THE five Irish American brothers who were the inspiration for the movie Saving Private Ryan are to be commemorated on November 12th at the Irish in Europe Association’s Remembrance Saturday.
The legendary Sullivan brothers – whose ancestors left Adrigole on the Beara Peninsula in the 1840s – have been commemorated in many ways since their tragic death following a Japanese submarine torpedo attack on November 13th 1942 on the USS Juneau.
The story of the five seamen has become an integral part of US naval history. In fact, the death of Joseph, Francis, Albert, Madison and George Sullivan – who were natives of Waterloo in Iowa – was so shocking that the US war department adopted the sole survivor policy so it would never happen again.
Their story was told in the 1944 American biographical film The Fighting Sullivans. And, in 1998, Tom Hanks and Matt Damon appeared in the similarly-themed movie Saving Private Ryan, which won five Academy Awards for director Steven Spielberg.
In the film, a small company of soldiers go deep into occupied France to save a single surviving sibling found defending a strategic bridge.
In the movie, the devastating story of the death of five members of one family was given the Hollywood treatment but there was, of course, no such survivor for the Sullivan family. In this case, reality was stranger than fiction because the Sullivans enlisted on January 3rd, 1942 with the stipulation that they serve together.
The vessel on which they served had fought in a number of naval engagements during the months-long Battle of Guadalcanal, but it was the Japanese torpedo attack that caused their ship to sink. It is understood that rescue efforts were not forthcoming due to fears about the Japanese naval presence.
Eight days later, 10 survivors were taken from the water and they were able to report that Frank, Joe, and Matt died instantly, that Al drowned the next day, and that George survived for four or five days.
Now the Irish in Europe Association, which was established to serve the Irish diaspora living and working in Europe and to promote Irish culture and integration at local level, wants local help to properly commemorate the 80th anniversary of their deaths. According to Denis J Buckley, the president of the association, which has its HQ in Brussels, the US Congress has given more than $10m to restore the US destroyer, The Sullivans, which was named in their honour.
In fact, the US navy named two destroyers to honour the brothers – The Sullivans (DDG-68) and The Sullivans (DD-537). Al Sullivan’s son, James, served on board the first USS The Sullivans, which was christened by his grandmother.
Meanwhile, the second destroyer was christened by Al’s granddaughter Kelly Ann Sullivan Loughren.
Denis said one of these vessels, the original, is destined to become a floating museum in Buffalo, New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, but he would like to see a commemoration in Adrigole, this weekend, to commemorate the anniversary of their deaths.
The association president said he has been in contact with county mayor Cllr Danny Collins (Ind) and Deputy Michael Collins, to suggest a wreath laying ceremony in Adrigole, as well as a mass in their memory, to co-ordinate with their Remembrance Saturday ceremony at noon at the Anglo-Belgian Memorial.
‘It is important,’ said Denis, ‘to retain this cultural link between Adrigole in West Cork and Buffalo in New York, as well as Waterloo in Iowa.’
