(NEXSTAR) — A heartbreaking letter reveals the man who inspired Saving Private Ryan hoped to return to Normandy for the 40th anniversary of D-Day. He did not make it. Fritz Niland died one year earlier in 1983.
“We are planning a trip to Normandy for the four of us in 1984,” Niland wrote to his daughter in 1979. “Five years may appear as planning too far ahead for the young, but not for the older.”
The story of Niland and his brothers was brought to the big screen in the 1998 film “Saving Private Ryan.” While it was far from a true story, tragedy suffered by the Niland family of Tonawanda, New York inspired the box office hit.
In reality, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Niland sent four sons off to war. Only two returned home.
Fritz Niland was the youngest of the brothers. He served in the 101st Airborne Division and survived the devastating battle in Normandy in June 6, 1944. His brother Bob did not. One day later, his brother Preston would die at at the Crisbecq Battery, a German artillery battery in France. Both brothers are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.
Fritz Niland’s daughter Cate shared a poignant letter with us that was an invitation for her to join the family for the 1984 trip to Normandy. In that letter, he recalled the devastation of D-Day and loss of his brothers.
“First we shall visit St. Laurent where my two brothers are buried side by side,” Niland wrote to his daughter. “The same blood flows in your veins, and I believe the mystic chords of memory will have a strong pull on you. You will brush sleeves with the men of my generation who had a rendezvous with destiny.”
The letter also revealed Fritz Niland was a bit of a romantic and cared deeply about his family.
“This time around I won’t carry an M-1 rifle, but will be armed with a fine wife who is everything a man could ask for and more. I hope you and Mary are with us,” he wrote.
We’ve highlighted and narrated the full letter in the video player at the top of this page to pay tribute to Niland’s legacy.
Fritz had a brother who also served in World War II and passed in 1984. Eddie Niland was in a Japanese POW camp in Burma after his B-25 Mitchell was shot down. He was held until May 1945. Like his brother, Eddie died just before the 40th anniversary of D-Day.
Near the end of the letter, Fritz recalled, “I always felt I left a little bit of myself there.”
