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.

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.

Three American soldiers on a pass in a Vietnamese town try to come to terms with the exigencies of war. Two are hardened combat veterans, while one is a rear-echelon clerk who yearns for action. They drink, fornicate, and fight in a Vietnamese bar until a pair of crises arises.

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.

Didi Sommers has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her husband of one year on his return from a seven-month tour in Vietnam. But Marine Lieutenant Russell Sommers seems distant when he joins her for R&R ("rest & recuperation") in Hawaii. He is unwilling to converse in any depth or to engage in any intimacy with his wife, and Didi wonders if she has done something wrong. As their 7-day R&R seems to waste away, Didi implores Russell to talk to her. When he finally does, she begins to understand how much he risks by leaving the war zone to come "rest and recuperate" with her.