In early 1950, Lieutenant Tom Hudner transfers to Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, where he meets Ensign Jesse Brown, the only African American member of the unit. Hudner integrates well into the squadron, which is assigned F4U-4 Corsairs - powerful planes with a reputation for fatal accidents if not handled properly. After Brown's car breaks down, Hudner starts giving him rides and eventually meets his wife Daisy and their young daughter Pam. The Browns are doing well, but struggle with racist neighbors, and Brown has resorted to shouting racist abuse at himself in the mirror to motivate himself before missions.

VF-32 passes their carrier tests with the Corsair and transfer to the USS Leyte, which is deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to deter Soviet aggression. Before they leave, Daisy has Hudner promise that he will be there for Jesse. On the voyage, squadron member Mohring is killed in a crash while attempting to land a Corsair. Hudner questions why Mohring didn't follow instructions, but Brown explains that one cannot always follow directions - if Brown had solely done what he was told, he would have been stopped early in his career by the many racist superior officers who wanted him to fail.

The unit has shore leave in Cannes, France, where Brown encounters actress Elizabeth Taylor on the beach and secures invitations for the squadron to a casino, impressing them. After Hudner gets in a drunken fight with a Marine who had previously harassed Brown, Brown tells Hudner not to fight his battles for him, but simply to be there for him. Brown is given an expensive watch by Leyte's black crewmen, who admire him for his work.