spoiler yesa hidden anti war gem . a marvel for it courage . the eagle and the hawk be a minimal but concrete recreation of the life of air force volunteer during world war one . jerry young ( fredric march ) be a fly corp pilot who be more responsible for shoot ( document ) german position than shoot people . but it war close up and he anguish and awe by the severe ending to the young life who serve a his tail observer . actual war death and as oppose to the glorifying and benign fiction feed him and evoke in him compassion and guilt . when crocker ( carey grant ) and a crack gunner and and the personification of cold blood macho and kill a parachuting german balloon observer ( oppose to rule of engagement ) from young tail position and jerry shell crack . break heartened and disillusioned and his life be rob of sleep and solace . but because of his own survival of so many critical mission have give him hero status and he can not cut and run . caught in vicious cycle of metal and ribbon and honor and dinner and toast and he be also catch in a deep vicious cycle of kill and bloodshed . torment and he have but one exit and and after one final attempt to publicly lay bare his plight and that of life he feel responsible for and he shoot himself . ironically and crocker and the only soldier with the stomach to hear his speech and be the one who break away from this celebration in young honor and and find his body . no longer able to feign callousness and he conceal his partner corpse till the dawn mission and when he can set up an heroic battle death which be actually a double suicide the eagle and the hawk go down together . this complete the unified statement this movie make against war so like the winter soldier testimony hold by vietnam vet and most recently by iraqi vet in which the war to end all war be expose a a deep commitment to the machinery of war .