Beachhead

During the World War II, Western Pacific campaign, the island of Bougainville is occupied by the Japanese. Thirty miles away, Sergeant Fletcher, a twenty-six-year Marine Corps veteran, is informed by Major Scott that a full-scale invasion of Bougainville is planned. Scott also states that a French plantation owner, Bouchard, has radioed information about the location of Japanese minefields on the beaches and assigns Fletcher to find Bouchard and verify this information in order to save many lives during the invasion. Fletcher, who is guilt-ridden about having lost most of his platoon at Guadalcanal, sets out with his remaining men, Burke, Reynolds and Biggerman, to locate Bouchard. Following a river, they come upon a dozen Japanese soldiers emerging from a swim. Although it is not part of their mission to engage the enemy, they shoot a number of the soldiers and lose Biggerman when he attempts to drop a grenade into a Japanese tank. Before nightfall the three men dig a trench, hoping to ambush the remaining Japanese soldiers who are following them. However, when a flare reveals their position and they come under fire, Burke crawls out of the foxhole with his knife drawn and struggles with a sniper in the undergrowth. Reynolds goes to his assistance but is killed. After Fletcher and Burke bury him they move on. Eventually, they reach Bouchard's plantation where they discover his daughter Nina, who takes them to where her father is observing enemy activities. After Bouchard shows them a map with the safe channel clearly marked, Fletcher and Burke decide to radio Scott with the confirmation and head for an enemy radio hut which Bouchard has used, as it is normally lightly guarded. They are followed by the Japanese soldiers and after discovering that the hut and surrounding compound are booby-trapped, they manage to lure their pursuers into the compound and blow it up. The four retreat into the jungle and decide to head for their rendezvous point so that they can deliver the information in person. Meanwhile, Burke is unhappy that Nina has become part of their problem and Fletcher sends him and Bouchard to scout a trail. Nina is aware of the animosity between Burke and Fletcher over the deaths of so many men, and when she is alone with Fletcher, he admits to her that he feels he has always made the wrong decisions. A short time later, Burke and Bouchard return with a Japanese deserter who appears very frightened when approached by a native carrying a machete. Bouchard talks with the native and he agrees to take them where they want to go in exchange for the deserter. After the native leads them to a river bank and a canoe, Fletcher leaves the deserter with him, and as they pull away, cries are heard. The river journey is successful until they hear a patrol boat and are forced to pull into shore and abandon the canoe. Nina falls, injuring her ankle, but they proceed through the jungle on foot, followed by Japanese from the patrol boat. Because Bouchard says that the rendezvous spot is still many hours away and due to Nina's swollen ankle, it is unlikely they will arrive in time, Fletcher suggests that Burke go on alone. Burke does not want to leave Nina, to whom he has become romantically attached, and slugs Fletcher. Suddenly, a shot rings out and Bouchard drops dead, the victim of a sniper. Fletcher then sends Burke and Nina on ahead, draws the sniper's fire and eventually kills him. Burke and Nina struggle on, but she asks him to leave her in order to get the map through and save many lives in the invasion. After they rest, Fletcher catches up with them and angrily forces them on until they come to a ridge from where they can see the pier and the waiting boat. As they advance along the beach, the pier is fired on by a Japanese battleship. An American patrol boat responds but is blown out of the water. Burke then swims out with a grenade and ignites the river of gasoline which extends from the wreckage to the battleship, causing it to explode. Burke swims back to the shore but their boat has left without them. They sit on the pier expecting the Japanese eventually to get them, but instead a squad of soldiers led by Major Scott arrives. After Fletcher and Burke hand over the map, another boat pulls in and Nina is evacuated, but not before Burke tells her that he will be seeing her. Burke and Fletcher, who now respect each other, rejoin their unit.