In 1945 near the end of World War 2 military forces were desperate for medical personnel and specifically nurses to travel to support their troops. Rebecca, an American woman whose brother had been drafted decided to participate in an accelerated nursing program so that she could go and support the troops. The moment she lands she realizes she is in way over her head but also embraces the reality that she has chosen for herself. She believes in nursing, serving people, helping to bandage soldiers so that they can continue to do their job for the country. It is in the midst of her trying to help people that she gets lost in a massive rice field where she literally trips over a soldier from the other side. Without even thinking twice she drops to her knees and begins to bandage him up realizing that if there are more soldiers like him close that she will be taken in as a POW. But luckily, as life would have it another woman arrives in the rice field and tells the soldier to never tell anyone that that he saw an American nurse and to run. This is the first encounter of Rebecca and Linh who spend only a matter of hours together but in those hours their friendship is forged, built, strengthened, and challenged. It is sometimes in the unlikeliest of situations and circumstances that we find a lifelong friend. And many years later on July 4th as Rebecca celebrates her 80th birthday she crosses paths with a beautiful woman that looks just like her friend that she has not seen in 35 years. Both with tattered notes in their hands after all of these years they kept their promise to each other, to celebrate their 80th birthday together in New York City over a slice of pizza and a bagel. A story of war. A story that reminds us that even in the midst of the worst of situations it is still possible to come out of them holding the hands of a perfect stranger who eventually in a short amount of time becomes family.
Remember Me
(Setting: New York City, NY July 4, 2001. Scene opens on a simple city street. (split scene) Rebecca, a Caucasian woman, 80 years old, walks looking at a tattered piece of paper and then to the addresses on buildings. As we see her Linh, a Vietnamese woman of the same age does the exact same thing but on the other side of the street. They both cross the street, still looking, they pass each other and a few steps later stop, look back see each other, hold out their notes from a distance and instantly laugh as they walk swiftly towards one another and just as they are close to their loving embrace, transition.)
(We are in a hospital October 1945- Anytown, USA. A now young Rebecca struggles to get a line started in a patient’s vein, frustrated she walks away.)
Nurse: Where are you going?
Rebecca: I can’t do it. I’m going to kill someone when I’m supposed to be helping them.
Nurse: You are not training to be the nurse at an elementary school. This country is at war. We need nurses on that line and you have made it through an execrated program where you gave aid to soldiers who were missing legs, arms, had been shot and now you can’t find a vein for a blood draw? Get it together Nurse. You ship out at zero five thirty and when they drop you in the field either you work fast and precise, or you die and if you do the ladder other people will die too. Fix yourself, now.
(Rebecca goes back to the blood draw, takes a few deep breaths and finally gets it, the Nurse nods. Transition.)
Announcement: (VO) We are arriving at the US Naval Station Hospital, Saigon. Unload, check in and get to work. God be with you all.
(Rebecca unloads off of the plane)