If you have seen “Saving Private Ryan”, here is the true story that inspired the film.
The Niland brothers grew up in Tonawanda, New York. Preston and Robert enlisted in the Army before Pearl Harbor. Edward and Frederick enlisted in November, 1942. Because of the deaths of the Sullivan Brothers, the Army made sure the brothers were put in separate units. Technical Sergeant was piloting a B-24 bomber which was shot down over Burma. He evaded capture for a while, but was eventually caught and put in a Japanese prison camp. He was presumed dead. Technical Sergeant Robert Niland was in the 101st Airborne and parachuted into Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion. On June 6, 1944 he was killed manning a machine gun protecting the retreat of his men. The next day 2nd Lt. Preston Niland, who had landed at Utah Beach, led an assault on a German artillery battery and was killed. Sgt. Edward Niland was in the 101st Airborne Division. Like his brother Bob, he parachuted into Normandy. After a few days, he headed over to the 82nd Airborne area to find his brother and was informed he was dead. A chaplain initiated the effort to have Edward removed from combat. The Sole Survivor Policy was not official until 1948, but the Pentagon was already monitoring situations like the Nilands to avoid adding to parents’ grief. Edward was sent back to England and eventually to the U.S. For a year, he and his parents thought he was the only surviving son. In May, 1945 Robert’s prison camp was liberated. He had gone from 170 pounds to 80. Word was sent to the Niland family immediately. The two brothers lived many years after the war. Preston and Edward were buried next to each other in the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.
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