The Pacific

In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Marine Sgt. John Basilone prepares to ship out and confront the enemy somewhere in the Pacific, while budding journalist Robert Leckie enlists in the Marine Corps. Eugene Sledge, unable to enlist because of a heart murmur, says farewell to his best friend, Sidney Phillips, who is about to leave for boot camp. Exactly eight month...

Basilone and the 7th Marines arrive on Guadalcanal to reinforce Leckie and the rest of the 1st Marines as they continue to defend the crucial airstrip. Basilone plays a key role in repelling a nighttime attack, but suffers a frightful personal loss.

Physically and mentally debilitated after the four-month ordeal on Guadalcanal, Leckie, Basilone and thousands of their comrades land in Melbourne, where they are greeted by adoring crowds and viewed as the saviors of Australia. While his buddies carouse, Leckie becomes deeply attached to an Australian woman and her first-generation Greek family. Meanwhile, Basilone is awarded the Medal of Hono...

Finally enlisted as a Marine, Sledge trains for combat. The 1st Marine Division lands on New Britain, where Leckie and the other Marines battle the enemy as well as the jungle itself. Leckie begins displaying the physical and mental effects of combat.

Basilone's celebrity grows as he travels across the country on the war bonds tour. On Pavuvu, Sledge is briefly reunited with Phillips, and Leckie rejoins his company. Sledge then gets his first taste of combat as the division lands on Peleliu.

[HBO] HD. Part 6. Sledge and Leckie battle oppressive heat and lack of water as the 1st Marines continue their assault on the Peleliu airfield.

The Marines continue the battle of Peleliu against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Devastated by the loss of a revered leader and witnessing unimaginable barbarity on both sides, Sledge veers to the edge of moral collapse.

Increasingly frustrated by his role campaigning for war bonds, Basilone convinces the Marines to allow him to train troops headed for combat. Transferred to Camp Pendleton, he enjoys a whirlwind romance with an initially reluctant female Marine, Lena Riggi. But the couple know they are living on borrowed time, as Basilone is soon to take part in the Marine landing on Iwo Jima.

Sledge and the 1st Marine Division are ordered to relieve an Army division that has been in combat against the most strongly defended Japanese position on Okinawa. The conditions and the moral dilemma posed by civilians put great strain on the Marines.

After the Japanese surrender, a healed Leckie returns home, while Sledge heads back to Alabama to be reunited with his family. Lena has an emotional meeting with Basilone's family. Leckie resumes his old job, but Sledge will require more time.