User Reviews

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.

No matter how many times I see this episode, it never fails to make me tear up and cry.

Charles Durning was perfect in the role of Ernie Yost. He portrayed just the right amount of guts, honor, and pride along with love, nostalgia, and sincerity. He truly wanted to do the right thing and he was very determined to do what he thought was the right thing: Semper Fi.

Somehow, his dance with Kate, the exhumation, along with the ending, always bring me to tears. All of the regulars, along with Alicia Coppola, and Lloyd Kino did a fantastic job during this episode.

It is easily the most memorable episode of the entire series for me and my favorite.

Someone mistakenly said their is no requirement to salute a Medal of Honor recipient. That's technically true, but practically wrong. The salute is rendered to honor the medal and what it represents along with the person wearing it. In the Marine Corps I can testify to the salute being one of the most respected traditions we have. I witnessed a bird colonel salute a gunny who was wearing the ribbon on his summer service charlie. The technical adviser for NCIS the first few seasons was dead on his advice and Mark Harmon played a former Gunny almost perfectly. I wish they still had the TA because recent episodes have deteriorated considerably. That said...Code of Silence with the great actor and American hero Charles Durning is the best episode ever made. As a former Marine I never cry, but the performances in this episode certainly produced some sweat around the eyes. Semper Fi.

"Call of Silence" is the only TV show or movie I have ever rated a 10. The final 10 minutes are so emotional and heart wrenching I guarantee you will not have a dry eye, and the lump in you throat will be unavoidable. It will start when Ernie and Kate are slow dancing to "Begin the Beguine", which Ernie sings and hums. Moments later, when Cmdr. Coleman and two Marines are about to take Ernie into custody, Tony slowly pulls Ernie's tie to the side to reveal his Medal of Honor. Cmdr. Coleman and the marines snap to attention, and the marines smartly render a salute. I have watched this episode at least a dozen times, and each time I see this scene I feel a great sense of pride in our men and women in uniform, past, present and future. And finally when Gibbs convinces Ernie he did nothing wrong, it's another scene that will bring moisture to your eyes. Mr. Durning's performance (he was a real life WW2 veteran, and he shows Tony some actual photos of himself during his military service) is beyond outstanding in this episode, just one of the reasons this episode rates a perfect 10.

One of the most touching episodes of not only this series but of any series I have ever seen. It was a tremendous tribute to the aging WWII generation that has nearly faded into history. I had more than a few tears in my eyes through most of episode.

This episode belongs to one actor - Charles Durning. Having seen action that resulted in him being awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star, acquiring a Purple Heart, and being appointed a Knight of the Légion d'Honneur by the President of France, it may have been difficult for him to control his emotions while acting this part, so close to his own history, but we saw no trace of that - he took us through the script and showed us exactly what the script wanted us to see. What a professional! Having said that, the rest of the regular team creditably kept up their end of the effort, making Durning's performance seamless. It would be unfair not to mention Alicia Coppola's part, spiking up the story as Lt Cdr Coleman - there is another consummate professional.

This was also my favorite episode of NCIS. Charles Durning does a great job, and there are some great scenes in the show. My favorite is when Tony reveals the Medal of Honor to the two Marines who snap to attention and salute. In my opinion, (and I may be prejudice since I am ex-Navy)NCIS is the best show on TV. For the most part, they get the language right (bulkhead, etc) and the customs (not saluting when your cover is off, etc) Michael Weatherly is a good actor who can go from acting goofy to serious parts (like the time, he had the plague) And of course there is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It will be real interesting to see how the spin off does.

(249-word review) Despite being different from the usual: this time, it was about piecing together foggy events from far in the past and the one who supposedly did it being front and center from the beginning, this episode was more about depicting the sadness, loneliness, and emotional reality of the impact of which war can do to a man/person; while that has almost certainly been portrayed many times throughout the medium of television and film, that doesn't lessen this instance's impact, and unless you fail borderline unhumanly-miserably, that never will. Charles Durning gave a commendable performance.

Besides that, the acting, across the board, was the second-biggest draw; Alicia Coppola stood out, with a more subtle induction by Sasha Alexander and Mark Harmon (and more subtly, the score had its perks, too, with the most distinction and variety in the show it's been): right behind the effective attempt at putting a needed, appreciated light on the horrific reality that, unfortunately, plagued so many people that were lucky enough (or unlucky) to live another day, even to this day with more recent sufferers unrelated to the arguably worst war/battlefield occurrences in the past, like with Ernest/Ernie Yost, which is even more unfortunate.

Even though this episode didn't seem good enough to warrant a higher rating, at least in my eyes, it was still sufficiently engaging, on top of its importance, for obvious reasons. It certainly didn't fall into the threshold of giving it a rating lower than I gave it.

Absolutely the best segment in ten years of NCIS programming.

Watching Charles Durning interact with the regular NCIS cast in a most unusual story line is so moving that, even knowing the story--in detail now after all these years of watching my DVD set--I still have to ready myself to watch "Call of Silence" every time I start up the DVD player.

Durning was nominated for an Emmy for his role in this segment of NCIS and, though I have never researched the question, it would not surprise me at all to find that he was awarded numerous awards, some from non-film cultural groups, for his role and the great heart he put into it.

Deeply moving, and magnificent. 10 out of 10.

I have been into NCIS almost for six months and this one is one of my favorite story during the whole season. In Korea, it doesn't matter South or North, guys have to join the military service. Choosing army, navy, air force or special unit is the only choice who turned into in his 20's can make it. It is beside the point, but all I want to say is that I was absolutely able to gain what kind of feeling that would be. I was in army for 2 years. It is not that long but would be enough to give me some experiences related in military. Can't imagine how someone is confusing about killing his best friend at the battle field will be like. In short, I touched and want to keep watching this great TV show.

First off, how many people picked up on the significance of Yoshida saying "Iwo Jima, No... Guadacanal". Cpl. Yost was wounded on Gaudacanal and if he had NOT been, he wouldn't have met his Dorothy. And Yoshida had been fighting there.

Secondly, regarding the post, "Medal of Honor recipients", the poster commented that the episode produced some sweat around the eyes. I record this episode every time it is shown on any channel and every time I watch it, I cry. It was just on WE channel and my eyes are still wet.

I watched this episode yesterday and one word WOW! I had forgotten how great of an actor Charles Durning was and knowing that he served, his character portrayal meant even more. I don't remember any other episode of NCIS that affected me this much. I highly recommend this episode!

My favourite ncis episode ever. Charles Durning is brilliant as Yost. Brilliantly written and great acting all round. Heart-rending and uplifting at the same time..

Very good episode. A well told story. It has the NCIS conversations and things that I don't adore and I would have deleted some scenes. It's a shame that I saw the episode after Charles Durning died. I wanted to contact him. Now I'm going to finish the 10 lines required for this review. I am not an expert, but those performances were very good to me, especially the one from Charles. I haven't seen many NCIS episodes and so far this is one of the best ones. I liked that it solved something about many years ago. Weaker things like the plot, didn't even begin the ruin the quality of the episode. Stop reading this, go and watch it.

Even tho this is fiction and not real story it did honor to the WW2 HEROES. Good story.

Certainly one of the best! Well written! Hope to see more something like this!

NCIS is one of my favorite series ever. Although I prefer the episodes with Ziva and I HATE those with Caitlin Todd.

This episode stands out from all the others. The feels are there...at nearly every turn. This episode takes a tragic storyline and brings it to life in a way that won't leave a dry eye in the room. It's what I call a three towel episode.

Corporal Yost is a WWII Veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor. He went through a hellish experience and during that hell, lost a friend. Through the stubborn perseverance of Gibbs, the truth is revealed and Yost is absolved of responsibility for the death of his friend. Yes...I'm avoiding revealing spoilers and plot points.

The scene that wrecks me is when Cpl. Yost asks Caitlin if she dances, then sings a Benny Goodman song and dances with Caitlin.

Understand...I generally don't watch the first couple of seasons of NCIS because I can't stand Caitlin Todd.

Having said that...This is, hands down, my favorite episode of the entire series. Even if you're not a fan of NCIS, this episode is one that will move you.

If I could, I'd rate it 12/10.