John Wayne and Robert Ryan star! This action war movie, filmed in vibrant technicolor, explores the courage and determination of the Marine air corps—known as the “Flying Leathernecks,” during WWII.

In the summer of 1942, Major Dan Kirby arrives to take command of his new unit. There are some hard feelings since the men expected one of their own, Captain Carl “Grif” Griffin, to be their new leader.

As for Major Kirby, he cannot believe how undisciplined, unruly, and disobedient his new charges are. Plus, he fears that Grif is just too easy on the men and continues to coddle them. If there’s a hard way to do something or an easy way, they always take the easy way. With that thought in mind, Kirby tells them that he won’t put up with their childish behavior for one second more—and he expects everybody to give their all.

There are not enough pilots to run all the missions, so Kirby resorts to not allowing them sick time for malaria or exhaustion. He even denies permission to bring airplanes back to base if there’s a mechanical problem. The harsh conditions caused by the War make a difficult job even worse for this commander.

The truth is that Major Kirby hates having to put the lives of his men on the line. He knows that all the discipline in the world can’t keep a man from getting injured or even killed. But it’s his job to give the men as many tools as he can so they can survive.

As the fighting continues, there are terrible times of loss and hardship. But remarkably, the danger and the disasters have begun to bring his men together. Although they may not always like Major Kirby, they soon realize that his tough leadership has kept as many of them as possible in the fight—and alive.

The stakes are high, and tensions are mounting as bigger, harder battles lay ahead. Will Major Kirby keep his men focused on the mission to defeat the enemy…or will the mission break them once and for all?