Bataan (1943)

In the Philippines shortly after the Japanese invasion during WWII, the US Army Cavalry in the Bataan Peninsula under the command of Captain Henry Lassiter has assembled a volunteer group of thirteen from all factions of the American and Philippines military, with some of those volunteering solely due to the circumstance of not being able to serve within their own unit. The volunteer unit is to destroy a bridge over a ravine - a key transportation route for the Japanese - then defend the route as the Japanese try to rebuild the bridge. Beyond Lieutenant Steve Bentley of the Air Corps whose plane has gone down the region, the plane which is currently hidden in the underbrush of the jungle as he tries to repair it, the senior personnel among the volunteers is infantryman, Sergeant Bill Dane. The volunteers know the dangers of the mission, the likelihood of making it out alive after all is said and done slim due to probably being outnumbered by the Japanese forces in the region. Beyond the largely sit and wait nature of the mission as both side take camouflaged positions deep in the jungle not willing to show themselves unless and until absolutely necessary, the Allied group of thirteen as their own issues in being a disparate group, some who have issue with Dane, especially Corporal Barney Todd, the two men who largely do not speak about the "elephant" in their probable history.