Captain Indiana I

Indiana in WWI: TWR

Captain Indiana I plays a leading role in all World War I films as the commanding officer of the men that appear. Indiana was a practicing attorney in Newburgh, New York when the United States declared war on Germany in 1917. Wishing to see the world, Indiana enlisted in the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force where he began as a 2nd Lieutenant before quickly working his way up to Captain after all other commanding officers in his company were killed. Indiana's authority seems to be trusted as his men faithfully follow his command as seen in WWI:TWR. He shows proficiency with his Colt M1911 pistol as well as the Army standard issue M1917 Enfield Rifle. He is briefly seen in WWI:BAD where he leads his squad through an attack. In WWI:TW, Indiana is killed in action. He is the oldest known family member in the Captain Indiana lineage being the father of Captain Indiana II, and grandfather of Captain Indiana III.

## In WWI: TW

Captain Indiana is not shown to hold any important command in this video as Lt. Bushido is the only other depicted soldier. He and Bushido are often displeased with conditions in the trenches choosing to put the blame on the Germans resulting in frequent attempts at trench raids with little success. The strains of war begin to unfurl in the Captain at one point where he is significantly shaken along with Bushido after a failed raid. Later on he refuses to attack due to a case of Trench foot as well as an overwhelming sense of fear that was beginning to get the better of him. Indiana composes himself for one more raid that also ends in failure, but after this attempt he believed he could shoot a German machine gunner. After firing he briefly stood up to examine if he made his mark only to be shot in the head dying soon after.

## In WWI: BAD

In this video Captain Indiana appears in a small section serving as a prequel to Trench Warfare. He is shown as the leader of the small squad of 3 Doughboys consisting of Lt. Bushido and Pvt. Johnston under his command. After stumbling upon a small force of German soldiers Indiana orders a retreat to a fallback point where he begins to think of a plan. He orders Bushido to lay down suppressing fire with his machine gun whilst he and Johnston flank around. The German fail to see this flanking maneuver allowing Indiana to shoot one soldier while Johnston in a frantic burst kills the remaining two.

## In WWI: TWR

Unlike the original Trench Warfare, Indiana's position of authority is quite apparent as he gives out orders and leads trench raids. Unlike the previous video of just him and Lt. Bushido , Indiana is now shown to be in command of Sergeant Miller, Corporal Krakowski, Private Wilson, and Private Bravo. At the start of the video he now discusses with Lieutenant Bushido about the importance of officers working in the mud next to the men they command, and he also expresses concern about the well being of those who trust in him. He is shown to be rather impulsive after the minor annoyances of wet socks and giant rats lead to him ordering an attack on the enemy trench. He is shown to be rather brave when commanding his men as he often sticks his head above the trench and makes sure to be the first one into combat when leading his men. He does however quickly order a retreat after a grenade falls at his feet, but what else could ya really do there. Following this he ensures his men are in good condition, getting Pvt. Wilson the medical aid he needs. On another day Captain Indiana and his subordinates appear to have a lapse of judgement as they all follow the idea presented by Lieutenant Bushido to push the trench across No Man's Land. The Captain calls off this attempt after Pvt. Bravo points out it will not work. Following this Indiana agrees to go on a quick raid with Bushido but suddenly deflects a bullet off his helmet, firmly changing his mind. He expresses is diminished desire to constantly attack on failed raids due to his worsening condition of trench foot and presumably repeated close calls as he was almost killed several times now. The Captain also find Johnston's hat, which may have been contaminated by lice, causing him to chuck it into the field. He then decides, in lack of better judgement, to try and shoot a German machine gunner. He believes to have hit his target and sits up higher to try and see while he is no longer wearing his helmet as he had taken it off to try on Johnston's hat. He is then suddenly shot in the head, killing him instantly. He falls into his comrade Lt. Bushido 's arms, driving his close friend into Shell Shock soon after.

## Trivia

- In the first two WWI films Captain Indiana is the only character wearing genuine and correct Doughboy equipment. This is because Jack does not own any more gear from the period for others to use and he would rather die than trust anyone else with his older and more expensive pieces. In WWI: TWR Joe also has some correct Doughboy equipment as Jack now could equip two men with correct gear, and he was the only other man he trusted.

- Captain Indiana uses a different weapon in every movie. In the first film he uses a Remington hunting rifle, in the second an English Lee Enfield, and the third a Colt 1911. The change to a pistol was decided by Jack as it is more historically accurate for an officer at the time to just use a pistol. He also wanted to make good use of the army pistol holster he bought earlier in the year.

- Captain Indiana has no belt in the first film as Jack's militaria collection was quite limited. In WWI: BAD he wears an M1910 cartridge belt which would be correct for an infantry man. In the trench warfare remake he uses an M1910 pistol belt which is the most correct webbing belt an officer at the time would be issued.

At the trench in WWI:TWPatrolling in WWI: BADDING