:48:01
that we land
at Leyte Beach on Luzon,
:48:04
and then carry
the fight to Manila.
:48:07
Given a successful landing, aren't you
afraid of a long and bloody campaign?
:48:11
With the kind of
performance and support...
:48:14
provided thus far
by the navy,
:48:17
I can be in Manila
in five weeks...
:48:19
from the day my troops
step ashore on the beaches,
:48:22
and well before
next March.
:48:24
General, how can
you say that?
:48:26
Because for two years, Filipino
guerrillas have been working...
:48:29
behind the Japanese lines to
set the stage for our landings.
:48:33
It's your position to know, but I can't
conscientiously agree with this estimate.
:48:37
To take Luzon would demand
heavier losses than we can stand.
:48:40
It seems to me
we should bypass it.
:48:42
In my two years of fighting
in the southwest Pacific area,
:48:45
and they have been
long, hard years,
:48:47
fewer Americans have been killed
than in the single battle of Anzio.
:48:51
The days of the frontal
attack are over.
:48:54
Only your mediocre
commanders use it.
:48:57
Your good commanders
do not turn in heavy losses.
:49:00
Douglas, Admiral Nimitz's victories
have been no less than your own.
:49:05
Franklin, all the years
we've known each other,
:49:08
I don't believe I told you how
my father won his Medal of Honor.
:49:12
No, you never did. But you're
about to do it now, aren't you?
:49:17
It was during the Battle
of Missionary Ridge.
:49:20
At the height of the fighting,
he saw the flag go down.
:49:23
As others around him faltered,
he seized up the colors...
:49:25
and rallied
the troops to victory.
:49:30
Admiral Nimitz is one
of our greatest admirals.
:49:33
But just now,
as I listened to the plan,
:49:37
I thought I saw our flag
going down.
:49:40
Oh, did you?
:49:42
Mr. President,
had we the will to do so,
:49:45
we could have saved Bataan and
Corregidor in the first place!
:49:49
To sacrifice Luzon a second time
cannot be condoned or forgiven.
:49:52
My dear General,
:49:54
bypassing Luzon is not
synonymous with sacrificing...
:49:57
But bypassing Luzon has implications
which stain American honor.