spoiler beautifully photograph slice of life home front wwii love story with norman rockwell painting in the beginning and end of the movie about how a war hero be not just someone who kill for his country but be also someone who think for himself and isn not corrupt by the war propaganda that constantly drum into his head . wash out of the marine corp marion hedg hedgepeth and jan michael vincent and be kick out of boot camp and after five week and and force to put on a baby blue marine uniform that show that he just do not have it to make the corp . humilitated and scorn wherever he go a he go home to st. louis and terrify what his family and whom his dad be in the marine corp in wwi and would think of him in that he couldn not cut the mustard a a u marine . hedg stop in a bar and find sit next to him be a marine member of the fearless and deadly marine raider richard gere whom a admire hedge buy a beer . make conversation with richard hedge be shock to find out that not only be he be send back to the pacific theater after all the battle he fight in and and combat medal he get and but the totally gray hair and mid thirty look richard be go to be 21 next month . that what be in the marine corp and wwii do to him . buy hedge a number of drink richard take the drunk baby blue outside and knock him out take his baby blue and leave his impressive u marine uniform with some money in it for hedge to ware . as soon a hedge put on richard uniform and that fit him perfectly and he confront by this big drunken u paratrooper who call himself cement head want to have a fist fight with the marine raider . hedge do everything he can to avoid trouble be force by cement head to belt him and after he himself crack two beer bottle over his cement head and to get himself warm up for the big bout between marine and hedge and and paratrooper and cement head . hedge incredibly floor the big cement head buffoon knock him out cold with one punch . i guess the trick be not hit him in on top of his head a stunned hedge tell his and cement head and fellow g. i . hitch hike to this small town of bidwell hedge notice this u military internment camp for japanese american who be there because their consider a threat to u security . it later in the movie that hedge show everyone what a real hero he be and not who the people in the town think he be and by risk his life to save one of the hated jap who mindlessly together with two of his friend escape from the interment camp and where the hell do they think they be go anyway . hedge risk his life by save the scar to death japanese american from drown in the dangerous rapid outside the town . hedge in his action teach the people of bidwell that not all jap and even those who be american citizen and be bad and treacherous banzai scream suicidal kamikaze like they be think by the newspaper magazine and movie at the time to think that they be . hedge strike up a conversation with the very cute and pretty waitress at the local diner rise hudkins and glynnis oconnor and who just crazy about him that even hedge at first think that it his uniform not him that impress her . later when hedge admit to rise that he not what she and her parent think and a u marine raider and that he be rise have by then get to know the sweet and care wash out marine so well that it do not matter to her at all what he be suppose to be and a marine a paratrooper or a post office worker and it be what be inside his heart that really count . the film have a number of touch and beautiful scene in it between hedge and rise that show how movie use to be make year ago without all the sex and profanity that we see and hear in movie today that involve two people in love with each other . the way the film accurately and not phony baloney and show the true feeling of average american and back then in 1943 and about the war in general and japanese in particular couldn not have be do in more authentic and accurate as well a good taste . baby blur marine do it best not to be too politically correct in not show the hero or leading actor and actress in the film have the same feeling and idea back then during wwii a most people have now and which would have come across as phony a a three dollar bill and to those people watch the film who live during those historic and momentous time when the film be to take place .