In 1942, newly promoted Rear-Adm. John Madison Hoskins, Sterling Hayden, returns home after two years at sea to spend a seven-hour leave with his wife Sue Alexis Smith and their children, before taking command of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). However, news arrives that the Hornet has been sunk at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Hoskins is then reassigned as an instructor at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, a move that places him thousands of miles from the only war he’ll get to fight in.
Two years later, after teaching some of the US Navy’s top students, Hoskins is given command of the aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23), but its present commander, Capt. William Buracker Hayden Rorke, is retained for the Second Philippine Campaign. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Princeton is severely crippled and Buracker orders it to be scuttled. Hoskins is badly wounded, and when gangrene sets in, his foot is amputated to save his life. He is transferred using Breeches buoy to a hospital ship.
On the hospital ship, Hoskins meets Zuggy, Seaman P.J. ’Zuggy’ Zugbaum Ben Cooper, another amputee who is being honorably discharged. He phones his wife to tell her he is okay, saying he has “cured” his athlete’s foot.
Back in the US, after landing in San Francisco, he flies home to Philadelphia. His disability makes Hoskins eligible for retirement with the automatic rank of rear admiral, but he pushes himself to be ready to take command of the new Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CV-37) being built in the nearby shipyard. Initially Sue is very upset with this decision.
Vice-Adm. Thomas L. Semple Dean Jagger reveals that, according to Navy code, no disabled officer can be compelled to retire. Hoskins clambers around the scaffolding building the new carrier on a daily basis. One day he falls from the scaffolding and breaks his false leg, leaving him unable to walk without crutches. Although injured, he appears at his review meeting two days after the accident without crutches, convincing the tribunal that he is fit to serve. The board tells him their decision will take some time and he is asked to leave.
The next day, at the launching of the USS Princeton, Hoskins is assigned as its commander. In his speech, he promises to avenge the loss of the earlier Princeton (CVL-23).
On the ship he takes Zuggy as his assistant. He plans to start landing jets on the carrier, using catapults for launch and stronger wires to catch them on landing.
After the war, Hoskins advocates for the use of jet aircraft off aircraft carriers, and when he is transferred to San Diego, he demonstrates the capabilities of jets to land on carrier ships. Despite one jet crashing due to mechanical failure, the US Navy is convinced of the viability of jet operations.
Assigned to the carrier division for aircraft operation at sea, Hoskins joins Adm. Arthur Dewey Struble Morris Ankrum of the 7th Fleet. Senior naval officers arrive to witness the first demonstration of jets landing on an aircraft carrier. Hoskins puts his money where his mouth is and personally flies the lead jet, followed by a brief aerobatic display with one other pilot before landing. He demonstrates that jets can be used safely on aircraft carriers. After the display he is given command of the 7th Fleet, and the Korean War begins soon after. The crew are very fond of him and nickname him “Uncle John.”
After celebrating his wedding anniversary with Sue, Alexis Smith he is offered the choice of two important jobs that could further his career but would take him away from active duty. Discouraged by this prospect, when he witnesses the return of wounded men from the Korean front, Hoskins is inspired to show the injured men that they can still lead an active life and turns down both jobs, choosing instead to be put in charge of the Pacific Division of the Air Transport Service. He thereby places himself as a high-ranking advocate for disabled veterans.
He tells Sue, “just one more job.”
