12. Sergeant Steiner - Cross of Iron
Then I will show you, where the Iron Crosses grow. - Sergeant Rolf Steiner
Unlike most of the other characters on this list, Steiner is actually a good man fighting for the wrong side. Although he fights for the Germans and therefore the Nazi regime in World War II, the sergeant is the first to point out that many German army regulars were not registered party members like Hitler's SS, but instead were men fighting for their country because they were German. This made situations like the brutal Russian front seem all the more hopeless and many, like Steiner, were more than callous and cynical toward their situation. It is not Steiner the man that turns you against the military, but what he has to go through. His unit captures a Russian boy and is immediately issued an order to execute him. Steiner keeps the boy alive to set him free, but he is killed anyway by his own Russian troops. Steiner's unit is then abandoned by their jealous Captain who has not yet earned himself the medal of the Iron Cross, which Steiner will not recommend him for because he is a stupid coward (to all who have seen Cross of Iron, Captain Stransky also belongs on this list, but I have chosen Steiner because the rest of this list is already full of men like the Captain). They are then forced to sneak back to their own lines where Captain Stransky orders they be shoot at pretending they are just a group of Russians. Like Swofford in Jarhead, Steiner is another example of a man who goes through hell while serving in the military. He becomes cynical, callous, and depressed. After being commended by his ranking officer he shows no gratitude saying, "What do I have to be grateful for? I hate all officers. Just because you and the Major are more enlightened do you think that I hate you any less?" If you haven't seen Cross of Iron directed by Sam Peckinpah, I strongly recommend it. It is a WWII film delivered with a unique perspective since all of the protagonists are Germans. Also it puts the meaning of the word hell into the phrase, "War is hell," better than most any other war film out there.