They Were Expendable

What could have seemed more perverse than Ford's celebration of gallant defeat in the aftermath of glorious victory?
Andrew Sarris, The John Ford Movie Mystery (Indiana University Press,1975)

They Were Expendable's verisimilitude , richness of texture and sense of spontaneity are the by-products of Ford's witnessing and recording actual warfare.
Joseph McBride, Searching for John Ford (St. Martin's Press,2001).

John Ford's film came out in 1945 just when the war was over and was a reminder, that few wanted to hear, just what sacrifices has been made in the early part of the war, especially in the Philippines. Nobility and glory in defeat was the theme of the movie, beautifully portrayed by Ford, with the help of cinematographer Joseph August, actors Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed, as well as numerous members of the Ford "family" of actors. Even the Japanese were sensitively portrayed, simply by not showing them at all, the unseen enemy (Terence Malick and others, please take note!).  Ford's film is often at its best when there in no dialogue, as when two young recruits come across graves in the jungle marked by crosses, Wayne sits down quietly in disgust and frustration after his PT boat is destroyed, the men quietly leave the hospital after saying farewell to a dying colleague.  Ford  excels at showing the individuality within the group, united for a common purpose, and how people can connect and persevere in the most difficult circumstances, as the relationship between Donna Reed and John Wayne is ended by a broken phone line and he never finds out what happened to her, unwillingly leaving the Philippines to "lay down a bunt" for the team.