For decades, readers thought the Punisher's crusade against the criminal underworld began with the brutal murder of his loving wife and children in Central Park. But that isn't the whole story. In the tradition of Wolverine: Origin, witness the true birth of the Punisher years before, as Marine Frank Castle the man enters his third tour of duty in Vietnam, but leaves a force of nature!

1972.

On the Cambodian border, there is a garrison called Forge Valley Firebase. It is filled with junkies, fiends,incompetents and F~ckups. And whether they like it or not, they are at war. At war with an enemy whos planning to kill them all in one fell swoop. Every one of them wants to go home. But there is another who walks among them. His name is Frank Castle. And he is at home.

The story is narrated by Stevie Goodwin, a young idealist man who is on the verge of going back home. He doesn't want to be like Captain Frank Castle, "in love" with war.

In this very first issue, we see the daily life of a bunch of soldiers from the Valley Forge firebase, bets on plane crashing, embush on the enemy, surprise inspection of the base,

We meet some charismatic people like the demotivated Colonel Ottman, the grumpy General Padden who wants to shut the base down and who's led to a killing place by Frank Castle.

Frank Castle has this voice inside of him, telling him to "say the word" and the voice will offer him a lifetime war.