Fifteen members of the United States Marines tell stories about their time serving in Europe during World War I.

Speaking of his past experiences, a Vietnam War veteran describes the darker, unspoken details of life as a soldier that people often overlook.

Despite his initial excitement at being drafted as an aidman in the war, a young man soon realizes that the demands of the job are far more than what he expected.

When a woman’s husband accepts his army commission for World War II, the woman can only watch with despair as her husband's battalion joins the ranks of those expected to perish in war.

Separated from his unit, an American soldier in France forms an unexpected partnership with a man who seems equally lost. Their adventures eventually lead them back to their unit, but not before they shoot down parachuters that may or may not have been their own men.

A veteran tells his acquaintance about his darkest memories as a solider the Vietnam War.

A group of Marines recall their horrifying memories of fighting on the Pacific front of World War II, while a journalist attempts to glorify their experiences for his readers.

After a man goes through hell because of his training sergeant in basic training after being drafted during the Korean War, he becomes a sergeant himself to get back at the man.

A teenage Marine recruit befriends another recruit who dreams of becoming a a New York City artist. Together, they fight in the Vietnam War: he develops epilepsy, and his friend dies.

A current university professor and former soldier sits serenely in his office until two students, who are actually his former army colleagues, enter for essay help. The three boys discuss a possible essay topic about a real attack that involved of the army lieutenants of their time.