Through uncontrolled circumstances, Jake Green, a US Navy Seaman, was caught up in a battle front advance in the Korean War. Without training for battlefield duties, the Marines assigned him duties as a radioman and gunfire spotter with a forward echelon unit led by Lt. John (Silvertip) Silvers. During an attack against North Korean forces, the Marines out distanced their supporting forces and were surrounded by the North Koreans. The unit held out for five days under heavy battle situations. Lt. Silvers led Green and three other Marines in an escape.

Upon returning to his ship, Green was told that the situation he had been in had never occurred. He was then ordered back to the United States for special training and Detachment X-Ray was formed. This secret organization operated out of the South Atlantic with the chain of command reaching back to the White House. Detachment X-Ray was very successful in search and destroys missions. After a number of years they were ordered back to the States. Instead of disbanding, X-Ray was reorganized and based in the United States.