The True Story Of The Niland Brothers, Who Fought During World War II And Inspired The Movie Saving Private Ryan
In 1998, Steven Spielberg’s film Saving Private Ryan was released. The movie’s realistic portrayal of the events that occurred during World War II never fails to tug at heartstrings.
It is about a group of American soldiers searching for their comrade, Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat.
While the film is a work of fiction, its premise was inspired by the true story of the Niland brothers. The Nilands were from Tonawanda, New York.
Three of the brothers were killed, prompting the U.S. War Department to track down the remaining sibling, Frederick (Fritz).
During World War II, four brothers—Edward, Preston, Robert, and Fritz—were spread out among various units.
Fritz and Robert were in the 501st and 505th Parachute Infantries, Preston was in the 22nd Infantry, and Edward was in the Air Force.
A month before D-Day, Edward was captured by the Japanese and brought to a prisoner camp in Burma.
His team never heard from him again and assumed he had died. On D-Day, Robert was killed in Normandy, France.
He had volunteered to stay behind with two other men to hold off the German advance, giving the rest of their team time to escape. The following day, Preston was killed after storming Utah Beach.
procinemastock – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
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The government notified the family of the deaths of the three brothers. Mrs. Niland received the news of their deaths on the same day.
She also got a letter from Fritz bragging about all the war stories he would have to tell when he came home. Just like in the movie, he didn’t seem to know about what happened to his siblings.
The War Department decided to bring Fritz home. Francis Sampson, a Catholic priest for the 501st Regiment, was instructed to find Fritz.
After D-Day, Fritz had gone to the 82nd Airborne Division to meet up with Robert. That was when he learned his brother was dead.
Eventually, Sampson found Fritz. He was removed from combat duty, shipped to England, and was finally sent back home to the U.S.
At home, he grieved the loss of his brothers with his family. Then, they received word that Edward was found alive after the prisoners were released from the camp in Burma. The two brothers spent many of their remaining years together in Tonawanda, New York.
The efforts to locate and bring Fritz home were widely publicized, and the story grabbed the attention of the American people.
Although Saving Private Ryan included more artistic details to add drama, the basis of the film drew upon the real-life events of the Niland brothers.
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