Today is the 70th anniversary of one of the most tragic days in American History, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii killing roughly 2,400 people—mostly those in the United States military.
Less than a month later five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa enlisted in the U.S. Navy requesting to be on the same ship. They were granted that request and served together on the USS Juneau. On November 13, 1942 the ship was sunk in the Guadalcanal battle in the South Pacific killing all five brothers. (Only ten of Juneau’s crew out of 700 survived.)
Talk about an emotional event. Imagine the mother and father who had raised five boys learning the news that all of their sons had died in battle. While the memory of the Sullivan brothers is faint in most of the country, here in Cedar Falls-Waterloo, Iowa the memory is strong.
We have the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center and The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. And just the other day I saw a cement truck in town with a portrait of the Sullivan Brother’s painted on the large mixer. Just last month there were two public showings in town of the 1944 movie The Fighting Sullivans.
It’s not a great film and didn’t do well at the box office, (It was first released with the title The Sullivans.) Perhaps the story was too raw in 1944. World War II was still in high gear and I imagine the film was quickly cobbled together for patriotic reasons. After all it was produced, edited, and released only 15 months after their death. The story focuses on the childhood of the boys and the tight bond they had together growing up during the depression. The story is heartfelt and did receive an Oscar-nomination. (Back in the day, the Academy Award gave Oscars for the story and the screenplay separately.)
The story of the Sullivans is said to have influenced director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Robert Rodant in making Saving Private Ryan. I’ve never read an article where they’ve talked about that, but since the Private Ryan they are trying to save in the movie is from Iowa and three of his brothers have been killed setting things in motion to save Private Ryan—I imagine the Sullivan Brothers were at least on Spielberg & Rodant’s radar.
Though it should also be pointed out four brothers from Tonawanda, New York with the last name of Niland all served in the war, and in 1944 and three of the brothers were killed. The fourth son was sent home to finish his duty far from danger. The five Sullivan brothers (George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, Albert), who were between 20-27 years old at the time of their death, were the largest loss by one U.S. family during World War II.
The United States Navy honored the Sullivan Brothers by naming the USS The Sullivans after them. The boat was launched in 1994 and is still in active service today.
And while there is not an overload of female screenwriters working in Hollywood today, it’s worth noting that the movie The Fighting Sullivans was written by Mary C. McCall Jr (1904-1986). She not only had a career that last over four decades and was also the first female president of the Screen Writers Guild (1942—1944). Vasser grad for those keeping score.
December 7, 1941 is certainly one of the single most emotional days in American History and the events surrounding World War II are packed with enough emotional stories to have hundreds of films made on the subject by many nations, spanning every decade since the war began. Actually, I don’t think there hasn’t been a year since 1939 where there hasn’t been a WWII movie released. High emotions, high conflict, high drama wrapped in characters who represent the best and worst of humanity.
P.S. David Mamet’s favorite film (as of 2007) was set in 1943 Britain.
“My idea of perfection is Roger Livesey (my favorite actor) in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (my favorite film) about to fight Anton Walbrook (my other favorite actor). In the great dueling scene between the two, Livesey is asked by the referee if he is skilled in the saber. He replies, ‘I think I know which end to hold.'”
David Mamet
Bambi vs. Godzilla
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[…] Today is the 70th anniversary of one of the most tragic days in American History, the bombing of Pearl Harbour in Hawaii killing roughly 2,400 people—mostly those in the United States military. Less than a month later five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa enlisted in the U.S. Navy requesting to be on the same ship. They […] Original Source… […]