Despite what you might think, Saving Private Ryan is not based on the Sullivan brothers, a group of 5 brothers who died in action in the US Navy during WWII on the USS Juneau. Instead, it’s based on the Niland brothers, 4 siblings who were all in the US Army during that time. Brothers Robert, Edward and Preston were supposedly all killed in battle, so Fritz (whom Private Ryan is based on) was shipped back to the US so the family wouldn’t lose all of their sons. Then, Edward was actually found alive after escaping a Japanese prison camp in Burma.