Skipper:
[Telling Dusty the truth of his past] My first patrol as a Jolly Wrench was at Glendal Canal. My squadron was all rookies, all razor-sharp. I should know, I trained every single one of them.
[A flashback is shown of Skipper's backstory, of him flying with his squadron in WW2.]
Skipper:
It was supposed to be a routine mission; A milk run.
Lucas:
[In the flashback, spotting a Japanese battleship] Look Skipper! Enemy ship, 2:00 low, two miles! Easy pickings! What do you say?
Skipper:
[In the flashback] Negative, Jigsaw 2. Our orders are to recon and report back.
Lucas:
Come on, Skip! It will be a turkey shoot!
Other Plane:
Let's do it, Skipper!
Skipper:
Alright, let's go in for a closer look, but keep your distance!
[Skipper and his Squadron dive down towards the battleship. When they get through the clouds, it reveals that it's not just one ship; it's a whole fleet of Japanese battleships. The ships immediately all begin shooting at them.]
Lucas:
[terrified] HOLY COW! IT'S THE WHOLE ENEMY FLEET!!
Skipper:
[voiceover] It was too late to pull up.
[The squadron returns fire, but bombs hit the planes, causing many to explode.]
Skipper:
[In the flashback] Get out of there, Lucas!!
[One by one, each of the planes is shot down. On fire, they all crash into the sea...including Skipper. Hours later, the badly damaged Skipper is rescued by an American Aircraft Carrier. A medic pitty silently informs him he's the only survivor of the attack. Skipper is devastated beyond words, tears in his eyes as the flashback ends]
Skipper:
[Voiceover as flashback ends] My whole squadron... under my command.
[Dusty is shocked beyond words]
Skipper:
After that... I just couldn't bring myself to fly again. Let me ask you something, Dusty. If you knew the truth about my past, would you have asked me to train you?
[Dusty can't think of any words. He feels horribly regretful when he says the truth.]
Dusty:
[Heartbroken and truthfully] No.
Skipper:
I'm sorry, Dusty.
