Captain Ben Salomon was a Jewish dentist who was killed in WWII. His body was found behind his machine gun, with 98 dead Japanese soldiers in front of it. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism that day....
My script is titled: A DENTIST.
"First he fought against prejudice. Then he fought against the Japanese. Before he became a hero, he was just.... a dentist."
>>>>>
fade in: the island of Saipan, outside a medical tent....
A MAJOR is talking to a GENERAL, as they walk toward a medical tent. Several other soldiers are with them, carrying folders, and taking notes and pictures.
MAJOR
"This is the tent he was working in, General."
They enter the tent, which was shot up in the recent fighting. Bloodstains are still present, and numerous bullet holes and large tears in the fabric. The Major consults some papers.
MAJOR
"Sergeant Jenkins says that the Captain killed three Japs inside here. They ran in, from that end, and started bayoneting the wounded. They were on the ground, over there. The Captain picked up a rifle and shot them down."
GENERAL
"And the sergeant saw this?"
MAJOR
"Yes sir, he was inside the tent, five feet away. He was one of the medical orderlies. He
killed another one himself, with a pistol. He said the Captain put down
his scalpel, picked up a rifle, and went to work."
GENERAL
"Outstanding. And then?"
MAJOR
"The fighting grew more intense, so the Captain ordered Sergeant Jenkins to fall back with the surviving wounded men. Then he reloaded his rifle and went toward the fighting, out that way. He told Sergeant Jenkins 'Evacuate all of these wounded men back to safety. … I’m going to hold these guys off as long as I can.'
"That's the last time Sergeant Jenkins saw him, General."
They walk out the back of the tent.
MAJOR
"And over there, at those sandbags, that's where the machine gun was."
GENERAL
"That's where they found his body?"
MAJOR
"Yes sir. Report says.... his body had 76 gunshot
wounds. After they killed him, they shot and bayoneted his body over
and over. It would appear that they were pretty mad at him."
GENERAL
"I guess so, Major. He killed a hell of a lot of them before they got him. What was the body count? A hundred?"
The Major turns to another soldier.
MAJOR
"Sergeant Turner?"
SERGEANT TURNER
"Says here, 98 Jap bodies were found in front of the
gun, General, all the way back to the ridgeline. There were 4 other
American bodies around the gun, though. The Captain took over after
they were killed, so some of the body count is probably theirs---"
The General cut him off with a glare that could freeze water.
GENERAL
"Those men aren't being put in for the Medal of Honor, Sergeant. Doctor Solomon is."
Sergeant Turner didn't dare speak again, but he glanced over at the officer beside him...
LIEUTENANT SIMMONS
"Excuse me, General. It's Salomon, not Solomon. And... he wasn't a doctor."
GENERAL
"What? He was the regimental surgeon."
LIEUTENANT SIMMONS
"No, sir. He volunteered to fill in for the regimental surgeon, who was wounded, General. He wasn't a doctor, though. He was a dentist."
The General, speechless, just stares at the
Lieutenant for a long moment. Then he turns back toward the fighting
position, lost in thought.
GENERAL
"A dentist..... A DENTIST with a machine gun killed 98 Japs. What the hell kind of dentist was he???"
begin flashback
