In 1944 Tynan, Louisiana, African-American soldier, Sergeant Waters, staggers out of Big Mary’s nightclub. On his way back to Fort Neal, Waters is assaulted, then shot and killed by an unknown assailant. During morning inspection, the black soldiers’ barracks are inspected. Captain Taylor wants to make certain that the blacks have no hidden weapons for fear that the black troops will seek revenge against local “rednecks” for Waters’ death. The black soldiers believe no black man would have killed Waters, and suspect the Ku Klux Klan of the murder. However, Captain Taylor tells the black soldiers that Tynan is now off limits to them, and that any of them found in town will be subject to court martial. After Taylor leaves, the soldiers ask Private Wilkie, who was demoted from Sergeant to Private, whose ass he is going to kiss now that Sergeant Waters, his “number one ass,” is gone? Wilkie explains he has a wife and children, unlike the others, and he was looking to get back his stripes, so that he was willing to do whatever Waters required of him. Sometime later, Captain Davenport arrives in Tynan to investigate the death of Waters. As Corporal Ellis drives Davenport to Fort Neal, he points out where “they” killed Waters. When Davenport asks who “they” is, Ellis responds, “The Klan.” In a meeting with the fort commander, Colonel Nivens, Davenport is told the worst thing he can do in this part of the country is to pay too much attention to “the death of a Negro under mysterious circumstances.” Nivens orders Davenport to complete his investigation in three days, and when the Sergeant objects, Nivens tells Davenport he is trying to prevent the Negro troops from killing white folks in Tynan, and that Davenport can return to Washington for all he cares; however, Davenport has been ordered to file a report and intends to complete his assignment. Nivens reminds Davenport that he is the first “colored” officer that the black enlistees will have ever seen, and he is expected to set an example for them. In a meeting with Captain Taylor, Davenport receives the same message, but he reminds Taylor his orders are to cooperate with the investigation. As Corporal Ellis drives Davenport around the base, he mentions that he has found out that two white officers who saw Waters on the road the evening he was killed were among those questioned, but he does not know their names. Davenport questions the black soldiers in the barracks. Private Wilkie notes that the unit is mostly made up of baseball players who played in the Negro leagues, and divulges that it was Sergeant Waters who demoted him for having been drunk on watch. He also remarks that there were two sides to Waters, a tough side and a more pleasant side, and that he could be relied on for an occasional ten-dollar loan. Wilkie asks Davenport if the Sergeant’s stripes and other Army insignia were on his body. When Davenport responds in the affirmative, Wilkie suggests that something is not right. The Ku Klux Klan hates the idea of black men being in the U.S. Army and usually strip a black soldier of the trappings of rank before lynching him. Private First Class Melvin Peterson is the next soldier to be interrogated by Davenport. Peterson tells of an altercation he had with Waters. The sergeant had browbeaten some of his men, and Peterson spoke up for them. Waters challenged Peterson to a fight. Peterson got in some good punches, but Waters threw dirt in his eyes and beat him to a pulp. Davenport asks if the fight was reported to the officers, and Peterson says no, that he knew that he should have reported the incident, but after the fight Waters left him alone and he just went along after that. Davenport thanks Peterson for his honesty, and asks if the soldier had seen Waters on the night he was killed. Peterson tells him no, that he was on guard duty that evening. He asks Peterson if the baseball team ever played the Yankees, and Peterson says no, because they lost their final game of the season. Captain Davenport is assigned to an empty barracks building for his quarters, and discovers the words, “Welcome Snow Flake” written in soap on the bathroom mirror. That evening Captain Taylor hands Davenport a copy of a request he sent to have the investigation terminated. He uses the same arguments Nivens used, but Davenport believes Taylor’s objections are based on the color of his skin. He demands to know why Taylor’s earlier report neglected to mention two white officers had been questioned, and Taylor says that he was ordered by Nivens not to include that detail in his report. An angry Taylor mentions that two .45 caliber Army-issue slugs were pulled from Waters’ body, and if black troops believed a white officer had killed the Sergeant, there would have been a riot. Davenport asks the names of the two officers, and Taylor, under pressure, tells Davenport of Lieutenant Byrd and Captain Wilcox’s testimony. They came upon Waters at the bridge on the road to the fort. He was drunk and in their path. Waters refused to salute the white men, complained that he had given up his identity to live by the white man’s rules, and had even killed for whites during the First World War. Angry at Waters’ insubordination, Lieutenant Byrd beat up the Sergeant, but he and Wilcox maintained they left him alive at 11:10 PM, that they were in the officers’ quarters by 11:30 PM, and that they did not leave the rest of the night. Davenport tells Taylor he intends to arrest the white officers, and that Taylor should consider himself under arrest because it was his duty to go over Colonel Nivens’ head if he had to. But Taylor tells Davenport that Nivens was in the officers’ billet when Lieutenant Byrd and Captain Wilcox returned, and is part of their alibi. Davenport says they are lying, but Taylor tells him to go out and prove it. The next morning, Davenport demands Byrd and Wilcox be arrested. Nivens refuses, and reiterates their alibi. But he relents and allows Davenport to question them in the presence of a white officer, and on condition that their testimony be reported to him. Davenport agrees. After base church services, Davenport questions Private Henson, who serves as organist for the services. Henson relates that he didn’t like Waters because he always seemed to be riding, C. J., a Private from Memphis, Tennessee. He mentions a shooting incident that took place at Williams’ Golden Palace the previous year at the end of the baseball season. After the incident, in which two black soldiers and one white M.P. were killed, Waters ordered a search of his barracks. A .45 automatic was found under C.J.’s bed, and Waters accused the soldier of murder. When other soldiers stood up for C. J., Waters asserted that C. J.’s bowing and scraping to white folks undermined them all and though he may not have pulled the trigger he was “hiding something.” C. J. lashed out at Waters and was taken to the stockade. In the aftermath, Private Peterson expressed contempt for Waters, as a sell-out to the white man, and he determined to go to the stockade and tell what he knows: that C. J. was in the barracks all evening. In questioning Private Cobb, a fellow Mississippian who befriended C. J., Davenport learns that Cobb hated Waters for what he did to C. J. Cobb relates that when he visited C. J. in the stockade, the imprisoned soldier mentioned that Waters had visited him and revealed he had purposely gone after C. J. because he was representative of the sort of subservient Negro that would not be tolerated after the War. When Davenport asks what happened to C. J., Cobb tells him that he killed himself. In protest, the team deliberately lost the last game of the baseball season, and forfeited the opportunity to play the Yankees. Afterward, the team was broken up, and the players reassigned. Sergeant Waters changed—becoming drunk most of the time. Davenport asks when Cobb got in the night of the murder and the soldier replies he came in between 9:20 and 9:30 PM. When Lieutenant Byrd and Captain Wilcox refuse to be questioned, Davenport and Taylor confront them in the officers’ recreation room, and Taylor orders them to cooperate. Davenport accuses them of shooting Waters, but they respond that their guns cleared ballistics, and besides, .45-caliber ammunition was in short supply, and no one on the bivouac was issued any .45 ammunition. Although Taylor does not believe the men, Davenport decides to let the men go. Davenport protests that Colonel Nivens knew this all along and has been letting him run around in circles. Taylor asks if these two did not kill Waters, who did? Davenport replies, “I don’t know yet.” Davenport believes Waters tricked C. J. into attacking him, but Taylor disagrees. Wilkie is again questioned by Davenport, and the private admits hating Waters for having him demoted. Davenport accuses Wilkie of putting the gun under C. J.’s bunk. Wilkie says it was Waters who ordered him to do so with the promise he would get his sergeant’s stripes back. But C. J. hit Waters, and the sergeant now had C. J. where he wanted him; then, as if to spite Waters, C. J. committed suicide. As Wilkie describes Waters’ hatred of C. J., he recalls the sergeant remembering an incident during the First World War in which white soldiers convinced French girls that black soldiers had tails and then paid one of the blacks to dance around naked with a tied-on tail. Later the black soldiers slit the man’s throat as he asked what he had done wrong? Davenport asks why Waters did not go after Peterson, but Wilkie says he liked Peterson because he fought back and intended to promote him. After C. J.’s death, it was Peterson who organized a protest to lose the game. As the interrogation continues, flares go off outside and the soldiers cheer. Word has come that they are being shipped out and will now be able to show what they can do against Hitler. Amidst the jubilation Davenport orders Corporal Ellis to take Wilkie to the stockade. Private Anthony Smalls attempts to go AWOL and hop on a train, but is caught and returned to base to face Davenport, who accuses Smalls and Peterson of killing Waters and “going over the hill” together. Smalls breaks down and says it was Peterson who killed the Sergeant, in retribution for what happened to C. J. Smalls did nothing because he was scared, and Peterson said white people would be blamed for the killing. Peterson is caught and brought to Davenport. When Peterson realizes that Smalls has told Davenport what happened, he stands tough and says he “didn’t kill much, some things need getting rid of.” Davenport asks who gave Peterson the right to decide who is fit to be a Negro? Davenport prepares to leave the base as the soldiers are march out. He comes upon Taylor in a jeep driven by Private Ellis. The men apologize to each other for each being wrong, and Taylor offers Davenport a ride. Taylor admits he will have to get used to having black officers in the Army, and Davenport assures him he will get used to it.