When Men Were Men

Bay Flavor Story Series

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Where I Borrowed Image From

Grey skies. Strong winds. Waves five to six feet high mid-channel. The rancid smell of vomit and body odor. The unavoidable thought that once you hit the beach you may be killed. And Tom Hanks. The beginning of the film Saving Private Ryan is intense, to say the least. The first 27 minutes of the film offer an incredible insight into the horrors of the Omaha Beach landings, which took place on June 6th, 1944, as the main characters battle almost seemingly impossible conditions while being pinned down on the beach. What strikes people the most is the realistic depiction of the landing, as it doesn’t present the soldiers as superheroes but rather as confused and scared men who are simply doing their best to survive. 

One of Steven Spielberg’s many classics, Saving Private Ryan was lauded by critics and viewers alike when it premiered in 1998. The opening scene, which I can still remember watching at my Uncle Jerry’s, is one of the most realistic depictions of war in cinema history. In the two weeks following the film's release, the Department of Veterans Affairs had to increase staffing on its telephone counseling line, as numerous veterans were disturbed by the film and were compelled to seek professional help. There were more than 100 phone calls during this time, which was more than the department had received in years from WWII vets.

The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. The beaches were given the code names UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD. The invasion force included 7,000 ships and landing craft manned by over 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. Almost 133,000 troops from the United States, the British Commonwealth, and their allies, landed on D-Day. Casualties from these countries during the landing numbered 10,300.