The relationship between Sergeant Stryker and a group of rebellious recruits is made difficult by the Sergeant’s tough training tactics. At Tarawa, the leathernecks have a chance to see Stryker in action, and begin to appreciate him.

Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker’s rigid form of discipline.

In February and March of 1945, U.S. troops fight and win one of the most crucial and costly battles of the war on the island of Iwo Jima. A photo of U.S. servicemen raising the flag on Mount Suribachi becomes an iconic symbol of victory to a war-weary nation. The individuals themselves become heroes, though not all survive the war and realize it.

Based on the accounts of Marines in World War II, this 10-part miniseries follows the intertwined journeys of three U.S. Marines in the Pacific Theater — Pfcs. Robert Leckie and Eugene B. Sledge and Sgt. John Basilone — from their first battle against Japan on Guadalcanal, across the sands of Iwo Jima and the horror of Okinawa, to their ultimately triumphant return after V-J Day.