AP photo
Tom Sizemore (left) and Tom Hanks (right) in ‘Saving Private Ryan.’

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy to begin the liberation of France from Nazi occupation. Though no film could truly depict the horror of war, “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) presents an honest and graphic account of D-Day. Veterans groups consider the film to be the most realistic account of war produced by Hollywood.

Operation “Overlord” began in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. Nearly 7,000 ships, boats and landing craft carried almost 133,000 Allied troops across the English Channel to the Normandy coast. More than 11,000 planes supported the mission to secure positions across 50 miles of heavily-defended beach. The five landing points were code-named Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno. Within the first 24 hours of the invasion, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded.

“Saving Private Ryan” mixes storyline with historical accuracy. It is fiction based on true events. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the underlying premise involves the Sole Survivor Policy established by the U.S. Military. During World War II, there were several instances of four or five members from a single family in active service at the same time. To prevent the wartime loss of all siblings from one family, the last lone survivor was to be located and sent home.

The film opens on the “Dog Green” Sector of Omaha Beach as the largest amphibious invasion in military history encounters Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on the Normandy coastline.

Amid non-stop machine gun fire, Capt. John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) of the 2nd Ranger Battalion exits the landing craft to begin the assault. As he wades through the crimson-toned water and navigates fallen comrades, he is momentarily stunned by a nearby explosion.

Miller and his men fight their way onto the beach amid intense fighting. The film depicts the gruesome realities of war as the Allies secure the beach and set the stage for the move inland.

Having moved off the beach, Capt. Miller and his remaining men receive orders to locate and secure the safe return of Pvt. James F. Ryan (Matt Damon). Ryan, a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, is listed as missing. Ryan’s brothers have been killed in action, and in accordance with the Army’s Sole Survivor Policy, he is to be sent home.

Miller and his seven-man unit including Sgt. Mike Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Cpl. Timothy Upham (Jeremy Davies), Pvt. Stanley Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Pvt. Daniel Jackson (Barry Pepper), Pvt. Adrian Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Pvt. Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) and medic Irwin Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) begin the search.

Along the way in the search for Ryan, the unit faces the peril of German resistance while questioning the decision to risk their lives to save one man. As they fight their way through the towns and countryside, several of the unit are killed.They finally locate Ryan, who refuses to abandon his unit.

The surviving members of Miller’s squad join Ryan’s outfit and await a German offensive. Miller is seriously wounded during the fight but continues to fire his pistol at an approaching German tank. As the tank explodes, an Allied bomber flies overhead and into the distance. A dying Miller’s last words are spoken to Ryan. As reinforcements move in to secure the town, only Reiben and Upham remain from Miller’s unit.

The final scene shows Pvt. Ryan look down at Capt. Miller as he fades away. The image crossfades to the current day as Ryan returns to France as a much older man, looking down at the grave of Capt. Miller at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. With his family nearby, he kneels at the grave.

“Everyday I think of what you said to me that day on the bridge,” Ryan tells Miller. “I’ve tried to live my life the best I could and I hope that was enough. I hope that at least in your eyes, I have earned what all of you have done for me.

He stands at attention and honors Miller with a final salute.

Though the main characters in “Saving Private Ryan” were fictional, the film accurately depicts the sacrifice and courage displayed by Allied forces during a crucial time in world history.

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Tom Laub is the lifestyles editor of The Sentinel.