When the Navy asks for appropriations, Congressman Mandeville demands to know the whereabouts of an unaccounted-for destroyer escort, the USS Kornblatt from World War II, as an excuse to deny funding. Vice-Admiral P. T. Bludde sends for Lt. John Paul Steckler, who was the man who last signed off on the ship. Steckler, a bumbler, was the lowest ranking officer left when the ship left Pearl Harbor and he managed to run the ship on a reef near an island. Steckler goes ashore, only to find it occupied by Japanese soldiers who don't know the war is over. His crew thinks he's dead and sails to San Diego. Steckler gets picked up off the island and goes to San Diego, where he unknowingly signs off on the ship. With the help of a pretty female ensign, Steckler goes to Florida to find a shipmate who might know what happened to the ship. He finds the man, now a professional wrestler, but gets no info. Back in Washington, time is running out for Steckler, who will be court-martialed if he can't account for the ship.