Just after surviving a difficult mission, Lt. Hanley (Rick Jason) and Kirby (Jack Hogan) are given orders to guide an artistic demolitions expert named Cpl. Velasquez (Charles Bronson) to a German observation post that sits on top of a rocky mountain. Their objective is to blow up the enemy post so a group of ten thousand Allied soldiers can cross the valley below on the very next day. Complicating the journey to the targeted destination is Velasquez’s slow pace and fascination with the local geology. This lack of focus causes plenty of problems with Hanley who just wants to get to the location and blow it to smithereens. Once they finally make it to the observation post, Velasquez spots a vault dug into the side of mountain and determines it’s the perfect spot to set his charges. However, when he goes into the vault, he sees that it is full of priceless sculptures and works of art, and he can’t bring himself to blow them up. But if they don’t complete their mission, 10,000 Allied soldiers will soon be sitting ducks. Will Velasquez come to his senses in time to save the men?!!
Today, I watched my old VHS tape of this season 3 episode of COMBAT, called “Heritage,” which premiered in April of 1965. When I was in junior high, I was at Wal-Mart and they had a big bin of VHS tapes, and in those bins, they had tapes that would contain one episode of the series. I don’t remember now who the guest stars were on the other tapes, but I certainly got excited when I saw an episode with Charles Bronson for sale. Since this was in the late 80’s, my tape is over 35 years old, and it’s still holding up well. “Heritage” is the only episode of COMBAT that I’ve ever seen. The series stars Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley and Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders. Morrow just makes a very short appearance here at the very beginning, with the episode focusing on the characters played by Jason and Bronson. The other primary character in this episode, who goes by the name of Kirby, is played by Jack Hogan who appeared in 111 episodes of the series. He’s more in the background of the episode as Bronson and Jason take center stage.
Charles Bronson plays a much different type of character than he would go on to play in most of movies from the 70’s and 80’s. His Cpl. Velasquez can be described as more of a lover and not a fighter. Rather than focus on getting to his target, he’d rather take his time and soak in the interesting and varied rock formations along the way. Rather than easily taking out the enemy and saving his fellow soldiers, he can’t bring himself to destroy priceless works of art, pieces he calls our “God-given…immortal heritage!” It takes a little getting used to, but Bronson turns in a strong performance as a man who has something much more beautiful on his mind than just following orders and killing. This character and performance contrasts greatly with Rick Jason’s character who just wants to complete his mission and get back to base. It’s a shame that war puts people into these kinds of positions where you have to destroy some amazing things in order to save others, but that’s just how it is. I thank God that there have been so many brave men and women who have done what it takes to give us the freedom that we enjoy every day. Even though it was gonna hurt, Cpl. Velasquez, as played by Charles Bronson, is the kind of man who does what it takes.
Overall, “Heritage” is a good episode that’s elevated by Bronson’s excellent performance. It’s a prime example of just what a great character actor Bronson was before hitting the big time as an international superstar a few short years later. I may have to check out a few more episodes of the COMBAT series after this!
Through the Shattered Lens 