Line #72 Characters/Bataan


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	!!The American Soldiers
4
5	[[folder:In General]]
6
7	* ThirteenIsUnlucky: There's 13 of them against hundreds of Japanese soldiers. And [[spoiler:they're all dead by the end of the film]].
8	* DwindlingParty: Each of the soldiers is picked off one-by-one by the Japanese Army and other factors.
9	* HoldTheLine: Their task is to keep the Japanese from crossing a ravine until the U.S. army can regroup.
10	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: They're American soldiers from all walks of life who are separated from their various commands and cobbled together as a rear guard to HoldTheLine against the Japanese Army.
11	[[/folder]]
12
13	[[folder:Captain Henry Lassiter]]
14	!!Captain Henry Lassiter, [=26th=] Cavalry
15	!!!Played By: Lee Bowman
16
17	A West Point grad who is put in charge of the rearguard.
18
19	* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: He's a fresh-faced West Point grad while his subordinate Bill Dane is a gruff acting SergeantRock.
20	* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler:Looks as if he will be TheLeader or at least ReasonableAuthorityFigure for the main characters, only to be the first to die.]]
21	* StraightForTheCommander: [[spoiler:He is the first soldier to die]].
22	* WartimeWedding: [[spoiler:He was married to a nurse shortly before his death]].
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Sergeant Bill Dane]]
26	!!Sergeant Bill Dane, [=31st=] Infantry
27	!!!Played By: Creator/RobertTaylor
28
29	A sergeant who is placed as second-in-command under Lassiter.
30
31	* DarkAndTroubledPast: His past with Danny Burns, who escaped while under his guard leading to Dane's disgrace.
32	* PermaStubble: Has a perpetually unshaven look about him, which doesn't change even though weeks go by.
33	* SergeantRock: He's tough as nails and serves as leader for most of the film.
34	* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:He's last seen firing away at Japanese soldiers while surrounded on all sides]].
35	* YouAreInCommandNow: Twice over; he's put in command after [[spoiler:Lassiter]] is killed, and Lt. Bentley defers to him because his piloting skills aren't what's needed.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Corporal Jake Feingold]]
39	!!Corporal Jake Feingold, [=4th=] Chemical Company, Chemical Corps
40	!!!Played By: Creator/ThomasMitchell
41
42	Dane's closest friend and companion.
43
44	* TheDrifter: Feingold mentions that he's been passed from company to company and wants to stick to one unit for a change, likening it to being an orphan.
45	* TheLancer: To Dane as his best friend.
46	* MultipleGunshotDeath: [[spoiler:Riddled with bullets from a Japanese machine gunner]].
47	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:The first to be killed in the final battle]].
48	* TimeDelayedDeath: [[spoiler:Gets mowed down by Japanese machine guns, but doesn't die until the battle has started to die down and he staggers into view only to drop dead]].
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Corporal Barney Todd]]
52	!!Corporal Barney Todd, Signalman attached to the [=26th=] Cavalry
53	!!!Played By: Lloyd Nolan
54
55	A shifty soldier who appears to be a signalman.
56
57	* ActuallyIAmHim: [[spoiler:Confesses to being Danny Burns while dying from his wounds]].
58	* CombatPragmatist: None of the soldiers fight fair, but Todd takes it up a notch by using a dead Japanese soldier as a dummy, putting his helmet on the man's head and having a machine gunner focus attention on the helmet while Todd sneaks around and blows him up with a grenade.
59	* HaveWeMet: Dane has a sneaking suspicion that Todd is a man named Danny Burns who committed a murder at a barracks where Dane was stationed and escaped while under Dane's watch. These suspicions intensify when Dane sees Todd throw grenades left-handed and recalls that Burns threw left-handed.
60	* InTheBack: [[spoiler:Stabbed in the back by a Japanese soldier who pretended to be dead.]]
61	* {{Jerkass}}: Todd is an unpleasant bully who clashes with everyone else, especially Purckett and Hardy.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Seaman Leonard Purckett]]
65	!!Seaman Leonard Purckett, Musician Second Class
66	!!!Played By: Creator/RobertWalker
67
68	A young, bright-faced seaman.
69
70	* InTheBack: [[spoiler:Shot in the back by a Japanese sniper as the FinalBattle winds down]].
71	* NewMeat: The youngest of the men in the rear guard.
72	* OralFixation: Purckett is a gum-chewer. When Ramirez tells him to save it, Purckett replies that he brought plenty of it.
73	* SoleSurvivor: Purckett was the only survivor on his ship when it was sunk; he only survived because he was the best swimmer.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Lieutenant Steve Bentley]]
77	!!Lieutenant Steve Bentley, United States Army Air Corps
78	!!!Played By: George Murphy
79
80	An army pilot with a downed plane he's trying to repair.
81
82	* CripplingOverspecialization: After [[spoiler:Lassiter's death]], Bentley, as a Lieutenant, is the highest ranking officer but defers to Dane because he's not trained to lead.
83	* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:Mortally wounded shortly after fixing the plane, Bentley loads the plane up with dynamite and flies it into the bridge to stall the Japanese one more time.]]
84	* SecretKeeper: Was one of the few who knew that [[spoiler:Captain Lassiter was recently married.]]
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Private Wesley Epps]]
88	!!Private Wesley Epps, [=3rd=] Engineer Battalion, Corps of Engineers
89	!!!Played By: Kenneth Spencer
90
91	A black demolitions expert.
92
93	* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Downplayed; [[spoiler:Epps makes it all the way to the FinalBattle but is the first to die there.]]
94	%%* DemolitionsExpert
95	* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Partially decapitated by a Japanese officer during the FinalBattle.]]
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Private Matthew Hardy]]
99	!!Private Matthew Hardy, [=12th=] Medical Battalion, Medical Corps
100	!!!Played By: Phillip Terry
101
102	A Conscientious Objector in the Medical Corps.
103
104	* {{Determinator}}: Despite being [[spoiler:close to death from fever and getting shot by Japanese soldiers, he manages to finish loading up Bentley's plane with dynamite for his suicide run. He succumbs just after Bentley crashes.]]
105	* TheMedic: His role is to treat the squad members for ailments.

Context Characters / Bataan