In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Marine Sgt. John Basilone prepares to ship out and confront the enemy somewhere in the Pacific, while budding journalist Robert Lecki…

Basilone and the 7th Marines arrive on Guadalcanal to reinforce Leckie and the rest of the 1st Marine Division as they continue to defend the crucial airstrip. Basilone plays a key role in repelling …

Physically and mentally debilitated after the four-month ordeal on Guadalcanal, Leckie, Basilone and thousands of their comrades land in Melbourne, where they are greeted by adoring crowds and viewed …

Finally enlisted as a Marine, Sledge trains for combat at Camp Elliott. The 1st Marine Division lands at Cape Gloucester on the Japanese-held island of New Britain. As Leckie and the other Marines bat…

Basilone’s celebrity grows as he travels across the country on the war bonds tour. On Pavuvu, Sledge, assigned to the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, is briefly reunited with Phillips and Leckie rej…

Despite the suffocating 115-degree heat and a lack of clean drinking water, Sledge, Leckie and the other Marines confront the highly-fortified enemy as they attempt to capture the Peleliu airfield. Af…

The Marines, including the newly christened “Sledgehammer,” continue the battle of Peleliu against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Devastated by the loss of a revered leader, and witness…

Increasingly frustrated by his role campaigning for war bonds, Basilone convinces the Marines to allow him to train troops headed for combat. Transferred to Camp Pendleton, he enjoys a whirlwind roman…

After battling across the island of Okinawa for more than a month, Sledge and the rest of the 1st Marine Division are ordered to relieve an Army division that has been in combat against the most stron…

After the Japanese surrender, Leckie, healed from his wounds, leaves the hospital and returns home, while Sledge heads back to Alabama to be reunited with his family and Sid Phillips. Lena visits Basi…