Nobody's Heroes: The script reflects my life in the 1960s’. “The Fugitive” meets “The Deer Hunter”.
In 1968 America experienced a national nervous breakdown. The Vietnam War was at its peak as was the antiwar movement. Swept into this storm are five young men; high school buddies whose friendships and courage are challenged by the tide of events.
MIKE, 21, having survived the war, knows ROGER, 21, is right about its futility. Helping ROGER elude the FBI and (back) into Canada is his main goal and central narrative. He tells younger brother BILLY, “I’m not going to lose another friend.”
Two distinct events set the story in motion. MIKE, severely wounded during the Battle for Hue/Tet Offensive, receives a medical discharge. While on his way home, good friend PAUL, 21, dies from a bad LSD trip. Word of this tragic event reaches every member of MIKE’s circle and they meet in their hometown, Annapolis, MD, to honor their friend.
ACT 1: We meet MIKE, ROGER and their “gang” as high schoolers. PAUL, a hulking giant and prized athlete. JEFF, the quiet intellectual. GEORGE, a wise-cracking Tom Sawyer clone and MIKE’S younger brother, BILLY, a kid with head-turning good looks. They are more than friends. They are a Band of Brothers. On Veteran’s Day, 1965, they rescue ROGER as he participates in an antiwar/draft card burning demonstration at the Annapolis draft board that results in a riot.
This is not the first time ROGER’s passionate activism has placed him in jeopardy and forced his friends to bail him out. The previous summer while celebrating the signing of the Civil Rights Bill, that gathering is attacked by a racist mob. In the process of saving their friend, they also rescue two African American Civil Rights firebrands, CALVIN and GERARD.
ROGER has fled to Toronto to avoid prosecution for antiwar activities, including persuading active service military personnel to desert. When he learns of PAUL’S death, he quietly returns and is reunited with MIKE and the others at PAUL’s funeral.
ACT 2: The FBI discovers ROGER’s return. BONNER, whose son was killed in Vietnam, heads a team to apprehend him. The trail leads to Annapolis. Friends in the local police department alert MIKE that the FBI has arrived. He finds ROGER a secure hide-out then attempts to rally the others to help him. But they have their eyes on the future which would be jeopardized by defying the FBI. MIKE, says he will go it alone. BONNER, eager to find ROGER and driven by an inner rage, harasses and intimidates BILLY, GEORGE and JEFF which unites them behind MIKE. They smuggle ROGER out of Annapolis using as cover a faux Civil Rights march organized by CALVIN and GERARD.
MIKE, needing to buy time, sends JEFF and GEORGE west in his own car knowing every law enforcement agency will be looking for it. MIKE, ROGER and BILLY, head north and stop briefly in NYC which results in near disaster. It takes a thrilling car chase through mid-town Manhattan to escape an FBI trap.
ACT 3: BONNER draws closer every hour as he pursues them. MIKE becomes pre-occupied with BONNER’s anger that has manifested itself in bursts of self-defeating recklessness. “This is about revenge,” he tells ROGER. “Something has his guts tied in a knot.”
On a beautiful, moonlit night in May, 1968. MIKE sends BILLY into the FBI trap waiting for them outside Stratford, New Hampshire. MIKE uses his last, desperate misdirection to get ROGER to the border. When BONNER discovers the ruse, he tracks them to the village of Wallace Pond, Vermont that sits mere yards from the Canadian border.
Alone and in full rogue mode, he shoots MIKE. Wounded and bleeding, MIKE fights to release ROGER from BONNER’s custody. He pleads “I don’t know if people like Roger are right or wrong about the war but I’ve been there and it’s not worth all this.” BONNER aims his service revolver at ROGER’S head, fully intent on killing him. MIKE plays the only gambit left. He tells BONNER, “If your son were here, he’d tell you to let him go.”
BONNER lowers his weapon and turns to confront MIKE. ROGER escapes. BONNER rages at MIKE for implying his son would forgive a “treasonous coward”. Then in an unexpected move, BONNER attempts suicide. MIKE fights successfully for control of the weapon. “Why?” he asks. BONNER then breaks completely. Tears begin to flow as he explains he is responsible for his son’s death.
His son, COREY, obtained Conscientious Objector status. BONNER, fearing this would compromise his FBI career, pressured him to join the Army as a Medic. He died tending to wounded soldiers in battle. MIKE embraces BONNER while he cries unashamed.
The story ends November 13, 1983 at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. MIKE, married and with two young sons, attends. The outpouring of a nation’s acceptance and appreciation of Vietnam combat veterans starts MIKE on the path to personal redemption.
Far from being a simple character drama, the journey of MIKE and his friends is a metaphor for healing; both for the characters and the country.
