They arrive near Hill 210, a key Japanese position near Henderson airfield. C Company lands on Guadalcanal unopposed and marches to the interior of the island, encountering natives and evidence of the Japanese presence and tactics: the mutilated corpses of intercepted Marines and Rangers scouts. Tall's voice-over reveals that he has been passed over for promotion and this battle may be his last chance to command a victorious operation. On deck, battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Tall (Nick Nolte) talks with his commanding officer, Brigadier General Howard Quintard (John Travolta), about the invasion and its importance with Tall personally going ashore with C Company while Quintard will remain on the ship. Welsh, the soldiers of C Company that are introduced are Private Jack Bell (Ben Chaplin), a married soldier, Private 1st Class Don Doll (Dash Mihok), a cocky and arrogant soldier seeking fame and glory, and Captain James Staros (Elias Koteas) the sensitive company commander. As they wait in the holds of a Navy transport ship, they contemplate their lives and the impending invasion. The men of C Company, 25th Infantry Division have been brought to Guadalcanal as reinforcements in the campaign to secure Henderson Field and seize the island from the Japanese. In Welsh's conversation with Witt, it is clear that the private is unenthusiastic about serving in the army. He is found and imprisoned on a troop carrier by his company NCO, First Sergeant Edward Welsh (Sean Penn).

Army Private Robert Witt (Jim Caviezel), is AWOL from his unit and living with the easy-going and seemingly carefree Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. The synopsis below may give away important plot points.

Thin red line