D-Day

How’s Your D-Day History?

Watching the Hatfields and the McCoys the other evening on the History Channel, I found myself wondering about the accuracy of the characters – their clothing, the way the cabins were furnished, the weapons used, the dialogue. All of us can think of Hollywood flicks that made for great viewing, yet were slim on accuracy.

D-Day has been the subject of motion pictures, virtually since the end of World War II. Some were more accurate than others. Some were dramatically wrong in so many ways. None have been completely accurate.

Let’s take a look.

The most recent example of a great movie, full of drama and action, with a compelling storyline is: Saving Private Ryan.

Do you recognize this guy?

Well, his name is Sergeant "Fritz" Niland -- a member of the 101st Airborne's 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, and was one of those that made the drop into Normandy on June 6, 1944. He landed southwest of Carentan in Raffoville, and he was eventually able to make it back to his unit on his own.

Niland's three brothers served in other units; Lieutenant Preston Niland served in the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division (died on June 7), Technical Sergeant Robert Niland was a paratrooper in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division (killed on June 6), and Technical Sergeant Edward Niland was a pilot in the Army Air Force (went MIA).

Niland was the real-life version of Private Ryan. Unlike the fictional Ryan, there was no need to send out a rescue mission (led by the like of Tom Hanks) to find him. When a chaplain of the 501^st, Father Francis L. Sampson, learned that two of Niland's brothers were dead, and that a third was presumed dead, he began the paperwork necessary to send Niland home – which worked.

What about another popular D-Day movie: The Longest Day (released October 4, 1962 by 20th Century Fox and shot in France).

Do you recognize the guy with arm raised?

Well, he isn’t a real military hero. He’s actor Robert Mitchum and he’s portraying the highest ranking officer on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 – Colonel Norm Cota.

Cota is best known for personally directing the attack, motivating the shell-shocked, pinned-down survivors of the beach landing into action, and opening one of the first means to get off the beach.  He supposedly made two well-known commands (quotes) that day:

*  When coming upon the commander of the 5^th Ranger Battalion, Max Schneider, Costa asked: “What outfit is this?” When some unknown soldier yelled back: "5th Rangers!" Cota is remembered for screaming: “Well, goddamn it then, Rangers, lead the way!”.

BTW: "Rangers lead the way" became the motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

*  Mistakenly Cota has been quoted as saying to his troops, "Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed."

The 1962 film, The Longest Day, mistakenly portrays Cota giving troops a verbal kick in the ass, which history shows us was actually the encouragement of Colonel George A. Taylor. Here’s what was said by actor Robert Mitchem – and not by the real Col. Cota:  "There are only two kinds of people who are staying on this beach -- those who are already dead and those that are gonna'die. Now get off your butts, you're the fight'in 29th!"

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Speaking of Hollywood, there’s another way to look at D-Day and a Hollywood actor.

Do you recognize this guy?

Sure, he’s in uniform, but it isn’t one he wore on D-Day.

Here is a photo of actor James Doohan  -- known as "Scotty" on Star Trek.

Back on June 6, 1944, Doohan landed in Normandy with Allied troops. He was a member of the Third Canadian Infantry Division that hit Juno Beach in the first wave, where he took out a couple of German snipers, before being wounded in a leg and right hand by a machine gunner. In his biography, “Beam Me Up Scotty,” he wrote of losing his right middle finger, which has been mangled in the firefight. His wounds did not remove him from the war. He was retrained and became an air observation pilot, based out of Holland.

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These are just three stories about D-Day and Hollywood. There are actually many more. Hope you enjoyed these examples.

GT