Plot

In 1923 Tennessee, two best friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, play together in the back of an old biplane, pretending to be soldiers fighting the Germans in World War I. After Rafe's father lands his biplane and leaves, Rafe and Danny climb into the plane. Rafe accidentally starts it, but manages to stop the plane at the end of the runway. Enraged, Danny's father beats his son. Rafe stands up to him, calling him a "dirty German". However, Danny's father reveals that he fought the Germans in World War I.

Eighteen years later, in January 1941, with World War II raging, Danny and Rafe are both first lieutenants under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (a RAF outfit for American pilots during the Battle of Britain). A nurse named Evelyn meets Rafe, who passes his medical exam despite his dyslexia. That night, Rafe and Evelyn enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day.

Danny, Evelyn and their fellow pilots and nurses are transferred to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Rafe becomes a flying ace, but is shot down over the English Channel and presumed to be killed in action. Danny gives Evelyn the news and she is devastated. Three months later, Evelyn and Danny begin a romantic relationship.

On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his drowning. He goes to the Hula bar where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds Rafe in the bar with the intention of making things right, but the two get into a fight. They drive away, avoiding being put in the brig when the military police arrive at the bar. The two later fall asleep in Danny's car.

Next morning, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy begins its attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona is obliterated when an armor-piercing bomb detonates the ship's forward ammunition magazine, literally lifting the bow out of the water. The USS Oklahoma capsizes after several torpedoes strike her, trapping hundreds of men inside. The USS West Virginia suffers severe damage. One bomb mortally wounds Captain Mervyn S. Bennion. Cook Dorie Miller, mans a .50 caliber machine gun and shoots down a Japanese plane. The USS Nevada makes a run for the sea, becoming a primary target during the second wave. Danny and Rafe drive away in search of a still standing airfield, while Evelyn and the other nurses struggle to assist hundreds of wounded. Rafe and Danny manage to get in the air in P-40s, downing several Zeroes. Landing, they assist in the rescue of the capsized USS Oklahoma, but are too late to save the crew of the USS Arizona.

The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Day of Infamy Speech to the nation and requests the US Congress declare a state of war with the Empire of Japan. The survivors attend a memorial service to honor the numerous dead. Later, Danny and Rafe are both assigned to travel stateside under newly promoted Lt. Colonel Doolittle for a secret mission. Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe that she is pregnant with Danny's child, and intends to stay with Danny.

Upon their arrival in California, Danny and Rafe are both promoted to Captain and awarded the Silver Star, and volunteer for a secret mission under Doolittle. During the next three months, Rafe, Danny and other pilots train with specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers. In April, the raiders are sent towards Japan on board the USS Hornet. Their mission: bombing Tokyo, landing in China. However, the Japanese discover them early, forcing the raiders to launch from a longer distance than planned. After a successful bombing run, the raiders crash-land in a rice paddy in Japanese-controlled China. The Japanese Army pin down Rafe's plane, but Danny's crew manages to destroy a patrol before crashing. Danny is shot during the attack by Japanese patrols while the other pilots, Red and Gooz, kill the remaining Japanese patrolmen. Rafe tells Danny that Evelyn is pregnant and he must live to be the baby's father. Danny then tells Rafe that he will have to be the father and dies. Back in California, a pregnant Evelyn sees Rafe getting off the aircraft, carrying Danny's coffin. Afterward, Evelyn and Miller are awarded medals and Rafe is awarded his medal by President Roosevelt. After the war, Rafe and Evelyn, now married, visit Danny's grave with Danny and Evelyn's son, also named Danny. Rafe then asks his stepson if he would like to go flying, and they fly off into the sunset in the old biplane that his father once had.