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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

The real mother of Pvt. Ryan?

I found this letter from Gen. George C. Marshall, written on 3 July 1944 to a woman in Fort Worth, Texas, to be chilling. (I remember that "Saving Private Ryan" had a scene like this, but my memory is that the Marshall character read aloud a letter written by Lincoln to a grieving mother in ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
National Museum
National Museum
National Museum

I found this letter from Gen. George C. Marshall, written on 3 July 1944 to a woman in Fort Worth, Texas, to be chilling. (I remember that "Saving Private Ryan" had a scene like this, but my memory is that the Marshall character read aloud a letter written by Lincoln to a grieving mother in the Civil War and then ordered his subordinates to find the third Ryan brother and get him out of combat. Hence Tom Hanks' mission.)

I found this letter from Gen. George C. Marshall, written on 3 July 1944 to a woman in Fort Worth, Texas, to be chilling. (I remember that "Saving Private Ryan" had a scene like this, but my memory is that the Marshall character read aloud a letter written by Lincoln to a grieving mother in the Civil War and then ordered his subordinates to find the third Ryan brother and get him out of combat. Hence Tom Hanks’ mission.)

My dear Mrs. Ward,

I have just learnt that your two sons, Ray and Roy, were killed in action on the same day over Germany. Please accept my sincere sympathy for the tragic loss you have sustained in their sacrifice for the good of their fellow citizens.

It will be some time before your pride in the service they have rendered the country can even in a small measure console you for the great loss you have suffered but I want you to know now that the Army was proud of them as American soldiers and will not forget their courage and self-sacrifice.

Faithfully yours,

Gen. George C. Marshall

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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