The film tells the 1993 Memorial Day story of a 13-year-old German American boy, Kyle Vogel, who finds his Grandpa Bud's World War II footlocker during a game of hide and seek. Kyle strikes a deal with his grandfather to tell the stories behind any three objects he picks out of the footlocker, and the film proceeds to flash back to Bud's combat experience with the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II while also flashing forward to Kyle's future experiences with the 34th Infantry Division, also known as the "Red Bulls," in Iraq.
The three objects that young Kyle picks: Walther P38, Fragmentation from "potato masher" - Stielhandgranate (German for "stick hand grenade"), and a picture of Bud with Sgt Jack O'Hara.
