A teenager joins the Marines and goes to Quantico for training, but it is not longer before he starts to wonder whether he can endure the physical and mental challenges he faces there.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

An auxiliary naval officer posted on night watch is forced to reflect on the life he left behind and his failed dreams.

Despite not setting foot on the battlefield, a medic witnesses the physical and emotional trauma experienced by American soldiers as he tends to their wounds and attempts to work through his own experience of war.

A young black man struggles to survive basic training for the Army, as his superiors torment him and he is constantly punished for misbehaving.

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