In 2003, thirty years after they served together in the Vietnam War, former Navy Corps medic Larry "Doc" Shepherd reunites with former marines Sal Nealon and Reverend Richard Mueller on a different type of mission: burying Doc's son, a young marine killed in the Iraq War. Doc decides to forgo burial at Arlington National Cemetery and, with the help of his old buddies, takes the casket on a bittersweet trip up the East Coast to his home in suburban New Hampshire. Along the way, Doc, Sal, and Mueller reminisce and come to terms with shared memories of the war that continues to shape their lives. Based on the novel by Darryl Ponicsan.