‘Saving Private Ryan’ movie was inspired by true story of Upstate NY brothers in WWII (2024)

Twenty-five years ago, “Saving Private Ryan” opened in theaters and instantly became one of the greatest war movies of all time.

The film’s story began more than four decades earlier with its real-life inspiration: Four brothers from Upstate New York.

The Niland brothers — Frederick (a.k.a. “Fritz”), Edward (”Ed”), Preston (”Pete”) and Robert (”Bobby”) — grew up in Tonawanda, near Buffalo, and all served in World War II, according to The Post-Standard archives. Pete and Bobby were killed during the first two days of the Allied invasion of France’s Normandy region on D-Day (June 6, 1944); Ed was missing in action, so Army leaders sent word for Fritz to come home before their mother lost a fourth son.

Fritz Niland became the basis for Private Ryan, portrayed by Matt Damon in the 1998 film directed by Steven Spielberg. He was dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and spent five days in the French countryside, eventually earning a Bronze star in combat for taking a French hill. Fritz then learned of his brothers’ death and was shipped back to the U.S., serving as an military police officer in New York until the war concluded.

“Saving Private Ryan” is loosely based on the Niland brothers’ story, which is partly why the names are changed. The film brutally depicts the Normandy invasion followed by a mission to find Private Ryan after three of his brothers are killed.

“Fritz, the youngest brother, very much wanted to remain in combat – that was accurately portrayed in the movie,” the Buffalo News wrote.

In real life, only two Niland brothers were killed; Ed was imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp in Burma, and freed on May 4, 1945. Ed died in Tonawanda in 1984 and Fritz died in Niagara Falls in 1983. Pete and Bobby are buried side-by-side in the American Cemetery near Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy.

Tommy Niland, a longtime athletic director at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, was a cousin of the Niland brothers who grew up near them in Tonawanda and also served in WWII. He returned to Normandy in 1998, not because of the movie, but to pay respects to fallen soldiers including his family members.

“I came for them,” Tommy told The Post-Standard.

Tommy, who served in the Battle of the Bulge with the 101st Airborne and received the Silver Star and Purple Heart, died in 2004.

“Saving Private Ryan,” released on July 24, 1998, won five Oscars including the Academy Award for Best Director for Spielberg. The cast includes Damon, Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Adam Goldberg and Jeremy Davies.

“Saving Private Ryan” is currently streaming free on Pluto, and available on platforms like Amazon Prime and Paramount+ with a subscription.

From the archives: Return to Normandy: Brothers to brothers, above rows of white crosses