The Niland brothers were four

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

brothers of

Irish descent The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

from

Tonawanda, New York Tonawanda (formally ''City of Tonawanda'') is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North To ...

, who served in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were sons of Mr and Mrs Michael C. Niland. Two survived the war, but for a time, only one, Frederick "Fritz" Niland, was believed to have survived. After the reported deaths of his three brothers, Fritz was sent back to the United States to complete his service, and only later learned that his brother Edward, missing and presumed dead, was actually captive in a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Brothers

*Technical Sergeant Edward Francis Niland (December 22, 1912 – February 28, 1984), U.S. Army Air Forces: Imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp in Burma, he was captured on May 16, 1944, and liberated on May 4, 1945. After Edward's

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

was hit, he parachuted and wandered through the Burmese jungle before being taken prisoner. Edward lived in Tonawanda until his death in 1984 at the age of 71. *Second Lieutenant Preston Thomas Niland (March 6, 1915 – June 7, 1944), 29, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, was killed in action on June 7, 1944, in Normandy, at the

Crisbecq Battery The Crisbecq Battery (sometimes called Marcouf Battery) was a German World War II artillery battery constructed by the Todt Organization near the French village of Saint-Marcouf, Manche, Saint-Marcouf in the department of Manche in the north-east ...

. *Technical Sergeant Robert Joseph "Bob" Niland (February 2, 1919 – June 6, 1944), 25, D Company,

505th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (505th PIR), originally the 505th Infantry Regiment, is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, one of four infantry regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, with ...

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

was killed in action on

June 6, 1944 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

in Normandy. He volunteered to stay behind with Corporal James Kelly and hold off a German advance while his company retreated from Neuville-au-Plain. He was killed while manning his machine gun; Corporal James Kelly survived. *Sergeant Frederick William "Fritz" Niland (April 23, 1920 – December 1, 1983), H Company, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

: Fritz was close friends with

Warren Muck E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the p ...

and

Donald Malarkey Donald George Malarkey (July 31, 1921 – September 30, 2017) was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Mal ...

, from E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Fritz fought through the first few days of the Normandy campaign. Nine days following D-Day, Fritz had gone to the

to see his brother, Bob. Once he arrived at division, he was informed that Bob had been killed on D-Day. Fritz was shipped back to England, and finally, to the U.S., where he served as an MP in New York until the completion of the war. Fritz was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his service. This story is evidenced in

Stephen Ambrose Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, most noted for his biographies of U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New Or ...

's book '' Band of Brothers'', as well as from biographical data on

Francis L. Sampson Father (Major General) Francis Leon Sampson, USA (February 29, 1912 – January 28, 1996) was a Catholic priest from Archdiocese for the Military Services and an American Army officer who served as the 12th Chief of Chaplains of the United Sta ...

. Private James Ryan in the film ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...

'' is loosely based on him. Fritz died in 1983 in San Francisco at the age of 63. Fritz married Marilyn Hartnett Batt and they had two daughters, Catherine (Cate) and Mary.

Memorials

Image:Preston Niland Grave Marker.jpg, Image:Robert Niland Grave Marker.jpg, Image:Neuville-au-Plain - Mémoriaux.jpg,

In popular culture

Steven Spielberg's 1998 film ''

'' is loosely based on the brothers' story.

References

''Saving Private Ryan'' Online Encyclopedia
by Ron Churchill, University of Buffalo ''Reporter''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niland brothers Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Tonawanda, New York United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army officers United States Army soldiers Brothers

Brothers

Memorials

In popular culture

See also

References