A drunken GI steals a chaplain's jeep and goes on a joy ride with a Vietnamese hooker. They nearly collide with a jeep-load of MPs who chase him down. His arrest is witnessed by Zeke, who recognizes him as Decker, his former drill sergeant and role model. Anderson rescues Decker from a certain court-martial (his second) and drafts him into the squad without checking with Goldman first. Decker is popular with the guys but he almost immediately starts to disobey orders. Decker mans a listening post with Horn to watch for enemy troops movements, but he gets drunk and falls asleep. As a result, Horn is nearly killed.
Overview
The trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.
Episodes
S01E01 Pilot
September 24, 1987 9.0 60 min
After Firebase Ladybird suffers heavy casualties, Sgt. Anderson goes to division headquarters to make a report and recruit replacements. He selects the best from a group of new recruits and meets fir the first time...
The VC are mauling the American soldiers through their use of the underground tunnels. On their latest trip into the bush, Anderson and the men provide a blocking force, only the Gooks being driven toward...
Among the villagers being relocated by the platoon is a beautiful woman to whom Goldman is attracted. When they are attacked on the trail, Goldman's life is saved by a VC who turns out to...
The men find themselves assigned to a 'hot shot' sergeant with a mission to destroy an enemy bridge. Tempers reach a breaking point when Anderson finds a living Vietnamese child and the sergeant wants the...
The company provides security for an irrigation project, but after several successful ambushes on them, the men of B Company suspect their Vietnamese scout of spying.
In a time of great racial tension and violence in America, the same problems were carried over to Vietnam, where it was not unusual for bars -- or sometimes entire sections of towns -- to...
Anderson, Baker, and Johnson are shot down while catching a ride in a helicopter, which explodes just after it hits the ground. They are unhurt but the pilot is dead, and VC soldiers are firing...
A drunken GI steals a chaplain's jeep and goes on a joy ride with a Vietnamese hooker. They nearly collide with a jeep-load of MPs who chase him down. His arrest is witnessed by Zeke,...
Baker insists his fellow squad members follow him to an incoming helicopter. The incoming ""VIP"" turns out to be Baker's twin brother, who brings along a skate board that the whole squad uses for fun....
Two sappers make their way into Firebase Ladybird without being detected, but Percell sees the third one, killing him. The other two manage to set off their explosives before they can be stopped. The next...
One of a GI's big events is the arrival of his mail. When Zeke opens his mail to find that his ex-wife, it is to find that she is complaining that he is not writing...
Anderson, Goldman, and Captain Wallace are checking out a new weapon that has been added to the platoon's arsenal: a flamethrower. Zeke and Goldman are unhappy that the next mission will also include a beautiful...
A USO band comprised of three female dancers, a sax players, and a singer, completes their performance at an outlying base, and are rushed to a helicopter to be flown to their next destination. None...
The men of Bravo are certain that Westmoreland has not yet informed the enemy that they are losing, as Firebase Ladybrid continues to come under daily long-range artillery fire. Suddenly a helicopter approaches and lands...
The squad is in heavy contact with a group of enemy soldiers, and after taking several casualties manage to be retrieved by two helicopters. Danny hears that his father is hospitalized after a near-fatal heart-attack...
Goldman, Horn, Calhoun, and Pointer are retruning to the base after spending two days int he rear. Their jeep hits a mine, wounding Calhoun and Pointer. Goldman is blinded when a fire extinguisher blows up...
Retired Major General Goldman arrives by helicopter at Firebase Ladybird on a fact finding mission for Washington brass. Seeing another helicopter landing, he goes to greet and question Anderson and his soldiers about the mission...
Bravo company is on another S mission. A new man is on point, and he stops the patrol when he sees some blood, which he follows to a Vietnam booby trap. He's killed. Taylor takes...
The men from Bravo company are patrolling in the jungle when they find a fresh trail, one that leads to a trap by a group of VC soldiers. The Americans are out-numbered and in a...
In a small South Vietnamese hamlet, an NVA officer arrives to brief his men that they will soon begin infiltrating towns and villages through-out the country in preparation for the Tet Offensive. Meanwhile, Bravo is...
Goldman and Nikki have a great time on a brief R&R that they spend together on China Beach. Their reunion is marred by the fact that Nikki refuses to marry him, fearing he will be...