Friends Hermie (an aspiring artist), Oscy (a jock (athlete)), and Benjie (a nerd) graduate high school in the Spring of 1944, under the looming threat of World War II. At a post-graduation party, Hermie and Oscy are startled when Benjie tells them that he's enlisted in the Marines. While Hermie and Oscy spend the Summer working at a loading dock, Benjie goes to basic training; at Summer's end, they see him off on his way to fight in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.