Summary
Saving Private Ryan’s town liberation scene gets one important historical detail wrong, reveals a World War II historian. Directed by Steven Spielberg,Saving Private Ryanwas released in 1998 and follows Tom Hanks' Captain Miller and his unit as they embark on a mission across occupied France to rescue the last surviving brother of the Ryan family. TheWorld War II moviewas a hit and has been widely praised for its depiction of the conflict, including the landing at Omaha Beach, but also for its other sequences in towns across Normandy.
In a recent video forInsider, World War II historian John McManus analyzes the sequence in Saving Private Ryaninvolving Miller’s arriving at the French town of Neuville-au-Plain.
While the movie gets a lot right in terms of its depiction of the town and the type of close-quarters combat that took place there,McManus takes issue with the movie featuring the 101st Airborne Division at Neuville-au-Plain. According to the historian, it was actually a different division entirely that actually fought in this particular location. Check out his comment and rating for the sequence below:
“Atmospherics. The buildings, the stone architecture destroyed, the wood lying around, the detritus, the rain. It’s exactly like that in Normandy. So Neuville-au-Plain does exist. It’s located about a mile north of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, which is more famous and is one of the first towns liberated in Normandy. You would’ve had plenty of fighting in the town, but also outside of the town, probably even more so than what you see here.
“What I don’t like is that the soldiers portrayed among the Airborne are from the 101st Airborne Division. Actually, the soldiers who fought at Neuville-au-Plain were from the 82nd Airborne Division, including Sergeant Niland, who was killed just outside of the town. I think that’s kind of a disservice to the actual unit or the actual people who fought there.
“I’ll give it a nine [out of 10].”
Saving Private Ryanis based on the true storyof the Niland brothers. Technical Sergeant Robert Joseph “Bob” Niland was killed outside Neuville-au-Plain on June 22, 2025.
Saving Private Ryan’s Neuville-au-Plain Error & The Dangers Of Changing History
Why The Steven Spielberg Film’s Airborne Division Change Is A “Disservice”
By and large,Saving Private Ryanhas been praised as an accurate depiction of World War II and the people who fought in it.Saving Private Ryan’s D-Day sequence, for example, so accurately depicted the chaos and horrors of combat that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up a hotline at the time that Veterans could call if they experienced PTSD while watching the movie. Like any movie, however, the film isn’t without fictitious elements for the sake of storytelling and entertainment.
The average viewer ofSaving Private Ryanwon’t know that it was actually the 82nd Airborne Division who fought in Neuville-au-Plain. For the vast majority of audiences, this won’t stand out as a mistake and won’t affect the viewing experience in any way. It’s likely that featuring the 101st Airborne in the sequence instead of the 82nd Airborne was a decision made simply becausethe 101st Airborne and their accomplishments during World War II are more well known.
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For those with historical knowledge or for those in any way involved in World War II, however, this change starts to mean a lot more. McManus describes it as a “disservice” becausethe film is painting over the real contributions of those who fought and died as part of the 82nd Airborne. It could certainly be argued thatSaving Private Ryanmakes up for this by accurately portraying the horrors of war in a more general way that has clearly struck a chord with viewers and Veterans, but McManus' commentary highlights why adjusting historical details for entertainment can be controversial.
Saving Private Ryan
Cast
Saving Private Ryan: Directed by Steven Spielberg, this World War II drama follows Captain John Miller, portrayed by Tom Hanks, as he leads a group of U.S. soldiers on a mission to rescue Private James Ryan, the sole surviving brother of four, from behind enemy lines in German-occupied France.
