Wed, Aug 10, 1988
Malone is a slacker. He's a lazy Marine, always looking for a way out of work, a way to get someone else to handle responsibility. He's a thorn in his sergeant's side and an irritant to his fellow Marines, especially the ones he shares perimeter guard with in a bunker at a firebase in Vietnam. While setting up an ambush on patrol, Malone gets separated from his unit when a firefight breaks out. He is left behind and must make his way back to base alone. Once there, he must figure a way back into the base in the dead of night without being mistaken for the enemy -- the same enemy who is preparing a sneak attack on the base.
Wed, Aug 3, 1988
Captain Phelan commands a company of paratroopers in Vietnam, but his men have no faith in him. They hold him responsible for the unusually large number of casualties the unit has suffered, certain that he is an incompetent who will get them all killed eventually. A group of the soldiers tries to convince Payton to join them in fragging (assassinating) Phelan. At first Payton resists, but his grief over the loss of his best friend causes him to reconsider. But there's something about Captain Phelan that his men don't know.
Sat, Aug 29, 1987
K.C. arrives at a Marine firebase in Vietnam, a presumed "cherry," or new guy. He turns out to be a veteran fighter returning to the field after serious wounds. K.C. alienates everyone in his platoon as he refuses either friendship or help. On patrol, K.C. further angers his fellow Marines by his reluctance to look out for anyone but himself. While crossing rice paddies, K.C. apparently steps on a pressure-triggered mine which doesn't explode, but may if he steps off of it. In the broiling sun, K.C. must stand on the mine without relief until a demolition team can arrive to free him. Stranded for hours with only those he has alienated to protect him, K.C. learns new lessons about war and survival.
Wed, Jul 20, 1988
Matthews, a farm boy serving in Vietnam, feels sympathy for the occupants of a village where a blight has killed the rice crop. He hopes to use his own experience with scientific farming to help them grow a new crop. He also feels a kinship with the people of the village which he expresses by sharing food and playing with the children. But his fellow soldier Bookman believes that getting too close to the villagers only plays into the hands of the enemy Vietcong, and he encourages Matthews to be less empathetic and to watch out for himself and his fellow soldiers to the exclusion of the welfare of Vietnamese civilians. Both men learn hard lessons.
1987
Zadig is a Marine who has lost his leg in combat. In a stateside hospital, he peppers his companions with corny jokes and makes a light-hearted nuisance of himself to the staff. His fellow patients, including Olson, Henderson, Mazelli, and Harris, are also amputees or equally seriously-injured men, and their losses have largely made them despondent and depressed, despite Zadig's efforts to keep things light. A tragic turn of events makes everyone on the ward see things in a new light.