Before John F. Kennedy was President of the United States he was a hero of World War II. Assigned to command a small, swift, PT boat in the South Pacific, a young Lieutenant Kennedy leads his men in a daring rescue of American Marines stranded on a small island inside the area of Japanese control. But on another mission, a Japanese destroyer slices the small boat in half. Now, miles from the nearest island Kennedy proves himself a hero with his efforts to save the crew of PT 109.