The Adventures of a Rookie

Three young men from different social backgrounds receive their draft notices on the same day. They are measured for uniforms and aptitude as they prepare for military duty, setting in motion their paths toward boot camp. This moment marks the beginning of a shared but divergent wartime journey.

The three report for duty and are assigned to lead the bus ride to boot camp, with Bob taking on the leadership role. A passing car driven by Peggy Linden splashes mud over Bob’s uniform, a visual omen of Peggy’s later influence. The transport marks the first test of their new military status.

During the trip, Jerry and the slow-witted Mike are pushed off the bus and left behind. They must improvise and make their way toward the camp while the others press on. This separation foreshadows the complications of their future training.

The rest arrive at the camp where Bob encounters his commanding officer—his uncle—who scolds him for losing two men and for wearing a dirty uniform. The reprimand dashes Bob’s dream of advancing to officer training. The incident injects tension into their early military career.

The recruits receive a six-hour pass and are invited by Peggy to a turkey dinner at the Linden house with five of her friends. The evening is light and uneventful until the looming return to base threatens to end their freedom. Peggy’s warm hospitality contrasts with the upcoming military seriousness.

Dr. Potts diagnoses Hilda, the Lindens’ cook, with scarlet fever, and a quarantine is ordered for two weeks. The house becomes a restricted zone as the illness is handled. This delay taxes the three men’s expectations of quick training.

Dr. Burke, the platoon leader, arrives and, despite the quarantine, leads improvised exercises around the Linden house. He is determined not to let the lockdown derail their training. The bold effort keeps the recruits in shape even as medical orders complicate things.

A few days later the doctor returns, corrects the misdiagnosis, and lifts the quarantine. The men return to the base, only to be immediately sent on a harsh thirty-day field exercise. The abrupt shift from isolation to strenuous activity tests their endurance and discipline.

Burke orders Bob, Mike, and Jerry to march twelve miles to their field base. To save time, they hitch a ride with a convoy, unaware that the convoy is heading toward San Francisco. They wake up to the realization that they are being shipped overseas with the rest of the troops.

On an ocean-bound freight ship, the three go AWOL and attempt to slip back to shore via the cargo nets, but the net jams and they fall into the water. They recover a briefcase of dispatches that had fallen overboard, turning them into unlikely heroes. After the rescue, they are hospitalized for their injuries and exposure.

General Ames plans to personally thank them for retrieving the dispatches, but the trio realizes that discovery of their AWOL status would ruin Bob’s chance at officer training. They decide to escape the hospital to avoid capture. The nurses notice the escape attempt, summon MPs, and the trio is returned to their unit.

To avoid punishment, Jerry suggests they claim they were lost on the march. Peggy drives them to a deserted ravine, hoping to help them disappear. Burke confronts them and takes them to the colonel, who orders the trio jailed.

Burke reports Peggy’s involvement to the colonel, who learns of the trio’s ‘heroics.’ A letter from General Ames describing their actions reaches the colonel, leading to a softening of Bob’s fate. The colonel forgives Bob and allows him to join his friends as they are shipped overseas, abandoning his plan for officer training.