Call of Silence (23 Nov. 2004)
"NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" Call of Silence (original title)

The NCIS team is forced to investigate an incident from one of the Marines' most famous battles after a WWII Medal of Honor recipient claims to have murdered his best friend.

Director:

Thomas J. Wright

Writers:

Donald P. Bellisario (creator), Don McGill (creator),

Stars:

Mark Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Michael Weatherly

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Harmon	...	Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Sasha Alexander	...	Agent Caitlin Todd
Michael Weatherly	...	Anthony DiNozzo
Pauley Perrette	...	Abby Sciuto
Sean Murray	...	Timothy McGee
David McCallum	...	Dr. Donald Mallard
Charles Durning	...	Ernie Yost
Alicia Coppola	...	Lt. Cmdr. Faith Coleman
Garette Ratliff Henson	...	Young Cpl. Ernie Yost (as Garette Henson)
Lloyd Kino	...	Hitoshi Yoshida
Bennet Guillory	...	Henry (as Ben Guillory)
Hugh B. Holub	...	Superintendent (as Hugh Holub)
Jason Alan Smith	...	Cpl. Wade Kean
Scott Miles	...	Pvt. Ferris Bellows
Marc Senter	...	Pvt. Chip Stearns

Storyline

Corporal Ernie Yost an Iwo Jima (WW II) hero decorated with the medal of Honor, insists the NCIS investigates his confession to have murdered fellow marine corporal Wade Kean, never taken seriously by 911. Even Gibbs believes it's only in Ernie's mind when learning Yost's wife died a few weeks ago, before his confessions, which actually state he smashed Kean's head with his pistol, without firing it, during the bitter March 1945 fight for the island, but after orders from the Pentagon, exhumation shows a corroborating fracture, yet Gibbs believes it's just a guilt complex and arranges his 'escape' home, chaperoned by DiNozzo, who finds jealousy of Ernie's hot wife, nurse Dorothy which he met in hospital on Oahu, remains a touchy subject and Wade knew her earlier, in high-school. Meanwhile the NCIS team tries to reconstruct the corporals' moves during the bloody battle; there are no survivors from his USMC unit, but Gibbs brings Japanese veteran Hitoshi Yoshida...

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Plot Keywords:

iwo jima | washington d.c. | decoration | nightmare | world war two | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2004 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Belisarius Productions, Paramount Network Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

He was one of the few survivors of the Malmedy Massacre during the Battle of the Bulge.

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Goofs

There is no requirement to salute the Medal of Honor or a recipient, covered or not. There is no mention of it in official Navy orders or protocol. It is urban legend that they do.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Henry: Gibbs.
Gibbs: Hey, morning, Henry!
Henry: That sushi place you sent me to...
Gibbs: What, you didn't like it?
Henry: I liked it fine, only you didn't tell me I had to speak Japanese to order.
Gibbs: You don't order; you eat what you're served, with a smile. Just like being married.

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Connections

References To the Shores of Iwo Jima (1945)

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Soundtracks

"Kyoto Slum"
(uncredited)
Written by Dominic Kelly
Performed by Dominic Kelly
Courtesy of Addax Music Company

User Reviews

Great episode. Great contribution by a real Veteran.

I just saw this episode for the first time. Great episode made all the more important by the performance of Charles Durning- D-Day vet, Malmedy vet, Silver Star, Bronze Star.

NCIS helped give us a bit of education, also, as to the particulars of the attack. This is the first episode I've seen that reflected a bit of history and the costs of those historical battles.

This episode is all the more poignant with Mr. Durning's recent death this past Christmas Eve. (Congrats also to IMDb for the timely update.)

R.I.P. Greatest Generation. "Thank You for your Service" to all past and present Service members.