In an alternate history where Frank Castle was born in the 1940's, his family was brutally murdered in an attack by the communists on the US embassy in Vietnam. Frank, done with his tour of duty, loses his mind. He raids a military base for weapons and supplies and takes the fight to the communists. His face painted with a skull and his shirt similarly adorned, Castle fights not for revenge, but for PUNISHMENT. Using his expertise as a soldier and tactician, he single handedly turns the tide of the war in the favor of the US with his guerilla raids of key Viet Cong held areas. The war ends when the superstitious enemy is scared from tales of, "a walking ghost with the face of a skull and fire burning in his eyes." Brought home, he is a hero and appointed Secretary of Defense by President Richard Nixon. Global turmoil continues as the communist threat grows larger. Under this role, he "punishes" the remaining communist nations and puts the world on the brink of nuclear destruction. Can this lone soldier bring it back from the edge before the world suffers the ultimate punishment?