Beginning with the Allied Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, members of the Second Assault Battalion, under Captain Miller, fought for control of the beach. In the battle, two brothers were killed. A little earlier, in New Guinea, a third brother had also been killed. His mother, Mrs. Ryan, would receive three telegrams on the same day. The head of the U.S. Army, George C. Marshall, saw an opportunity to alleviate her suffering when he learned of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decided to send eight men (Captain Miller and a select group from his battalion) to find him and bring him back to his mother's home.