Hi Housil and all forum members,
As promised, photo's and story regarding the film "Saving Private Ryan".
I spent two weeks in Normandy last June for the 70th anniversary of the landings. The first week I was camping at Chateau Martragny, close to the British/Canadian sector with my Military Vehicle Trust group, who had made the journey from the North of England, 30 miles North of Liverpool and Manchester.
For the second week I was invited to camp in a fellow British Ex Military Landrover Defender 90 owners back garden, which used to be an orchard, 3,500 square metres!!!!. We had "met" through the Ex Military Landrover Owners web site.
Vince is a French national who at the time worked at the Normandy American Memorial and Cemetery at Colleville as a tour guide!!!!!!!.
I visited the Normandy American Memorial and Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Colleville Sur Mer, together with Vince and his family, receiving a personal guided tour.
The cemetery is featured at the beginning and the end of “Saving Private Ryan”. A World War II veteran, played by Harrison Young, accompanied by his family, makes his way to the grave of Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks).
The grave does not actually exist, the headstone for Captain John Miller was a "Stage prop" and brought to the cemetery for the filming and placed on the walkway between two sections of graves.
The Captain John Miller portrayed in the movie never existed, but the Private Ryan story is based upon the true story of the Niland Brothers, two of whom are buried in this cemetery.
If you watch the film again, at the ending in the cemetery, you will see the reverse of a gravestone with a bluish blemish, over the shoulder of the actor in the background. Actually this gravestone is the only one in the cemetary with any blemish.
This photo was taken on the exact position of Captain John Millers "gravestone".
The following two photo’s are of the front side of the two graves in the background, both next to each other;
Richard E.Miller and James A.Ryan??. The book had been written, also the screenplay for the film, interesting, very interesting. It has been said that this coincidence was only noticed when the director of the film veiwed the film shots being taken from different angles
My most sincere thanks to the staff of the Normandy American Memorial and Cemetery for the warm welcome, but especially to Vince for the personal guided tour.
This was just part of the “Holiday Of A Lifetime” which I had planned for two years.
Hoping this is of interest to the forum members.
Regards, Norman.
