Radio: Yesterday, December 7th 1941, the day which will live in infamy…
Mike: ...in the near future, and possibly beyond. There's been a change of plan,lads. As you may or may not know, the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor yesterday. Frank D. Roosevelt asked each of us to do our part. The Chelsea's been commissioned to serve in the United States Navy, to repair, salvage and to rescue. Anybody doesn't wanna go to war, now's the time to say so. Once youset foot on that boat, you're in the Navy, friend.
Mayes: I've been meaning to talk with you, Mike. My wife's doing poorly. I'd like to maybe see her one more time.
Mike: You're free to make your way home any way you come, Mr Mayes.
Sailor A: If he's leaving, who's gonna cook? Food poisoning is one of the leading causes of death at sea.
Sailor B: Right after inadequate safety equipment.
Benjamin: I can cook, captain. Been doin' it all my life.
Mike: Yeah, I knew it. You're a little too old for war, Benjamin. Ah, what the hell. I'll take any man who wants to kick the shit out of Japs and Huns. That's it! Back to your gear. We're going to war, gentlemen!
Benjamin: She had left a note. She wrote "It was nice to have met you." And that was it. It wasn't the war any of us expected. We just towed crippled ships. Scraps off metal, really. If there was a war, we didn't see it. There was a man assigned to us. The Chief Gunner loved the Navy. But most of all, he loved America.
Smith: There is no other country in the world! When you spell A.M.E.R.I.C.A, you're spelling freedom.
Benjamin: His name was Dennis Smith and he was a full-blooded Cherokee. His family had been Americans for over 500 years.
Smith: These pacifists. They say they won't fight on conscience. Where would we be...if everybody decided to act according to their conscience?