Sergeant Frank Tree Quotes in 1941 (1979)

[last lines]

Sergeant Frank Tree: You know, this year wasn't the big year of the war, '41. I think the really big year is going to be 1942.

Major General Joseph W. Stillwell: [sighs] It's gonna be a long war.

Sergeant Frank Tree: You shouldn't touch the ordnance at all. But more specifically, you should never pull this hand-operating lever to the rear.

Ward Douglas: Never.

Sergeant Frank Tree: Do not push a clip of ammunition down into the feed rollers here.

Ward Douglas: No, sir, never.

Sergeant Frank Tree: You never restore this lever to firing position. Do not make sure that this cover is completely closed.

Ward Douglas: No, sir.

Sergeant Frank Tree: Never depress operator's foot triggers here, here and at the rear here.

Sergeant Frank Tree: [to the rioting crowd] What the hell do you people think you're doing? You're acting like a bunch of Tojo stooges! What do you wanna do, put Yamamoto in the White House? The Axis is crawling like a slime all over Europe! I can't believe it, Americans fighting Americans! We got the lousy Huns to fight!

Sergeant Frank Tree: [addressing the rioting crowd] You think the Krauts believe in Walt Disney?

Crowd: Yeah!

Sergeant Frank Tree: Yeah, well, was that Mickey Mouse I saw blitzkrieging across France?

Crowd: No!

Sergeant Frank Tree: Pluto in Poland?

Crowd: No!

Sergeant Frank Tree: Or Donald Duck at Pearl Harbor?

Crowd: No!

Sergeant Frank Tree: If there's one thing I can't stand seeing, it's Americans fighting Americans.

Private Foley: Now Sarge, what is the loading and firing procedure for the 75-millimeter cannon?

Sergeant Frank Tree: [delirious] There are five basic components...

Private Foley: This is it, pay attention.

Sergeant Frank Tree: ...to the new General Electric refrigerator: one, the freon compressor, two, the freon tube...

Sergeant Frank Tree: [addressing the rioting crowd] Look at Santy Claus; isn't he cute?

Crowd: Yeah!

Sergeant Frank Tree: You think the Japanese believe in Santy Claus?

Crowd: No!

Sergeant Frank Tree: Well, instead of turkey for your Christmas dinner, how would you like to have raw fish heads and rice?

Crowd: No!

Sergeant Frank Tree: This war's been going on for the last ten years. You had your Japs in Manchuria in 1931, the Eyeties in Ethiopia in 1935, and the Krauts have been blitzkrieging your favorite European tourist attractions for the last three years! Now, last year in Africa, it took General O'Connor and his British tanks two months to grab Libya, and it took Rommel twelve days to get it back!

Wally Stephens: [Wally and Stretch have just unexpectedly "run into" each other] You!

Cpl. Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski: [furious, pointing at Wally] YOU!

Ward Douglas: [running up, shouts at Wally] You!

Sergeant Frank Tree: [also to Wally, but more casually] You... have a serious wardrobe problem, kid.

Sergeant Frank Tree: This time we win or we die trying.

General Joseph W. Stilwell: [responding to the chaos caused by panicked citizens thinking the Japanese are invading] Sergeant, secure this area. I want a one-block perimeter.

Sergeant Frank Tree: Yes, sir! What's the plan of action, sir?

General Joseph W. Stilwell: Hold the block. You can hold one block, can't you?