On their way to join the Parachute Service at Fort Benning, Georgia, William Mayberry "Bill" Burke, an insecure young man; Donald Morse, a conceited college football star; and Jeff Hollis, an affable hillbilly, meet on the train. En route, the three also meet Master Sergeant Bill Richards and his daughter Kit. Because Richards is wearing civilian clothes, Don mistakes the caterpillar pin awarded to Richards for bravery for a lodge pin and asks Kit for a date, a breach of army protocol. At Fort Benning, Richards visits his old friend, Colonel Burke, the fort commander, and tells him that his son Bill is a new recruit in the battalion. The colonel, who has not seen Bill since divorcing his mother years earlier, asks to see his son, but Richards advises him to let the boy prove himself first. The next day, the new recruits are introduced to their battalion instructor, Richards, who takes a dislike to the self-assured Don. Don plans to ask Kit for a date that afternoon, but when their sergeant, Tex, asks Bill to do him a favor and accompany a friend to the dance, the friend turns out to be Kit, and Don is left dateless. When Bill brings Kit home that night, he confides his fear of skydiving to her. On the day of their first jump, fear pervades the air as first Don and then Jeff jump. Before his turn, Spence, a member of the squad, panics and pulls a gun on Richards but Bill convinces him to hand over the gun. At mess that night, Richards, convinced of Bill's courage, announces that he is the commandant's son, and Bill asks to speak with his father. In commandant Richard's office, Bill confesses his fear and asks for a transfer. Richards, whose full name is William Mayberry Richards, is bitterly disappointed in the boy, and calls him "Mayberry," explaining that Bill was named after him and now he is ashamed to share the name with him. On the day before Bill's transfer, Richards asks him to help drop-test a dummy, and as Bill nears the plane door, Richards pushes him out. They both land in the river and Bill saves Richards' life by pulling him out of the water. His confidence restored, Bill cancels his transfer, and his battalion is assigned to participate in upcoming war maneuvers. Soon after, Don is notified that he is to be promoted to 2nd lieutenant because of his R.O.T.C. experience and announces that he intends to propose to Kit. Don's announcement forces Bill to realize that he loves Kit, too, and as they two men argue, Bill angrily mispacks his parachute. That night, Bill professes his love to Kit, and the next day, Bill and Don are assigned to blow up the powder magazine during maneuvers. When Bill and Don miss their flight because they are fighting over Kit, they are forced to take off in a plane that has no parachute rigging. As Don prepares to jump, his rigging gets caught on the plane's tail wing, and Bill climbs out on the tail and cuts him free. Sharing one shoot between them, they jump to the ground and explode the powder magazine. Their mission completed, the Parachute Battalion receives their medallions, and Kit and Bill make wedding plans as Don begins his pursuit of another girl.