Saving Private Ryan

On June 6, 1944, 55 years ago today

A force of 176,000 Allied soldiers from the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada

Stormed the beaches of Normandy in northern France

D-Day or Operation Overload, was the largest seaborne invasion in history

The invasion at Normandy took the Germans by surprise

Because they expected an invasion to come from farther north

Near Calais, the narrowest part of the English Channel

"Omaha" was the code name for the second beach from the right of the 5 landing areas

It was the largest of the assault areas, stretching over 6 miles

A 10-foot high seawall backed the western third of the beach

And the whole beach was overlooked by cliffs 100 feet high

There were five exits off the beach to the bluffs above . . .

The Germans under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had built formidable defenses

The waters and beach were heavily mined . . . covered with Rommel’s asparagus

A collection of obstacles (Belgian gates, log posts, log ramps and hedgehogs)

Placed on the low tide beach . . . to destroy the landingcrafts and stop gliders . . .

There were 12 strong points called Widerstandsnester . . . blockhouse/bunkers

Numerous other fighting positions dotted the area supported by a trench system

Omaha was a killing zone . . .

The beach was assaulted at 0630 hrs and from the beginning everything went wrong

Special "DD" tanks (duel drive amphibious Sherman tanks)

Sank in the choppy waters of the Channel

Only 2 of the 29 tanks launched made it to the beach

With the exception of Company A, no unit landed where it was planned . . .

Strong winds and rough seas carried the landing craft from right to left

Making the men sea sick, many of them vomiting in the boats

Throughout the landing, German gunners poured deadly fire into the invading Americans

The German soldiers in their cement bunkers, trained their machine guns

On American landing crafts killing the troops before they can leave their boat

This was a common occurrence for the first wave of American infantry at Omaha

Bodies lay on the beach or floated in the water

Wounded men are screaming out in pain for their mothers as they lay dying

Men sought refuge behind beach obstacles

Pondering the deadly 300-400 yd sprint across the beach to the seawall

Which offered some safety at the base of the cliff

By 0830 hrs all landing ceased on Omaha, the men on the beach were on their own

Slowly, and in small groups, they scaled the cliffs

Meanwhile, destroyers steamed in blasted the fortifications at point-blank range

By 1200 hours, German fire was noticeably decreased

As the defensive positions were taken from the rear

Attacking heavily fortified positions, they suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha that day

Utah-300, Omaha-2,400, Gold-400, Juno-1,200 and Sword-630

In the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks)

Survives the American landing at Omaha Beach in World War II

Captain Miller is then given a new mission: to find and extract Private James Ryan

The youngest of 4 brothers, the other 3 of whom have been KIA . . . Fritz Niland

As Captain Miller’s squad moves inland to search for Private Ryan

They enter a decimated French village, where they encounter a German sniper

Farther inland, they witness the disarray of the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st

Whose off-target drops on the night of June 5-6

Threw much of the first week of the invasion into confusion

They meet CG-4 pilot who tells a harrowing story of crashing his overloaded glider

The squad attacks a radar site . . .

The men engages in a brief skirmish with a German squad on a half-track

Where they find Private James Ryan

Ryan refuses to leave his fellow soldiers . . .

Telling Captain Miller, tell my mother I’m with the only brothers I have left

They defend the bridge from overwhelming odds as reinforcements arrive

But it is too late for Captain Miller and his squad, all but 2 are dead

James Ryan is now an old man standing in a Normandy cemetery with his family . . .

He reflects on sacrifice that was paid for him . . . 6 lives were sacrificed to save him

Falling to his knees at the cemetery cross of Captain Miller

Crying he says to his wife, “Tell me I’ve lived a good life!” “Tell me I’m a good man!”

All the way home I could not stop thinking about the movie

I thought about the price that was paid, the lives that were lost . . .

I thought about Private Ryan’s closing comments, I heard God saying; You’re Private Ryan

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.