Preston Niland says, “The Matt Damon character… he said exactly what Uncle Fritz said when they sent him home.”
The Niland family honored the anniversary of the Normandy landings with a moving story told to Buffalo’s CBS affiliate, WIVB, that shed light on the real-life incidents that served as inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed movie “Saving Private Ryan.”
Renowned for its suspenseful depiction of a World War II rescue operation, the film is based on the real-life adventures of the Niland brothers, Preston, Robert, Fritz, and Edward, whose tales of valor and tragedy reverberate across history.
Robert and Preston were tragically slain in the Normandy invasion.
It was thought that Edward had also perished, but at the end of the war, he was found alive in the Pacific Theater as a prisoner of war.
A situation that closely resembles the plot of the movie has Fritz, who is believed to be the last remaining Niland, ordered back home.
Recalling this moving scene, Edward’s son Preston pointed out how much his uncle’s remarks and the lines written for Matt Damon’s role in the movie resembled one another.
“My cousin Catie said that the Matt Damon character said exactly what Uncle Fritz said when they sent him home,” Preston said.
Now I’m with my brothers. Stay with me. “You can’t stay, you got to argue with General George Marshall,” the man was told.
The Niland brothers’ great-nephew James Niland proudly talked about the history and unwavering character of his family.
“They came together to conquer an unthinkable task and truly showed the world that nothing is impossible with the American spirit,” he said. It was a legendary victory, and those men were legends. They shall never die.