How much of Saving Private Ryan is a true story? Breaking down Fact vs Fiction in the film

Steven Spielberg's epic war film Saving Private Ryan was released on July 24, 1998, and more than two decades later, it remains one of the greatest war films ever made.

The synopsis of the film on IMDb reads:

"Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action."

Upon its release, both audiences and critics were intrigued by the realistic depiction of war and the portrayal of fraternity in the film. Saving Private Ryan also had an enormous influence in terms of filmmaking techniques.

While the characters in the film are fictional, they are inspired by real-life events. The tragedy of the Ryan brothers shown in the film can be traced back to historical sources. Read on to find out more about them.

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Is Saving Private Ryan based on a true story?

Robert Rodat, the screenwriter of the film, first conceived the premise of Saving Private Ryan upon reading Stephen Ambrose’s book on WWII, D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II. As Rodat began the script, he was hired by Paramount Pictures to finish it.

The historical records of the Niland brothers struck a chord with Rodat particularly, and the rescue mission shown in the film is loosely based on the events surrounding the Niland brothers. These were four brothers named Preston, Robert, Edward, and Frederick, who served in the military during World War II.

On June 6, 1944, Robert, serving with the 82nd Airborne Division, died on D-Day. Preston, serving with the 4th Infantry Division, lost his life the next day near Omaha Beach. Back in May of that year, reports had come that Edward, a pilot, had been shot down over Burma. He was missing and presumed dead.

This left only one of the four Niland siblings alive. Frederick, a member of the 101st Airborne Division, had parachuted into Normandy. When it was found out that his three brothers had been killed in the war, the senior officials immediately relieved him of duty, and Frederick was sent back home so that the Niland family could have at least one of their sons alive.

Fortunately, it was later discovered that Edward had actually survived and was held captive in a Burmese POW camp. He was sent back home as well before the war ended. The tragedy of the Niland brothers, however, is not the only historical element that inspired Saving Private Ryan.

In the film, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his team are on a mission to locate Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) and escort him to safety through the enemies because his other siblings have died in the war. This drive to send the lone survivor of a family back home was the result of the 'Sole Survivor' policy of the U.S. War Department.

The 'Sole Survivor' policy (also called the 'Only Son' policy) was established after the tragic events of 1942 when all five Sullivan brothers, serving in the U.S. Navy, were killed when the USS Juneau sank during the Battle of Guadalcanal. In response, the government decided that if a family had multiple sons serving in the war, the sole surviving son would be sent back home.

Thus, while many of the specific plot details of Saving Private Ryan are fictional, they are nevertheless rooted in historical records. The film's depiction of war is vivid and realistic, staying true to historical facts.

For example, the mechanism of M1 Garand rifles was accurately recreated in the film. The codenames used for the different sectors of Omaha Beach are also historically accurate.

So, while Saving Private Ryan is not entirely based on true stories, it uses fiction to reflect truth and recreate a historical time.

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Saving Private Ryan is available for streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu.