Tragedy of the Sullivan Brothers – Inspiration for Saving Private Ryan and the Sole Survivor Policy
During the naval battle of the Guadalcanal campaign, in late 1942, the USS Juneau which was a light cruiser carrying the five Sullivan brothers has sunk by a Japanese destroyer and submarine attack.
Joseph Eugene Sullivan, Madison Abel Sullivan, Albert Leo Sullivan, George Thomas Sullivan, and Francis Henry Sullivan were all killed in action as they’ve all served together in the light cruiser USS Juneau on 13th of November 1942.
The Japanese took over the seas of Guadalcanal during the Sabo Island naval battle in August 1942. However, the USA Navy was able to redeem themselves by the naval battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.
About 3 months later the US military have successfully won the Guadalcanal campaign which was one of the most important turning points in the Pacific theater along with the victory at the Battle of Midway.
While the news of the Guadalcanal victory shook America, the tragedy of the Sullivan brothers also shocked America. The public and the military raised voice in protecting military families and the Sole Survivor Policy was developed.
The Sole Survivor Policy
After the tragedy of the USS Juneau and the five Sullivan brothers spread through the US, the public and the US States Department of Defense set the Sole Survivor Policy to spare families that are serving in the military.
The US Department of Defense first started to split brothers and prevent siblings from serving in the same unit. Then the US Department of Defense set up the Sole Survivor Policy that would exempt anyone from direct combat in case of their family members including parents or siblings were killed in duty during their US military service.
The United States Department of Defense implemented the Sole Survivor Policy during World War II and it was later officially legislated as The Sole Survivor Policy or United States Department of Defense Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" after the war. The mission to save private Ryan was also part of this Sole Survivor Policy.
The Niland Brothers and Fredrick Niland – Real story – Inspiration for Saving Private Ryan
The four Niland brothers Frederick Niland, Robert Niland, Preston Niland and Edward Niland were from Kenmore, New York and the stories of the Niland Brothers became the motif and inspiration for Saving Private Ryan.
Frederick Niland was part of the Normandy airborne raiding party in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. After a few days of battle, Frederick Niland visited the 82nd Airborne Division to meet up with his brother Robert Niland but he only discovered that his brother Robert Niland was killed in action.
The War Department has discovered the three brothers were MIA(Missing In Action) or KIA(Killed in Action) and ordered the military chaplain Francis Sampson of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment to find Frederick Niland. Francis Sampson successfully located Frederick Niland when he visited the 82nd Airborne Division and Frederick Niland was pulled off from combat and served as military police.
Fortunately, the presumed dead brother Edward Niland who was Missing In Action was found alive in a Japanese POW camp and reunited with Frederick Niland.
The Niland Brother’s whereabouts
Preston Niland was one of the landing parties of the 4th Infantry Division on Utah Beach. Robert Niland was part of Dog company (D company), 505th Paratrooper Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. Edward Niland was a pilot of a B-25 Mitchell bomber serving in the Pacific.
On middle of May 1944, Edward Niland’s B-25 crashed above the jungles of Burma and he went MIA (Missing In Action) where none of the crews that made it out knew of Edward’s whereabouts.
Edward Niland was captured by the Japanese military and has been in a POW (Prisoners of War) camp in Japanese occupied Burma until May 1945. Preston Niland survived the beach landings on Utah Beach at D-Day 6th of June, however he was killed in action while trying to take down an artillery battery.
Robert Niland was killed in action on the exact date of D-Day 6th of June as he volunteered to hold off a German counterattack while his unit retreated.
Death of Peter Ryan on Utah Beach
Presumably Peter Ryan was part of the 4th Infantry Division or the 70th Tank Battalion that led the raid at Utah Beach. Possibly he could be part of the 82nd or 101st Airborne Division but the Airborne Divisions weren’t on the beaches but rather dropped behind the beach heads.
The objective of the forces that landed on Utah Beach was to head west and secure the Cotentin Peninsula of France. The Cotentin Peninsula was essential for the Invasion Europe because of the port city of Cherbourg.
The ultimate objective of the Normandy Landings was to secure a port to support supplies on the European continent by shipping from the U.S. and Great Britian while open a front to the east to liberate Paris from the Nazi Germany occupation.
Although the casualties of the Utah Beach landings were relatively low compared with Omaha Beach, the 4th Infantry Division had to break their way through Sainte-Mere-Eglise and head up to Cherbourg so possibly Peter Ryan may have been killed in action during this campaign.
Death of Sean Ryan on Omaha Beach
Sean Ryan could have been possibly from the 1st Infantry Division that also landed on Omaha Beach but it was mentioned during the movie that all Ryan brothers were initially assigned to the 29th Infantry Division. However, due to the Sole Survivor Policy and the tragedy of the Sullivan brothers, all the brothers were split up into different units.
Thus, it is more likely that Sean Ryan was with the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division that were responsible for the first waves of the Omaha Beach landings.
Death of Daniel Ryan at New Guinea
New Guinea is the second largest island that exists in the world and the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Morseby was one of the most important strategic points in the Pacific Theater.
The Japanese could commence aerial assaults if they’ve captured Port Morseby while the New Guinea was an essential strategic point to advance to the Philippines for the U.S. military.
It is only mentioned that James Francis Ryan’s brother Daniel Ryan was killed in action at New Guinea but the campaign of New Guinea was large in scale and many important battles occurred so it is hard to specify.
The battle of Rabaul, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester etc were all part of the New Guinea campaign and because reports and news were relatively late especially in the Pacific Theater due to its vast scale of operations, it is difficult to specify why and how Daniel Ryan was killed.
Search for James Francis Ryan
Captain John.H. Miller is given the mission by the U.S. Army chief of staff George C. Marshall to find the only surviving brother James Francis Ryan from Iowa in France and bring him back home by the Sole Survivor Policy
