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Never Forget: Saving Private Ryan

Over the weekend, we leveled some criticism at the movie Saving Private Ryan. We've also gotten several "never forget" reminiscences that speak to how much the movie—or, at least, the D-Day sequence—meant to people who actually served in World War II (in fairness, we did say the D-Day portion is magnificent). Anyhow, we thought we would share those stories. First, here's N.A. in Asheboro NC:

My grandfather, Captain Lloyd William Allen Sr., served in the European theater of World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and came back familiar with the unmarked graves A.G. in Scranton described. According to my dad, Lloyd Sr. "moved out for a while" due to alcoholism while my grandmother Gertrude, a formidable achiever in her own right, raised five kids without him for some unspecified time. Eventually they reconciled, and in one of his last acts on earth, he and she went to see Saving Private Ryan. He felt it showed some things better than he could say them. To hear my dad tell it, Gertrude asked Lloyd Sr. "Were things really that bad over there?" to which he replied "Even worse." She forgave him the worst of it and he died at peace. So goes the story my dad tells; I was 9 at the time and won't ever know. But I'll never forget that my grandfather earned a Silver Star and is interred in Arlington National Cemetery. And every time I think about that, I think of the ones who didn't make it home, AND the ones who did, but lost something else along the way.

My other grandfather served as a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in the Pacific, and an air traffic controller for 30 years in civilian airports afterwards. Semper Fi. My sincere thanks to all who serve.

As for my personal opinion on World War II movies, Dunkirk needs a spot on the list. Say what you will about Inception; Christopher Nolan is a visionary.

And now, E.S. in Providence, RI:

In 1998 I went to the theater to see Saving Private Ryan. I saw my uncle Stanley and my aunt in the crowd, and sat next to them. I knew that he was part of the D-Day landing force, but he never talked about it. About 10 minutes into the opening battle scene, he stood up and walked out of the auditorium. My aunt brought him back in after the battle scene was over. After the film I asked him if that was what the invasion was like. He just whispered "That's exactly what it was like." He died on Christmas Day 2020 at the age of 97.

And finally, F.C. in Sequim, WA:

A handsome fellow, early 20s, in military dress uniform, with rosy cheeks and frameless glasses

My dad, shown above, enlisted in the Army after completion of high school. He learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor while out rabbit hunting on a friend's farmland during his senior year. He first tried to enlist in the paratroopers, but he was underweight. He was a part of five different invasions, and lost his best friend and basic training buddy on the first of those. His buddy never got a chance to use his weapon. They belonged to the 166th Gunnery.

When dad wasn't involved with an invasion, he was protecting airfields with a .50-caliber machine gun. The 166th was credited with downing 18 Japanese Zeros over the course of the war. The 166th was also what they referred to as a "bastard battalion." When they were in invasion mode, they were shoved to the head of the line. First wave! Meanwhile, the generals fought over their favorite outfits to wear when going in during later waves. Talk about politics!

The last invasion the 166th was involved with was Leyte Beach. The Battle of Leyte Gulf, as it was referred to, was the largest naval battle in history. As you can guess, the land invasion was no picnic. The Battle of Leyte was the triumphant return of General MacArthur. After Leyte, they were put on a troop transport headed to Japan. The US military will say this is not true, but I'll buy my dad's version over the government's version any day! Fortunately, fate would lend a hand, as they were notified after a few days of travel that Japan had surrendered. And that brings to a conclusion what I know. My two brothers and I would pester for more info, but we rarely got anything. As for the Japanese language, dad only remembered one word: "Banzai." One word? That's it, dad? He said that one Japanese word was plenty, as back in that era, banzai meant "suicide attack."

After he retired, my dad drove to Wisconsin to meet with the five sisters of his basic training buddy. They saw their big brother off at the train station when he left for war. And they received his coffin back at the same railroad station a year later, and had no idea what happened to him. My dad said that when he met the sisters at the restaurant, he talked to them for about two hours. They were very attentive and thankful.

The only other time World War II would make an appearance later in his life was going to the movie Saving Private Ryan. He didn't make it through very much of the movie. The invasion part was too much. He ended up back in his car crying like a baby! After almost 55 years, he got some closure.

Thanks to all three of you. (Z)



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