We Were Soldiers (2002)

Sam Elliott: Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : I wonder what was going through Custer's mind when he realized that he'd led his men into a slaughter?

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Sir, Custer was a pussy. You ain't.

• Sergeant Ernie Savage : Beautiful morning, Sergeant!

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : What are you a fucking weatherman now?

• Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : I think you oughta get yourself an M-16.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Sir, if the time comes I need one, there'll be plenty lying on the ground.

• Sgt. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is?

• Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : They attack us; no casualties. They run and hide in the mountains. Naturally we chase them, of course. Smell like an ambush to you?

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : If they're trying to get us close enough to kill, I rekon we'll be close enough to kill them.

• [after savage is rescued] 

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : That's a nice day, Sergeant Savage.

• Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : If any of you sons of bitches calls me grandpa, I'll kill you.

• [Galloway is on the ground] 

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : You can't take any pictures from down there, sonny.

  [Galloway gets up and is handed a rifle] 

  Joseph Galloway : I'm a non-combatant.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Ain't no such thing today.

• Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Seen the new rifles too, the M-16.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : That's supposed to be a pretty good weapon.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Ahh, lotsa plastic. Feels like a BB gun to me. Believe I'm gonna stick with my pistol.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : Think we're gonna get close enough to the enemy to use that?

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : What do you think, sir?

• Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : [about to face an onslaught of attacking NVA soldiers]  Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!

• Colonel Tim Brown : Last night, the enemy hit our Special Forces camp here at Plei Me.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : How many casualties did we sustain?

  Colonel Tim Brown : None. The enemy forces withdrew here towards this mountain, Chu Pong, that sits right on the Cambodian border. How many men do you have battle ready at your disposal give or take?

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : [to Plumley]  Sergeant Major?

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : 395 sir... exactly.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : [to Colonel Brown]  What do you estimate the enemy strength is?

  Sergeant : We appraise their numbers as manageable.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : [grim tone]  You mean... you have no idea?

  Colonel Tim Brown : No, sir. We have no idea. But we have our orders. Simple orders from High Command: find the enemy and kill him. Nothing more.

• [Moore and Plumley are looking on at the NVA headquarters] 

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : You want to know how Custer felt? Why don't you ask him?

• [after Ouellette takes a NVA prisoner just after landing in Ia Drang, the prisoner talks in Vietnamese to Moore and the rest of the solders] 

  Mr. Nik : [translating]  He say he deserter.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Bullshit, he's a lookout.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : Ask him where his friends are.

  [Mr. Nik asks the prisoner in Vietnamese and the North Vietnamese lookout responds in Vietnamese] 

  Mr. Nik : He say this is basecamp for whole division. 4,000 men.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : Where?

  [Mr. Nik firmly asks the prisoner in Vietnamese who responds by speaking Vietnamese and points to the nearby Chu Pong Massif] 

  Mr. Nik : [still translating]  That mountain. He say, it's same army that destroyed French. They want to kill Americans very badly... but they have not been able to find any yet.

• Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Can't take no pictures lying down there, sonny. Down, right there.

  Joseph Galloway : I'm a noncombatant, sir.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Ain't no such thing today, boy.

• Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : - Sent us another bunch of officers.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : - Uh-huh

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Real green.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : Gotta train 'em up. Makes me think I'm starting a new unit.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : They sent new rifles too

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : The M-16. That's supposed to be a pretty good weapon.

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : Lots of plastic. Feels like a BB gun to me. Believe I'll stick with my pistol.

  Lt. Colonel Hal Moore : You think we're gonna get close enough to the enemy to use that?

  Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : What do you think, sir?