James Cromwell credited as playing...
Bud Vogel
- Bud Vogel: You know, some people say we're different from other animals. I didn't used to believe it. Now I do. Wanna know why?
- Young Kyle Vogel: Yeah.
- Bud Vogel: Because we can do one thing they can't. Kill at a distance.
- Young Kyle Vogel: It's Memorial Day.
- Bud Vogel: You're damn straight it is.
- Young Kyle Vogel: What am I supposed to remember?
- Bud Vogel: Dear Kylie, my old head can't hold too much anymore but, today, a whole lot came flooding back into it. You might remember this afternoon as just another Saturday at Opa's farmhouse. It wasn't. I've never liked the word "souvenirs", but I guess that's what they are. Shards of memory, shrapnel. You take them to help you remember. What you don't count on is they don't let you forget. Pain. Happiness. Friendship. Death. Smells of diesel and dead animals. Eating meals within arm's length of corpses. Men you laughed with a day before. People wonder if leaders are born or made. All I know is, you can see it in a man's eyes. Problem is, leaders end up where they're needed most. And eventually, that's war. You're special Kylie. I hope you know that. I always have. But I need you to stay strong. People look to guys like us to make decisions. If you do wear the uniform one day, remember something, when you put it on, you don't get to choose the war or what happens when you get there. There's no right or wrong in combat. Here's only what you did. You do your best, and you try to live with it. Some day they'll take me off this porch for good. When that happens, what's left that matters? Photographs, letters, empty clothes? No. It's the stories behind them, those are what matter. Stories live forever, but only if you tell them. I may sound like I've known this a long time. I didn't know it until today. I just wanted to say thank you for teaching me that. It was one hell of a souvenir. Love, Opa. P.S. Know why I like birds so much? They don't just talk their stories, they sing them.
- Bud Vogel: People wonder if leaders are born, or made. All I know is, you can see it in a man's eyes. The problem is, leaders end up where they're needed most, and eventually, that's war.
- [last lines]
- Bud Vogel: You know why I like birds so much? They don't just talk the stories, they sing them.
- Bud Vogel: Fogel.
- Young Kyle Vogel: Pardon?
- Bud Vogel: [in German] Fogel bedeutet Vogel auf Deutsch.
- [translating]
- Bud Vogel: Fogel means bird in German. Bet you didn't know that.
- Young Kyle Vogel: Oh... Is that Why you hate them so much?
- Bud Vogel: I expect.