Dead Reckoning

Leaving a church, Father Logan, a well-known ex-paratrooper padre, is approached by Captain "Rip" Murdock. Murdock needs to tell someone what has happened to him in the past few days in case his enemies get to him. A flashback follows:

Just after World War II, paratroopers and close friends Captain Murdock and Sergeant Johnny Drake are mysteriously ordered to travel from Paris to Washington, D.C. When Drake learns that he is to be awarded the Medal of Honor (and Murdock the Distinguished Service Cross), he disappears before newspaper photographers can take his picture. Murdock goes AWOL, follows the clues and tracks his friend to Gulf City in the southern United States, where he learns Drake is dead – his burned corpse is recovered from a car crash.