Shears is enjoying his hospital stay in Ceylon when British Major Warden invites him to join a commando mission to destroy the bridge before it is completed. Shears tries to get out of the mission by confessing that he impersonated an officer as a POW, expecting better treatment from the Japanese. Warden responds that he already knew and that the U.S. Navy had agreed to transfer him to the British Army, along with Shears receiving a commission of major, to avoid embarrassment. Realising he has no choice, Shears volunteers.