John Wayne and Robert Ryan star as two Marine air corps officers battling each other as well as the Japanese in this heroic story of extraordinary heroism, the story of The Flying Leathernecks. World War II, Battle of Guadalcanal. The United States Marines, commonlyknown as leathernecks, lead the bloody battle from island to island beating the forces of the Japanese Empire back to their homeland. Two officers of the Marine Air Corps--no-nonsense squadron commander Major DanKirby (Wayne) and his easygoing executive officer, Captain Carl Griffin (Ryan)--vehemently disagree on how to lead their pilots, knowing that most of them will not live through the battle. But, as the United States prevails at a terrible cost in lives, these two officers learn the value of each other's methods as they are forged by war into a precision team of officers.