Trini "Gordo" Garcia

Trini Garcia

Corporal Trini "Gordo" Garcia was a Mexican butcher from Chicago who came into war sober and left it drunken. Gordo is a main character in the 2014 David Ayer war movie Fury. He was a rude, angry tank driver with the 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division but later proved to be good after sacrificing himself to save another soldier.

He is played by Michael Peña in the film.

Character Summary

As the Allies make their final push into Nazi Germany, Collier commands an M4A3E8 Sherman tank named Fury and its five-man, all-veteran crew: Boyd "Bible" Swan, gunner; Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis, loader; and Trini "Gordo" Garcia, driver. The tank's original assistant driver/bow gunner, Red, has been killed in a battle that has killed all the rest of Fury's regiment. Back at camp, Wardaddy sees that his gunner's replacement is Norman Ellison, who has neither seen the inside of a tank nor experienced the ravages of war. Norman eventually earns the nickname "Machine", given to him by Grady Travis. While at a forward operating base, it is revealed that "Wardaddy" greatly despises the Waffen-SS, shown when he harasses an injured captive SS officer before telling Norman to kill every one of them he sees.

The surviving crew, who have been together since the North African Campaign, belittle the new recruit upon meeting him, for both his lack of experience and for his reluctance to kill Germans, especially the children of the Hitlerjugend; a decision which results in the destruction of Lieutenant Parker's tank and its crew. Wardaddy is furious and, enraged, forces Norman to look at an American soldier who committed suicide while burning alive. Wardaddy angrily screams to Norman that this is his fault. Later, in an effort to 'educate' him to the realities of war, he violently attempts to force Norman to take his weapon and kill a captive German artilleryman, who is wearing a looted American trenchcoat. When Norman refuses to do so, Wardaddy forces the gun into his hand and makes him execute the prisoner.

The bond between Norman and Wardaddy becomes stronger after capturing a small German town which is riddled with hanged children displaying signs. Wardaddy reads the signs and translates them. They say that the dead children were "cowards" for not fighting for Germany. Wardaddy and the rest of the crew kill all the Nazi soldiers that have taken it over and Wardaddy realizes that most of the surviving soldiers who are surrendering are merely children being forced to fight. Wardaddy lets the children live but sees an SS officer and asks if he was the one hanging children in the town. The townsfolk identify him as the murderer and Wardaddy promptly has him executed. Later, Wardaddy and Norman meet a German woman, Irma, and her cousin Emma. Norman presumably sleeps with Emma, then joins Wardaddy and Emma's cousin for breakfast, during which time Norman discovers that Wardaddy has horrific, severe burn scars on his back. The rest of the crew barge in and cause tensions while at the table, (all of whom but Bible were looting the town and enjoying the spoils of war) but Wardaddy stops them from harming the two women. Coon-Ass continues to be rude, taking Emma's eggs and licking them before putting them back on her plate. Wardaddy switches plates with her and eats the eggs Coon-Ass licked instead. Shortly afterwards, a German bombardment hits the town, killing Emma and some of the American forces. This, coupled with observing the retreating Germans burning their own towns and the cruelty they show to those who do not fight for the Wehrmacht, hardens Norman. Norman becomes swiftly more brutal and unforgiving to the SS and tells Wardaddy that he has begun to enjoy killing Nazis.

A platoon of four tanks, led by Wardaddy, gets a mission to hold a vital crossroads from advancing Germans, protecting a clear way to supply trains and a camp full of army doctors and cooks. If the Germans were to reach the camp, all those people would likely be killed and the whole unit may be in jeopardy. After encountering and engaging a heavily-armored German Tiger I tank, only Fury remains, the other three vehicles being outgunned and annihilated by the Tiger. Wardaddy's vehicle is then immobilized after hitting a landmine; shortly afterwards, a battalion of three hundred Waffen-SS infantry approaches. Wardaddy refuses to leave, and the rest of the crew, initially reluctant, decide to stay and plan an ambush, as Bible believes God has kept them alive to keep the camp past the crossroads safe.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men nevertheless inflict heavy losses on the Germans using both the tank's and the crews' weapons. Although virtually hundreds of the SS officers are killed by the crew, gradually, one by one, the crew is killed by the Germans. Grady is killed by a rocket launcher blasting through the tank armor and Gordo survives longer, grabbing a grenade, arming it and jumping through the hatch. Before he can throw it, Gordo is shot. Stunned and mortally wounded, Gordo falls back into the tank, dropping the grenade beside him. Norman sees the grenade about to detonate and Gordo realizes what is happening. In a last act of good will, and a redeeming act, Gordo picks up the grenade and jumps on it as it explodes, which kills him, but his body contains the blast, saving Norman's life. Which sucks

Details

Superior(s)

• Capt. "Old Man" Waggoner
• Staff Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier

Body Count

• 7 murders (six Nazis seen killed in combat; various others mentioned and implied; self-sacrifice done to self in order to save his platoon members)