Jane Elliot: Grace Young

Quotes 

• Walter Nichols : [Addressing Jerry]  What happened to him

  [Peter, Jerry's childhood friend and close Army pal in Vietnam War] 

  Walter Nichols : ?... There's something more; something you never told anybody. Not one living soul. There's something his mother and father, sitting there in that courtroom, should NEVER hear...

  Grace Young : [Jerry's lady friend, silent, unseen, listening intently while standing behind the two men in a doorway's deep shadow, essentially making her very much part of the revealing, gripping conversation unfolding - as the director has assembled the scene] 

  Walter Nichols : - the silence that you'll do at least 20 years for.

  Jerry Purdue : 20 years? Pete's going forever... . The dudes I knew over there - the 'battle boys,' the 'battle brothers' almost made it home

  [sighs] 

  Jerry Purdue : ... When does killing become murder?

  Walter Nichols : By law... self defense.

  Jerry Purdue : ...it's weird, man. I think he

  [Peter] 

  Jerry Purdue : wanted me to kill him.

  Walter Nichols : ...come on, soldier, tell it! Get it out of your system. You don't wanna carry it around like Pete and go crazy... . You can tell me; I won't use it. You can believe that; you can tell me. So you better tell somebody.

  Jerry Purdue : If I told you something you could win it with, you'd pass?

  Walter Nichols : My word has no price tag on it...

  Jerry Purdue : I'd like to tell it; I'd like to tell it just like it was. Maybe I could forget it.

  Walter Nichols : Tell it to me.

  Grace Young : [Elliot remains in the shadows; head tilted down, now hearing for the first time the most important thing she'll ever know about Jerry, short of him telling her he loves her] 

  Jerry Purdue : It was VC country; night... four of us got shot. Next morning Pete and I spot two, a man and a girl,

  [she] 

  Jerry Purdue : 14? 20? Are they VC? You can't tell. They put hands up... the man races off. Peter shot him down... . Pete chased after the girl. He caught her; they fell

  [pauses] 

  Jerry Purdue : . And Peter

  [stops; can't continue] 

  Jerry Purdue : .

  Walter Nichols : He killed her?

  Jerry Purdue : [nods 'yes'; dead glaze in eyes]  After he raped her

  [sighs heavily] 

  Jerry Purdue : .

  Walter Nichols : [silent; very dynamic] 

  Grace Young : [silent; very dynamic] 

  Jerry Purdue : Pete spent too much time in a place he didn't understand.

  Walter Nichols : And you said nothing?

  Grace Young : [still looking down, but shifting slightly out of the deep shadows] 

  Jerry Purdue : I said we killed two VC; maybe we did.

  Grace Young : [approaches]  I heard it - all of it. I'm glad I did.

  Jerry Purdue : [exasperated]  Alright - you heard it. Are you gonna repeat it?

  Grace Young : You know I won't

  [caresses Jerry's neck] 

  Grace Young : .

  Jerry Purdue : [to Walt]  You wanna tell that story in court?

  Walter Nichols : I won't. Yes, I'd like to. Peter Calendar is dead; nothing can hurt him now - even the truth

  Jerry Purdue : I'd go to the gas chamber before I'd tell that in court. I loved Peter; I loved his mom and dad. I won't tell it.

  Walter Nichols : Alright...