Members of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division move through a landscape marked by craters to take up a position on the north side of Go Noi Island. The island has been pounded by air strikes and artillery for a week to "soften up" the area for a sweep by 1st Marine Division and ARVN and Korean Marine forces. The troops are concentrating on destroying enemy fortifications, bunkers, tunnels and supply areas to make the island useless to the Communists. The island, located 10 miles south of Da Nang and five miles inland from Hoi An, is fertile and was once heavily populated, but is now a free fire zone.