Private James Francis Ryan
In 1942 all four of William and Margaret Ryan's sons—Daniel, James, Peter and Sean—enlisted in the United States Army. Although they were originally all in the same company of the 29th Infantry Division for a period of time, the four brothers were reassigned to different units following the loss of the Sullivan Brothers in November of 1942. James, the youngest of the brothers, qualified as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division and participated in Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944.
Like many of his fellow paratroopers, Ryan's stick was dropped about 20 miles from its planned drop zone, and Ryan ended up near the town of Neuville. Setting out for his unit's rally point, Ryan eventually joined a group of paratroopers who were assembled to defend a bridge over the Merderet River at Ramelle.
On June 13th, while scouting near Ramelle for Germans, Ryan and two other paratroopers encountered a group of Rangers led by Captain Miller. Ryan was stunned to learn that all of his brothers had been killed in action recently, and that Miller and his Rangers had been sent to retrieve him so that he could return to the States. It was Miller's turn to be surprised when Ryan refused to leave his comrades, who had strict orders to defend Ramelle's bridge. The Rangers decided to stay behind and help the paratroopers, although Miller took care to keep Ryan close to him during the battle for Ramelle. Having already lost two of his men while searching for Ryan, Miller had no intention of letting Ryan get himself killed.
Ryan did survive the ensuing battle, which was won with the assistance of air support and the arrival of other Allied troops, but Miller and most of his Rangers were killed. The dying Miller's last words to Ryan were, "Earn this." Ryan would never forget the sacrifice made by Miller and his men, and as an elderly man he visited Miller's grave at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France.
