They Gave Their All : The Sullivan Brothers and Tragic Sinking of the USS Juneau
culture . The movie entitled The Fighting Sullivans premiered in New York with both Tom and Alleta in attendance . The film , which concentrated on the boy ’ s childhood , required two sets of actors to play the bothers . Columnist Walter Winchell , who accompanied the parents to the first showing , heaped high praise on the film calling it “ Twentieth ’ s great tribute to the Sullivans ... but not a tear-jerker ... done in grand taste .” 77
The movie won critical acclaim and garnered Anne Baxter a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as Katherine Sullivan . The movie opened in Waterloo on March 9 , 1944 where five hundred people paid $ 1.10 each to see the film , with all proceeds going to the Sullivan Memorial Fund . 78 Kena , who saw the opening in the boy ’ s hometown , thought , “ the picture was a wonderful tribute to the boys and what they fought for .” 79 While The Sullivans earned respectable box-office receipts , the profits were nowhere near what would be needed to provide for Jimmy ’ s education .
Jimmy Sullivan followed in his father ’ s footsteps and joined the Navy in 1958 . He steadfastly refused to serve aboard the ship that bore his family name because “ he did not want the publicity or possible favoritism .” 80 After active duty service , he joined the Naval Reserves and served as a SeaBee for more than thirty years .
Fans of Steven Spielberg ’ s Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) will recognize the Sullivans ’ story as an integral part of the film ’ s plot . However , Saving Private Ryan is a composite of several sole survivor stories , but most closely resembles the predicament of Sergeant Frederick “ Fritz ” Niland . In the case of the four Niland brothers , the US Army believed that all but one of the brothers had died in combat : Edward , a Technical Sergeant in the USAAF , was killed in Burma ; Preston , a 2nd Lieutenant in the 22nd Infantry Regiment , 4th Infantry Division , died on D + 1 near Utah Beach ; and Robert , a Technical Sergeant from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment , 82nd Airborne Division , killed on D-Day near Neuville-au-Plain . 81 Several days after D-Day , Fritz , a Sergeant in the 501st Parachute Infantry , 101st Airborne Division , traveled to the 82nd Division area to locate his brother . There he learned that Robert died manning a machine gun so that two other men could escape .
News of the deaths of Preston and Robert and the presumed death of Edward reached Mrs . Niland in Tonawanda , NY , on the same day . When the War Department realized that Fritz was the sole surviving Niland son , the Army brought the young man home . Unlike the fictitious Private Ryan , however , no patrol was dispatched to retrieve Sgt . Niland . Father Francis Sampson , the 501st Regimental chaplain , informed Fritz of the death of his brothers and was charged with making sure he got home safely . 82 He transferred to England before being shipped to New York , Sgt . Niland served as an MP for the remainder of the war .
To the family ’ s relief , Edward survived the war , held in a Japanese prison camp in Burma , and released
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