Meecham had been a literary critic, but a few years into World War II, he insists that his boss assign him to the warfront as a war correspondent. Meecham believes that there is some intricacy of the war that would be lost if he does not witness and report it. Meecham meets his fleet in England in 1944. All of the men have very different personalities and backgrounds, though they feel connected by their common goal in the war. However, the fleet dies while on a mission that Meecham opted out of participating in. Meecham is wracked with guilt and catharsis, realizing that if he did go, he too would be dead, and that although he had volunteered to join the war effort, he never considered that death would be part of the equation. While coping with the sudden loss, Meecham is reassigned to another station with another diverse group of men. Shortly thereafter, Meecham accompanies the group on an air raid mission. They show him the basics of the task, teach him about the bombs that their plane carries, and then they begin. Meecham had thought this mission was a drill, but he realizes that the planes are bombing flaks, or antiaircraft machines. At one point, the pilot noticeably tenses up, which indicates to Meecham that they almost made a fatal mistake. But instead, he releases his tension and smiles. Then, he and the pilot are on their way back to the base.