 Family Theater presents John Lund and Marshall Thompson. From Hollywood, the mutual network in cooperation with Family Theater presents Turn on the Lights starring John Lund. And now, here is your host, Marshall Thompson. 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, Turn on the Lights starring John Lund as Commander Soames. I keep him on the adrenaline for a few more days, Lieutenant. All right, sir. Be better if we postpone any further surgery until he's back in the States. If you're worried about our facilities, Commander, I should tell you we have just about everything aboard you'd need. Oh, I'm not running down your hospital ship, Lieutenant. I just think the boy needs more rest. Very well, sir. Now, what about this Marine sergeant that was taken aboard at Tokyo? Oh, yes, Landon. This is his room right here, sir. How about his history? Are these dates correct? Yes, sir. It seems to me that this is a pretty long recuperative period, even for an XPW. Well, sir, in Landon's case, we consider it lucky that he recuperated at all. Oh? He didn't want to recover. Have you seen the psychologist's report on him? No, I haven't. Oh, it wouldn't be attached to that history, sir. They're kept in a confidential file. Well, what happened to him? Back in Korea, the night he was captured, Sergeant Landon was out on a reconnaissance patrol in charge of five men. Somehow the patrol was spotted and all of them were killed, all but him. He was wounded and on the way back to his lines, the Reds nabbed him. Well, I guess it's only natural for a non-com to feel a sense of guilt when some of his men are lost. Yes, sir, but Landon's guilt seems to go deeper, almost as if he were personally responsible for what happened. What kind of a combat record did he have? Oh, excellent, sir. Decorated twice. You mind if I talk to him alone? I wish you would, sir. You want me to wait out here? That won't be necessary. Very well. I'll be in the records office if you want. Fine. Sergeant Landon? Yes, sir. Do you mind if I come in? No, sir. I'm Dr. Somes. All right. Mind if I sit down? No. Well, how does your leg feel, Sergeant? All right. A little stiff. That'll go away. Do you feel like talking about it yet? About what? About the five men you murdered. What? What do you mean, murdered? Well, that's what I was, wasn't it? No. No? What kind of a doc are you? I was trying to save them. I was trying to save the kid. That's how it happened. Saved nobody. You were trying to save yourself. That's a lie. I wasn't. It was Kessler. The kid he separated from the squalor. I tried to find him and they spotted us. I'm no murderer. I understand I was trying to save the kid. All right, son. All right. That's how they spotted us. I know. I know. Go on. Go ahead. Cry it out. I had to make you tell me what happened. That's why I said those things to you. I'm glad somebody knows anyhow. You should have done this a long time ago. I couldn't. It was my fault. Oh, come on now. I tried to find Kessler. I thought about him. I should have been thinking about the whole squad. Well, that's only natural. Kessler was one of your men. No. If that is stuck to the manual, plate it like a pro, those guys, every one of them would still be alive. What do you mean, like a pro? Professional, a 30-year man. A soldier. That's where I was wrong. I was trying to act like a human being and you can't be a soldier, a good soldier and a human being at the same time. You didn't read that in the manual. Well, it ought to be there. Sergeant, it says here on your record that you were born in 1930. That's right, sir. 25. Let's see then. You'd have been about 14. When, sir? During the Battle of the Marianas. That was in June 1944. It began with the invasion of Saipan by the 2nd and 4th Marine divisions. Five days later, our naval task force in the Philippine Sea went into action against the enemy fleet under Admiral Ozawa. They said it was the biggest naval aircraft battle of the war. They nicknamed it the Marianas Turkey Shoot. The enemy lost almost 500 planes in that fight. And aboard the carrier in which I was serving, we had our losses, too. Mr. Psalms? Yes, Willis? You're wanted on the intercom, sir. It's the bridge. For me? I asked for a doctor, sir. Someone's been hit up there. Well, tell them to bring them down here to Sick Bay. I suggested that, sir, but the officer in the line ordered me to get you, says it's an emergency. Well, don't they think we've got any emergencies down here? No, I tried to tell them, sir, but they... All right, all right, I'll talk to them. Right over there, sir. Finish dressing that man's wound, will you? Yes, sir. I'll get him. Sick Bay, Lieutenant Psalms. Yes, sir. Sir, do you know we have 14 men waiting for surgery down here? No, sir, I'm not operating at the moment, but... Well, no, they're not priority cases, but... Well, why can't you bring the man down here? Oh, all right. All right, sir. I'll be right up. Well, some officer up in Flag Plot caught an ACAX splinter in his arm. He won't leave the bridge. Hey, you're getting up in the world, eh? Huh? Well, there's only one person on this carrier they can't order off the bridge. The Admiral? What do you bet? That too tight, sir? Matter of fact, it feels a little loose. Well, it's not supposed to be a tourniquet, sir. It's just the dressing. Hmm. How long do I have to lie here on this couch? Well, better stay off your feet for the next hour anyhow. Can't you put my arm in a sling or something? I intend to, sir, when it's time for you to get up. Hmm. You tell the exec to report in here if anything shows on the radar. I told him, sir. Well... I think we've finished him off. Got a feeling Osawa played his trump on that last strike. I certainly hope so, Admiral. Were you topside when they first came over this morning? No, sir, I wasn't. Never saw anything like it. Better than 60 Zekes. Not 10 of them got out. How about our own planes, Admiral? We lose many? Not bad. Not bad. An operations officer I spoke to says we've won a great victory. I think we will have when it's over. But you just said... I know what I said. We stripped Osawa's fleet of its air support, but that's just a defensive victory. Now it's our turn to attack. Your number, come up for this one, bro? Sure. You wouldn't expect the old man to plan an operation that didn't include Ensign Brooks, would you, Doc? Well, at least you'll have a lot of company. Uh-huh. And none of them will be admirals. You can bet on that. Most admirals I've seen are a little old to be flying Hellcats. They never seem to get too old to shout, ha-la-loo from the rear. No, even so. I wouldn't want the old man's job. Too many big decisions. Some decisions. Do I send up 50 ships or 100? Do they go in waves of 20 or 40? I'll trade jobs with them. Oh, I don't know. He's got a list and flag plot of every ship he sends out. So what? So I wouldn't like to be in his shoes when they towed up the ones that don't come back. Sure. He reads the list and he hates himself for half an hour. But the next morning he's back at the same old stand, raring to go. Well, that's his job. And a pretty cushy one, too. Well, let's face it, somebody's got to give it the orders. Sure. And somebody else has to carry him out. Well, I can't argue with you there. Yeah. Don't pay any attention to me. I'm just letting off steam. I know. But just the same. Just as a matter of interest, before this fracas goes into the record book, there's something I'd like to see. What's that? A brass hat. A great big brass hat. Having to make a choice between being a hero or saving his skin. Yes, Willard? Commander Johnson wants you to report to sick bay as soon as the decks are clear, sir. All right. Are you sure of something, aren't they? Huh? Those Hellcats? Oh. Oh, yeah. I'll say they are. Ever been up, sir? Commercial airliner. Two years ago, I thought I'd be up there flying one of those babies. I didn't know you'd been an air cadet, Willard. I wasn't for very long, sir. Washed out in pre-flight school. See, you sure are something, huh? Yeah. Yeah. I was wrong. Physical? No. I couldn't lick the mat. Navigation. Oh, too bad. I don't know. Maybe I ought to be grateful. Those boys taking off are going to need all the navigation they got this afternoon. Why this afternoon? Look at the time. It's almost 1600. They got less than four hours a day to go out, make the strike, and get back here. It's cutting in pretty thin, if you ask me. Why would the admiral wait so long to send him out? They were through with the briefing before lunch. Well, you know, see, that part's kind of smart. I got a buddy down in Ops told me Ozawa's fleet is somewhere northeast of us. That means if they hit him late in the afternoon, they'll come in with the sun right behind them. And that's good. Sure. That's pretty hard to hit a man flying at you out of the sun. But these guys got to worry about, mostly, is getting back here before dark. And what if they don't get back here before then? Well, you can't land on a carrier if you can't see it. You're out of luck. You wanted to see me, commander? What's this commander stuff, Joe? I thought we were just a couple of civilian medics. Yeah. I don't know, Jerry. I guess I'm getting a little rank conscious. Anything wrong? Yeah. Yeah, plenty is wrong. I'm listening. 15 minutes ago, I watched 30 kids. Kids? Take off from this carrier. And you know what? What? They're dead men. You can write them off our records right now. They're dead. How do you figure that? Because they aren't going to make it back here. Not before the sun goes down. They've got a chance to. I understand they've got a good chance to. That's not the way I hear it. No? No. I hear it. They've been held off from making the strike until late afternoon, so they'll have the sun behind them. Well, doesn't that make sense? Oh, sure. It makes great sense. Especially if you're back here on the bridge fighting the war like it's a chess game. Now, take it easy, Joe. It even sounds humane. The admiral takes every precaution to safeguard his fliers until you look at it for a while. Now, cool down. And then it comes to you. This withered old butcher isn't worried about his men. He's worried about his target. Joe, shut up. He wants them to be alive when they get there. Sure. Now, look. But how do they get back? That's their problem. Dirty, lousy brat. Sit down. I know how you feel. I've been here a little longer than you have. It's just something you learn to get used to. You learn to get used to seeing men's lives spent like, like quarters? Not intentionally. But if that's what it takes to win, yes, I guess that's what you learn. Then I'm not the man for this slot, because that's something I'll never learn. We're in a war, Joe. Yes, we're in a war. And I'm a doctor. I'm supposed to save lives, not throw them away. No one means to throw them away. No? The Admiral's doing his job. You know, that's just what I told Brooks this morning. What? That someone had to give the orders. I said it with a straight face, too. I said that was the Admiral's job, and I didn't envy him. You were right. No, I wasn't. Brooks was right. He said he'd trade jobs with the Admiral any time, and he was right. Well, right or wrong, the Admiral's still your patient. What's that got to do with it? His dressing has to be changed. That's why I asked, will it to have your report? You can send someone else for that job. I'm sending you for that job because that's who the Admiral wants. I won't do it. Now listen, Joe, you and I can think what we want about the way this war is being run, but you said it a moment ago, we're doctors. So don't start acting like a primadonna on me. Why don't you go up and change his dressing? Because he asked for you. Oh, I'm flattered. I suppose I'm expected to break my neck getting up there, too, huh? As a matter of fact, I was told to have you finish your tour of duty in Sick Bay and eat dinner first. Well, that wasn't that thoughtful. I think so. You want to know what I think, Jerry? All right. I think his nibs wants a neutral party up there to hold his hand when those planes come back after dark and start falling in the water. Flag plot. Yes, Admiral. How much more daylight do we have? Well, sir, sunset's logged for a 2014, sir. About four minutes. Any sign of him yet? Okay, Doc. Go to it. By the way, those pills you gave me last night worked fine. I'm glad to hear it, sir. First time in a month, I've slept over four hours. This may hurt a little. Go ahead. Sorry? How's it look? It's healing up very nicely. I have to keep wearing this sling? Just a few more days. Is something bothering you, Lieutenant? I was just thinking about the planes that are out, sir. That makes it unanimous. Do you think they'll make it back in time? I'm afraid not. Lift your arm a bit. You know, Admiral, I heard a story. I heard a story about a carrier pilot early in the war who didn't get back to his ship until after dark. Yeah? Yes. They could hear him flying overhead, so they broke radio silence to talk to him. I remember the story, Lieutenant. He had less than an hour of gasoline left and the nearest land was four hours away. So they gave him his bearings and wished him good luck. Is that the story you mean? That's the one, sir. I guess you think that was pretty heartless. What do you think, sir? I think the captain of that ship had a tough decision to make. Yes, sir. Flag blot? Operations. We've picked them up on the radar, Admiral. How far off? About five minutes, sir. Any daylight left? All finished up, Lieutenant? All finished, sir. You've never seen the task force from up here on my bridge, have you? No, sir, I haven't. Would you like to? Very much, sir. Snap off that light. We'll go out and have a look. Did you find the hatch? Yes, sir. Oh, come on. I can hardly see anything, sir. Your eyes will get used to the dark in a few seconds. Can you make them out yet? No, I... Oh, yes, yes, a little. Just shadowy outlines so far. Those are the big ones, cruisers. Those two long, flat shadows on the left are carriers, like this. Before long, you'll be able to make out the destroyers. Yes, yes, I can see them now. They look tiny. They look bigger through a periscope. Any idea how large this force is? More than a hundred ships? More than four hundred ships. That's quite a responsibility, sir. I agree with you. Flag plot. We've got a fix on the lead group, sir. They're coming in northwest. Very well. Any instructions, sir? Negative. Stand by. Hear anything yet, Lieutenant? No, sir. Keep listening. You will. Yes, yes, sir. Now. They're back. Operations. Break silence with the commander of that lead group. Aye, sir. Wait. We've got them, sir. What carrier is he with? Wait. Thirteen-O-Five, sir. That's us. Tell me exactly what you've got on the sonar. Wait for the last fifteen minutes. And before that? Intermittent blip. Unidentified. What range? Wait. You're sure that's absolutely all? Affirmative. Stand by. Lieutenant? Yes, sir. I think you got this bandage a little tight. Sir, that blip on the radar scope. Could that have been a submarine? Very possibly. What are you going to do, sir? The way I see it, I haven't got much choice. Flag plot. Get a fuel estimate from that group leader. We can stay up about ten more minutes, sir. How far is the nearest land base? Wait. Almost twenty, sir. All right. Pass the word. Turn on the lights. Expect to see another sight like that as long as I live. One by one, the great banks of landing lights along the edges of the carriers blazed up. Every ship in the task force turned on its searchlights to watch. As one after another, the squat blue Hellcat swooped down out of the darkness and came to rest on the decks of the carriers. No one thought about the enemy submarines or planes that might be lurking nearby. The risk had already been counted and taken and everybody wanted it that way. But I think the most important thing to remember about the man who turned on the lights is that he was a professional. One of the most successful professional military men we've ever had, Sergeant. You mean that really happened? It's naval history. And Admiral took that kind of a risk with a whole task force just to save the lives of a few fliers? Oh, there were more than a few. There were a couple hundred. Well, no wonder. No, no. Great wonder. Remember, those few hundred fliers were a smaller part of the Admiral's fleet than Kessler was of your squad. Well, maybe, but the Admiral got away with it. He saved his men. That's why it's a good story. But what do you think would have happened to him if there'd been a sub out there in the dark and had let go a couple of torpedoes? I wonder about that. I'll tell you what would have happened. It'd have been court-martialed. They'd have thrown a book at him. And you think the only reason the Admiral wasn't court-martialed is because he got away with it? Sure. Or else would they court-martial him? Well, for not following the manual. Not playing it like a pro. No. It's only the ones who goof up to get that treatment. And why haven't you been court-martialed? I don't know. Would you like me to tell you? Yeah. It's because the pros, the 30-year men, the fellows who wrote that manual, realized that you and the Admiral and hundreds of others like you may sometime have to face a thing like this. That you may be forced in one way or another to make the hard choice between being a good soldier and a human being. I wonder if they know that. You can bank on it. It's the reason the Admiral wasn't court-martialed and it's the reason you won't be court-martialed. What's the reason? The pros, the 30-year men. They've got something in common with guys like you and the Admiral. Yeah? Yeah. They're human beings, too. This is Marshall Thompson again. How often we hear people say, this certainly isn't my day. And how often we say it ourselves. Every count-founded thing seems to go wrong. From the time we get up in the morning until we have that blowout or bumper crash on the way to the office. Yes, there are days like that, sometimes whole seasons and years like that. It's difficult to realize then that we are not singular. We haven't been handpicked for special torture and that that sort of thing is the common experience of most families at one time or another. But it can be exasperating, and then of course as always the human tendency is to take it out on those nearest and dearest to us. It becomes short and grumpy, but always at home, not with customers or creditors or cops. Be set by many cares some families, though they love each other dearly, develop the habit of picking and of hardly ever saying a pleasant word. This is unfortunate, but there's a very easy cure. It only takes about 10 minutes a day. The minute we turn as a family to our loving Father in Heaven, some love must come into our hearts. And with love, peace. A peace that the world cannot give. That's why Family Theater urges us to pray as families and tells us that the family that prays together stays together. More things are brought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood, Family Theater has brought you transcribed Turn on the Light, starring John Lon. Marshall Thompson was your host. Others in our cast were Vic Perrin, Paul Freese, Lamont Johnson, Fred Shields and Fred Villani. The script was written and directed 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 stage, screen and radio who 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 George Crowell 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 Light Collar, starring Joan Leslie. Jerry Colonna will be your host. 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.