One Moderately Peaceful Sunday

One Moderately Peaceful Sunday is the fifth episode of The Gallant Men. It was written by Montgomery Pittman and directed by Richard C. Sarafian. It aired on November 2, 1962.

Plot summary
A quiet Sunday is spoiled by the suspicion that a nearby inn is being used as a German observation post. Capt. Benedict sends Cpl. Smith, Pvt. O’Day and Pvt. Gibson to check it out.

The interior of the inn is damaged and littered with dead Germans. An imperious-looking officer, Capt. Rauch, checks in on a guard who’s been watching the nearby American activity. He then heads upstairs to monitor radio transmissions.

The nervous O’Day joins Smith and Gibson. The corporal says he has a bad feeling about the patrol. Gibson tries to talk him out of his apprehension, but Smith disregards him and the patrol begins.

Back at the inn, Rauch enters a bedroom and finds civilian clothing and mementoes. He is particularly taken with a homburg, which he dons and admires in a mirror. His daydreaming is interrupted by an urgent call from a German soldier: The American patrol has been spotted and is drawing near.

At the American command post, Sgt. McKenna expresses concern about Smith. Lt. Kimbro minimizes his worry, saying Smith is just tired like everyone else.

One Wehrmacht soldier has a clear shot at Smith, but Rauch tells him not to fire. The soldier is pissed, but obeys.

Smith, Gibson and O’Day make it to the inn and burst through a door into a kitchen. No one is there. Gibson cautiously but quickly enters the dining room and sees several German bodies on the floor. He is startled by Smith and O’Day, entering from a different direction. The three creep into the lobby and see more bodies and some debris. Smith and O’Day go upstairs to continue the reconnaissance. The remaining Germans emerge and open fire, killing both GIs. Gibson dives beneath the lobby’s check-in desk and manages to survive.

Maj. Jergens radios Benedict and says the company needs to move out in one hour. Benedict objects, citing the patrol, but Jergens sweeps his concerns aside and reiterates the order.

Back at the inn, Hensel, a German sergeant who speaks English, tries to coax Gibson out from behind the desk. Gibson remains silent and out of sight. Capt. Rauch recommends his next course of action: tossing a grenade behind the desk to finish Gibson off. Hensel relays the threat, but adds his own disapproval of the plan and disagreement with Rauch. Gibson spies a hole in the floor and manages to wriggle through it, landing in the basement a second before the grenade explodes.

At the American post, Benedict and others hear the explosion and fear the worst. D’Angelo enters and tries to learn what’s going on. A stressed and nervous Benedict explains the situation and forbids D’Angelo or anyone else in the company from mounting an unauthorized rescue attempt.

Hensel sits at his window-side post, criticizing Rauch aloud, doubting the captain's fitness for command and airing general displeasure. Rauch surprises Hensel by replying in English, revealing he’s been on to Hensel’s grievances the whole time.

Gibson, in the basement, opens a window but discovers it is barred, preventing his escape. On a street in the village, D’Angelo, Hanson and Lucavich are eating lunch when McKenna walks by and tells them to get packed. When Pete asks about the patrol, Benedict snaps that he doesn’t have to explain anything.

Rauch sends a soldier to the basement for wine. Gibson kills the soldier and begins sneaking back upstairs. He kills two more Germans on the first floor, but trips on his way to the second floor, losing his rifle. Gibson picks up a weapon from one of the dead soldiers and rolls into the corridor, shooting and killing a fourth German. Gibson finds a radio set and jots down the Morse code of an incoming transmission before smashing the equipment.

On his way downstairs, Gibson is halted by Capt. Rauch. The armed German officer compels Gibson to drop his weapon and sit down. He asks why the inn was so important that four Germans and two Americans had to die. Gibson replies that the radio set was a problem. Rauch tells Gibson about his hometown and the poetry of Goethe. He waxes nostalgic about skiing, then suddenly changes tack and says he has to kill Gibson. He debates other options and asks Gibson what he should do. Gibson figures Rauch will not shoot him, so when Rauch puts down his firearm, Gibson seizes it and turns the tables. Satisfied, Rauch says he is now Gibson’s prisoner.

Benedict and Able Company are ready to leave when Conley Wright spies Gibson approaching, accompanied by Rauch. Gibson hands over his Morse code notes and enumerates the casualties. Rauch and Gibson exchange smiles, and the older man gives Gibson his cigarette case before McKenna leads him away.

G-2 Report

 * This episode was penned by Montgomery Pittman. He wrote for several Warner-produced series, including 77 Sunset Strip, Sugarfoot, Maverick and Surfside 6. His credits also include The Twilight Zone, The Rifleman and Schlitz Playhouse. Pittman died of cancer in June 1962, a little more than four months before "One Moderately Peaceful Sunday" aired. It would be Pittman's only contribution to The Gallant Men and the penultimate Pittman script to be produced for television.
 * Capt. Rausch is played by John Dehner, a prolific character actor. Dehner’s credits include more than 250 films and television shows. Many of his roles came from Westerns, including Maverick, Gunsmoke and The Virginian. In the realm of military fiction, Dehner appeared on Combat! and Hogan’s Heroes.
 * The leitmotifs that accompany Rausch are pompous-sounding or lighthearted, perhaps meant to convey how highly Rausch regards himself and his fondness for civilian life, respectively.
 * As the patrol investigates the tavern, Benedict gives a running commentary based on radio contact. But with whom? We see Gibson contact the command post only once, and he is not seen giving Benedict real-time updates after that.
 * This episode focuses on Gibson, but the climax is the product of Rauch’s actions, not Gibson’s. The quiet Tennessean acted bravely and thought quickly in this tale, but he definitely owes a debt to Rauch for making the denouement of his Sunday a lot less bloody than it could have been.
 * The bakery that serves as a temporary command post in act one is also seen in “Retreat to Concord,” “Lesson for a Lover,” “Some Tears Fall Dry” and “Fury in a Quiet Village.” The staircase and courtyard seen behind Smith and Gibson in act one is also used in “Retreat to Concord” and “Advance and Be Recognized.” The hillside Smith, O’Day and Gibson sneak down as they approach the inn is also seen in “The Warriors” and “The Crucible.” The inn’s exterior is the same building where D’Angelo was held captive in “The Ninety-Eight Cent Man.” The interior appears in multiple episodes, including “A Place to Die” and “The Bridge.” The outdoor street set is also seen in “To Hold Up a Mirror.”