali Can make wool more apt to shrink And strong alkali Can actually dissolve the fabric So stick to gentle luxe care And your sweaters and blankets Dresses, the children's things All your washable woolens Will stay soft and unshrunken And warm much longer The curtain rises now on the third act of Wake Island Starring Brian Donlevy as Major Jeffrey Caton Robert Preston as Joe And Broderick Crawford as Maxie On the 12th of December, 1941 The radio at Wake Island Tapped out a message to Washington Sixth enemy attack 27 Jap bombers in division of V's Overhead at 1030 Day after day the Japs Mashed at the tiny stronghold Wake Marine's repel eighth attack Day after day the Gallant Marines Stood and took it The 18th of December came Wake Island still holds The 19th, the 20th, the 21st From you, Major? Oh yes, Captain Lewis, I did Have a cigarette Thank you, sir You know, we've been getting it pretty steady For some time now I've got a hunch we're in for a few hours, breather Your hunches are usually right, sir I contacted a Navy patrol plane They're going to take a chance and come in I hope they make it Yeah Lewis, how'd you like to be home for Christmas? Christmas dinner in Honolulu with your Mrs and the youngsters How does it sound to you? Well, you know how it sounds, sir All right, get your gear together and stand by Not this Marine, sir I thought you'd say that For two weeks now, Lewis We've engaged the enemy daily We've learned a lot about his tactics That's information the Navy department needs firsthand Well, there's Patrick Patrick's the only pilot that I've got left Well, I'm sorry, sir, I'm staying Captain Lewis, this is an order Aye, aye, sir Here's my official report I'm not very good at this sort of thing But I guess with what you can tell them It'll give them a pretty good idea of what's going on here Yes, sir And one more thing Pete, will you do me a personal favor This letter, it's for my daughter I'll see that she gets it Thanks And just say I won't be able to send for her Not for a while anyway Well, so long, Pete Enemy again, sir, approaching in force Transport screened by a strong escort Well, looks like our holiday's over Ordinance report, sir Fifty caliber ammunition is nearly exhausted Get me the machine gun, officer Yes, sir Machine gun, officer Machine gun, officer He's on, sir Hello, Major Katen here Replace the fifties with the thirty calibers Follow plan D Split the gun crews, spare men To take up positions in number one beach headlines If possible, relieve some of the men And see that they get a square meal They'll be needing it soon Repeat, please, full message Hey, you guys How'd you like to wrap yourself Around some real chow right now? Listen, what do you mean? I cook this stuff good, see No, no hard feelings, Cookie I only meant that if I was back in the States Out with a dame, sitting in some little café You know that order? A great big juicy steak About that wide and about that thick With onions? Oh, yeah, with lots of onions I'd settle just to be back in the States I'd settle just to be with a dame With a dame Yeah Ah, what are we talking about it for? Well, that's all we can do Hey, Joe, come here It's okay now Yeah, on my way Hey, come on, Smexy What's the matter? Come on, we got a surprise for you Yeah, yeah, but my chow's getting cold Now look, this is better than chow Come on, will you? What could be better than chow? Lots of things On this island? All right, all right So maybe it came from heaven What are you talking about? Now never mind Now, close your eyes Oh, stop it, stop it No, this is serious Close your eyes Okay, I'm closed Now what? Now if you had three wishes What would you wish for? Uh, myrtle No, no, no Something better than myrtle What could be better than myrtle? Lots of things Now wish Okay, one minute, let's see Still myrtle One track, mine All right, now open your eyes Hey, what is it? Hey, it's Skipper Hello, girl, where have you been? Hey, hey Yeah, yeah, yeah, she's got company What are those things? Puppies, you dope Four of them Puppies, Skippers, puppies? Sure Well, Skippers, congratulations Oh, fine, congratulations I didn't even know about it Why don't somebody tell me these things? Uh-oh Come on, Smexy Okay, boys, here we go again Battle stations Major Katen Yes? Our last painter's down, sir Last one, that's Patrick How about him? We saw the whole thing, sir He went on fire, and he bailed out And we bailed out We'll contact the beach head Tell him to stand by to pick him up It's no use, sir The Jap's machine gun them as he came down Machine gun them? Why the dirty? Get back to your post, Captain I should What are you doing? Directed on ammunition dump, sir Another signal from the enemy, sir They demand immediate surrender Any answer, sir? Tell him to come and get it Aye, aye, sir American in straddle, sir I can't get through on the phone Call all posts To all posts To all posts Stand by to repel landing parties Follow plan G, fire independently Stand by to repel landing parties Follow plan G, fire independently Yes? The enemy has landed on two points, sir And gaining ground I tried to get you on the phone, but couldn't Thank you Walker, call emergency radio Yes, sir Emergency radio Emergency radio I can't seem to raise anyone, sir Keep trying Yes, sir Emergency radio Emergency radio Hi, Major Oh, come in, McCloskey Well, how's everything with you? Well, I figured I've done everything I could Now I'd like that gun You know, McCloskey I've been thinking along those same lines myself Suppose you and I go out and find one Together Right I'll leave a message for radio first Any luck, talker? Did you get them? The lines are dead, sir All right, drop it Talker, I've got a message written here It's for Washington Will you try and get through to Sparks with it? I'll do the best I can, sir Thank you And good luck, fella They're backing up again Jeff's are heading back to the beachhead, sir Probably form a new line and be at us again in a couple of minutes Let them come We'll hand them a little more of the strain Pass the word to cease firing She's firing! Keep that ammunition coming as fast as you can Okay, I got ten of them on that last trip Yeah, nice work, fella Boy, I'm tired That's all right, so are the Japs Yeah Hey, what are you thinking about, Smaxy? Oh, a lot of things Home in San Francisco Hey, Joe Yeah? Joe, how many blondes do you suppose there was that we didn't get around to? Oh, must be an awful lot of them I bet at least two dozen Two dozen, huh? Boy, that's an awful lot of blondes You know, I sort of feel sorry for them, don't you? I don't know Only about half of them are missing anything Oh, cut it out, will you? Okay, Smaxy, no ribbon, huh? We save it for the Japs Good boy, did he send it yet? He's repairing his apparatus He says he'll have it fixed in about ten minutes Hiya, Major Oh Got any more of those hand grenades left? Yes, myself, McCloskey, right there in the box Thanks You know, this is a pretty good trench, you fellas, Doug Came in handy, didn't it? Yes Have a cigarette? Thanks Well, how much longer do you think we can last, Major? Oh, long enough, I guess Say, I was watching you toss some of those grenades before You've got a pretty good arm there Thanks You throw, I'd almost think you had played football That's it, no today in 28 Yeah, I'm VMI 28 Hiya, Kate Hiya, McCloskey Here they come, Major Fire independently, let's go Fire independently Give it to them boys, let them have it Let's see a couple of those long forwards, McCloskey Get under this one, Japs Nice work, McCloskey Come on, got it, Japs Step up and take it Come on, Spexy No 10 for one, Spexy 10 for every one of us 10 for one, come on, Japs No From Wake Island on that day One more message came through to Washington Washington, D.C. The enemy has landed The issue is still in doubt The enemy has landed The issue is still in doubt These Marines fought a great fight They wrote history But this is not the end There are other Leathernecks Other fighting Americans 130 million of them Whose blood and sweat and fury Will exact a just and terrible vengeance Pause on Act 3 Of the Lux Radio Theatre's presentation Of Wake Island While we await the return of our stars For their curtain calls We have a message for the women of our audience Nearly everybody is working harder these days And many of you are not only running homes But helping in war jobs You have extra work, extra walking And that means added strain On precious stockings Just in my daily housework I walked seven or eight miles Dancing just one evening At the soldier's canteen Averages more than four miles for me Today's jobs mean plenty of strain On delicate stocking threads Whether you're wearing nylon, silk, or the new rayons It's wise to give stockings lux care After every wearing Over 90% of all makers of stockings Nylon, silk, rayon, cotton, and wool Recommend lux flakes These gentle flakes Save the elastic quality of stockings So they don't break easily into runs So they fit you in a more flattering way too Be wise, lux all stockings After each wearing Now here's Mr. DeMille with our stars We needn't speak of the fine performances Given by our stars and the entire cast tonight Because like the inspired performances Of the marines at Wake Island They spoke for themselves And here are Brian Dunlevy, Robert Preston And Bradrick Crawford Returning to the Footlights Thank you, CB It was an honor for me to have a part In this Navy Day celebration here It was just 20 years ago that the observance began So that makes tomorrow our first wartime Navy Day October 27th is a big day in Navy history, Brian The Navy was founded by the Continental Congress On October 27th, 1775 And tomorrow is also the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt Who was largely responsible for the beginnings Of modern United States naval policy Let's not forget the birthday The Marine Corps has coming, CB Two weeks from tomorrow The Marine Corps will be 167 years old That makes both the Navy and the Marines Older than the Declaration of Independence Yes, and they've always been pretty independent too, Brad As our enemies will discover before this war is over By the way, what's your play next Monday, CB? Everybody will remember the picture When I give you the title It's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's great screenplay A Woman's Face And our stars are Ida Lupino, Brian Ahern and Conrad Weidt A Woman's Face is the story of a beautiful woman Who turns to a career of crime When an accident mowers her beauty Ida Lupino plays the part of the woman And Brian Ahern, the man who helps her find love again In this drama of unusual power With that cast, you're sure to have some good acting, CB It's time now to say goodbye for a while To another of the stars who brought us Many happy hours in the Lux Radio Theatre After playing a Marine in Wake Island I suppose he wanted to be entirely impartial Because day after tomorrow Robert Preston reports as a private to the United States Army Well, good luck, Bob We're gonna miss you Thanks, bud Good night Good night Good night And there'll be another chapter for the story of Wake Island Our sponsors, the makers of Lux Flakes Join me in inviting you to be with us again next Monday night When the Lux Radio Theatre presents Ida Lupino, Brian Ahern and Conrad Weidt In A Woman's Face This is Cecil B. DeMille saying good night to you From Mowerywood Brian Donlevy's current picture Is the Paramount production, The Glass Key Robert Preston has just finished Making the Paramount picture, Night Plane from Chung King Broderick Crawford appears through the courtesy Of Universal Studio and has just finished The picture, Sin Town Heard in tonight's play were Fred Mackay, Paul Langton Tyler McVay, Gail Gordon, Griff Barnett Hal Gerard, Howard McNeer, Mary Lou Harrington Edwin Max, Lillian Bond, Jeff Corey Pinto Kalvig, Wally Mayer, Charles Seal Warren Ash, Leo Cleary, Janet Russell Eddie Maher and Jack Mather Our music was directed by Louis Silberts And this is your announcer, John M. Kennedy Reminding you to tune in next Monday night To hear Brian Ahern, Ida Lupino and Conrad Weidt In A Woman's Face What a feel like a million Try VIMS, the new vitamin mineral tablets If you're vitamin starved VIMS will help you build up resistance to colds And safeguard your energy VIMS match the six vitamin formula doctors endorse And they meet US government standards too So get that VIMS feeling VI for vitamins, double MS for minerals VIMS This is the Columbia Broadcasting System