| “ | Fu**ing Nazis! | „ |
| ~ Norman Ellison |
Private First Class Norman "Machine" Ellison is the deuteragonist in the 2014 war movie "Fury". He was an innocent, truly good army typist that was newly enlisted when he was assigned to be the assistant gunner in a tank with the 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division.
He is played by Logan Lerman, who also portrayed Roy Eberhardt, Percy Jackson and D'Artagnan.
Personality[]
Norman was a scared, war-shy young man used to being in an urban environment. He has never fought in any war or battle until he is drafted and joins the crew of Fury. But he quickly became hardened and became somewhat of a brutal combat soldier.
Biography[]
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, Grady, Gordo and Bible are all killed and Wardaddy is wounded twice by a sniper. Norman and Wardaddy retreat back into Fury where they share their last words. When two stick grenades are unexpectedly dropped into the tank by the SS soldiers, the heavily wounded Wardaddy, unable to move, orders Norman to escape through the bottom emergency hatch of the tank, which Norman immediately obeys. Right as Norman escapes, two German stick grenades are dropped into the hatch and detonate, killing Wardaddy. Norman hides in the crater made by the landmine explosion which originally disabled the tank. A young German Waffen-SS trooper discovers Norman beneath the destroyed tank but does not turn him in. The few surviving German soldiers move on. Norman returns into the tank the following morning and places his coat over Wardaddy's body, letting him rest in peace.
Soon, U.S. Army medical units discover Norman, who nearly killed one of his rescuers with Wardaddy's M1917 revolver, and it is inveighed to Norman that the German offensive failed because of the crew's last stand. As Norman, now forever changed, is being transported to safety, he looks back at the carnage of the many dozens of dead German SS troops surrounding the remains of the destroyed Fury.
See also[]
- Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier
- T/5 Boyd "Bible" Swan
- Cpl. Trini "Gordo" Garcia
- Pfc. Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis