Ol' Buddy

Ol' Buddy is the twenty-third episode of The Gallant Men. It was written by William Koenig and directed by Richard L. Bare. It aired on March 9, 1963.

Plot summary
Best buddies Sam Hanson and Ernie Lucavich get into an argument over a can of peaches. Having reached an impasse, the two privates ask Sgt. McKenna to split them up when patrols are sent out that night, a separation Conley Wright notes is highly unusual.

Hanson’s patrol is fired upon by German troops. Lucavich hears the gunfire and a grenade blast and assumes Hanson was hit. Hanson, it is revealed, is alive but wounded. His left arm is bleeding, and his patrol partner, Pvt. Harris, is dead. He manages to evade two German soldiers and scurries away from the scene.

Sam kills a patrolling Wehrmacht and makes his way to a farmhouse the Germans are using as a makeshift command post. Leaning on his language skills, he stays out of sight and shouts a command to distract a guard. The ruse works, and Hanson sneaks through a damaged stone wall and into a crawlspace beneath the house.

From the safety of the crawlspace, Hanson is able to eavesdrop on the conversations between German soldiers and a young lieutenant, Bauman. He learns that the Germans are aware of the soldier Hanson killed and are now searching the immediate area for the assailant. Stacks of ammunition boxes are placed on the crawlspace hatch, sealing Hanson in.

The next morning, Hanson awakens and crudely bandages his arm wound with torn fabric from his uniform. Through a crack in the wall paneling, he spies a German bearing cheese and strong schnapps. He nabs both by moving a loose board and reaching through the gap. He treats himself as he bides his time.

Back at camp, Lucavich is listless and saddened. The rest of the men are affected as well, and even Capt. Benedict admits that Hanson’s (assumed) death hits him harder than he expected.

As Hanson listens in, it becomes clear that Lt. Bauman is troubled. He seems disillusioned and ill-suited as an officer. One of his sergeants, Stein, is resentful the young Bauman was promoted instead of him. A captain makes a surprise visit. He tells Bauman the Germans are pulling out of the area to reconfigure their positions and strategy in the immediate area. He instructs Bauman and a small group to remain in place and delay the advancing Americans for almost a full day. The captain says Bauman has a chance to “redeem himself for past failures.”

After the captain leaves, Stein commiserates with Bauman and says the assignment they’ve just been handed is a suicide mission. Bauman insists they will stay and fulfill their order, angering Stein. Bauman admits to the radio operator that he is a poor officer and that “no amount of soldiering” will improve his abilities.

Lucavich decides he will volunteer for a second patrol to find Hanson. Wright points out that Hanson might be dead, to which Lucavich replies if that’s the case, he’ll off a few Jerrys to even out the score. Benedict gets word from battalion that Able Company is to move up and get ready for action early the next morning in the area where Hanson was last seen. A battle would endanger Hanson for sure, and Lucavich contemplates finding him before anyone else can.

Back the German post, Stein expresses his doubts about Bauman to other soldiers. They consider surrendering to the Americans or deserting outright, neither of which is considered a palatable solution. Stein again lobbies Bauman to ignore the captain’s orders and protect his men’s lives. Bauman refuses and leaves to check machine gun emplacements. Stein suggests to the others that their best chance for survival might be killing Bauman.

At 0430, an hour before the scheduled attack, McKenna attempts to rouse Lucavich and discovers the private is missing. Lucavich, of course, has returned to where Hanson was last seen. He discovers Harris’ body and Hanson’s M1 Garand, but no sign of Hanson himself.

At the farmhouse, the Germans apprehensively await the American assault. Bauman again confides in the radio operator. He discusses the randomness and futility of death in war. He suspects they will all be killed in the coming attack, but says he is merely following orders, something he’s always been good at.

Lucavich comes upon the farmhouse. He finds Hanson’s rabbit’s foot in the dirt next to a low stone wall. He sneaks along the wall and silently kills two machine gunners. Using a narrow stick, Hanson is able to lift and knock over one of the ammunition boxes blocking the crawlspace hatch. Lucavich notices and opens the door. The schnapps-drunk Hanson greets him warmly and loudly. Lucavich slaps a hand over Hanson’s mouth and plunges into the crawlspace with him. He warns Hanson about the Allied assault and says they have to get out, but for the moment there’s no safe way to do so.

Stein discovers the dead machine gunners and again urges Bauman to withdraw. Bauman refuses. Stein draws a gun and prepares to shoot the lieutenant, but he backs up to the wall and, to Bauman’s astonishment, is fatally impaled on an American bayonet knife that has appeared through a gap in the boards. Bauman recovers quickly enough to draw his own sidearm and defend himself against another of the conspirators. Though Hanson shouts to warn him of a third attacker, Bauman is felled. Hanson and Lucavich escape during the ensuing confusion.

As the American artillery attack begins at 0530, Hanson and Lucavich are seen running toward Benedict’s observation post. The captain scolds Lucavich and welcomes Hanson back. The former helps the latter, now feeling a burgeoning hangover, find medical attention. But their fight quickly resurfaces and the episode closes with the two of them bickering again.

G-2 report

 * For the record, the fight between Lucavich and Hanson was over a can of peaches. Even Pete D’Angelo and Sgt. McKenna point out how odd and pointless it is.
 * The cold open makes explicit what is implied in other episodes: Conley Wright’s narration is drawn from his columns. He’s seen typing the words as the viewer hears his voice reading it. Unlike many episodes, there is no closing narration from Wright.
 * From the "small world" file: Episode director Richard L. Bare created the 1960-61 ABC series The Islanders, which starred William Reynolds. Bare and Reynolds also worked together in the 1960 Twilight Zone episode “The Purple Testament.” Bare’s post-Gallant Men work includes 34 episodes of Petticoat Junction and 166 episodes of Green Acres.
 * While this episode is ostensibly a showcase for Hanson, he doesn’t do much once he gets into the German command post. He serves as the audience’s conduit for the real drama between the Wehrmacht soldiers and officers inside.
 * Ordinarily German speech on The Gallant Men is presented without subtitles or interpretation. This episode wisely and cleverly breaks that custom by having the audience “hear” Hanson’s interpretation. In these scenes, the actors speak accented English.
 * Lt. Bauman is played by Anthony Becket. He previously appeared as a German soldier named Buckner in "The Bridge." Bauman's captain says he has a chance to redeem himself for past failures, but those failures are never specified.
 * In act two, D’Angelo picks out the melody of “My Heart Belongs to You,” The Gallant Men’s theme song, on his guitar.
 * Pvt. Wziecewski makes a brief appearance in this episode, name-checked by Wright as one of the soldiers who returns safely from the patrol. He is briefly glimpsed again behind Wright and McKenna in act two.
 * The prop well seen in “A Place to Die” is seen again during the night patrol, and it will appear again in “The Crucible.” The hillside Lucavich and Hanson come running down in the final act is seen in many episodes, including “A Place to Die” and “The Warriors.”