China Beach1988

Maj. Lila Garreau:
...You think I'm a fool, don't you Lieutenant?

Nurse Colleen McMurphy:
What ever gives you that impression, Major?

Maj. Lila Garreau:
Most of you short timers do. My father was in for 35 years. A Master Sergeant. NCO kids didn't play with officers children. They were royalty. Nobody thought I could make it through OTS. My father cried at my graduation, then he saluted me, crisp as you please. [Pointing at leaves on shoulder] This means everything. I made something if myself. I know you think it's a joke. The army just gets in your way of your doing your job. But you volunteered, nobody forced you.

Nurse Colleen McMurphy:
I volunteered to help the men!

Maj. Lila Garreau:
That's why we're all here! It's not just your little corner of the world. Life is about choices. Most you make without realizing you're making them. Day by day of minor decisions that don't seem very important at the time. But then when you get older and look back, they shape your entire life.