Deployed to South Korea in December 1950, the company quickly adopted the motto of "Buffalo Rangers" and worked extensively as a scouting force for the U.S. 7th Infantry Division.

Even though racial politics often resulted in the company receiving untrained replacements, it performed well in many small-scale engagements during this time.

Subsequent research has focused on the economy of force of how the Rangers were employed and how their performance was impacted by the racist policies of their time.

North Korean special forces units like the NK 766th Independent Infantry Regiment had great success in defeating ROK troops,[5][6] prompting U.S. Army Chief of Staff General J. Lawton Collins to order the creation of an elite force which could "infiltrate through enemy lines and attack command posts, artillery, tank parks, and key communications centers or facilities.

"[7] All U.S. Army Ranger units, which had previously undertaken this role, had been disbanded after World War II because they required time-consuming training, specialization, and expensive equipment.

[8] The 2nd Ranger Infantry Company was organized into three heavily armed platoons, which were overseen by a headquarters element of five men.

However, in spite of Executive Order 9981, which had de-segregated the U.S. military in 1948, the Army opted to pool all black applicants into one company.

[22] The Rangers trained extensively in reconnaissance, long-range patrols, motorized scouting, setting up roadblocks, land navigation, camouflage, concealment, and adjusting indirect fire.

[26] The next day, the division was ordered to Tanyang and Wonju to block Chinese southward advance along main roads and railroads in the area.

On 6 January the Rangers arrived at Changnim-ni with the regimental headquarters, where they were used as a security element for its medical units to protect them from infiltration.

[28] On 14 January, the Rangers formed the armored spearhead of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry attack on the village of Majori-ri, as part of an offensive to push Chinese forces back from the Tanyang area.

Continued patrols and skirmishes in the Tanyang area, as well as non-battle casualties to frostbite and sickness in the middle of the Korean winter,[28] whittled down the 2nd Ranger Company to 67 men by the end of January.

[28] The 7th Infantry Division reached full strength and saw action around Chungju and Pyeongchang as part of an effort to push the North Korean and Chinese forces back above the 38th parallel and away from Seoul.

[33] In early February, the 7th Infantry Division engaged in a series of successful "limited objective" small unit attacks and ambushes before advancing slowly as it cleared enemy hilltop positions throughout the remainder of the month.

On 20 February it led the 17th Infantry Regiment in an attack on Chuchon, taking the town from a superior force of Chinese troops.

The action was undertaken with several war correspondents observing the battle, bringing international attention to the Ranger unit.

[14] A few days later, field commanders reported to The Pentagon that the company was performing extremely well, and it was pulled from the lines for a new mission.

[23] Suffering only two Rangers injured from the jump, the force was nonetheless able to surprise and capture several positions of the NK 19th Division.

The company surprised and overwhelmed a Chinese platoon in a village 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the hill, killing six and capturing twenty.

The Rangers eventually settled at a force of 123 men, among them the first white member of the unit, medic Joe Russo.

They fortified the hill and surrounding areas, which served as an advance outpost to warn the 7th Infantry Division if the Chinese attacked.

[39] In June 1951, with peace talks underway in Panmunjom, the Ranger company was employed aggressively in offensive roles as a means to secure a better position for the UN at the bargaining table.

[39] That morning, the company, with support from 7th Division artillery, advanced on the hill, which was first blanketed with napalm strikes from U.S. Air Force P-51 Mustangs.

Chinese forces resisted sporadically but withdrew at the end of the day having lost eight men killed and another thirty wounded.

On 11 July, the Rangers continued the attack, backed by the 31st RCT who seized high ground near Sanying-ni and forced Chinese troops to retreat further.

Nevertheless, in the end it turned out that Operation Tomahawk was the last airborne jump of the war and as a result, the former Rangers did not get a chance to exercise these skills again.

The troops, who had already been well trained members of airborne units before joining the company, quickly gained cohesion and were exceptional soldiers.

Bond also said many of the accomplishments of the company were attributed to white units, due in part to the command climate precipitated by Almond.

Members of the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company interviewed in the film include Herculano Dias, Donald Allen and Paul T. Lyles.

Ranger Donald Allen recalls caring for a wounded white soldier and ends his interview with the line "when the bullets start to fly, everyone is the same color".