Posted on 04/06/2003 6:30:31 PM PDT by flutters
Before he talked to members of the Geritol Gang about his basketball team, West Virginia University coach John Beilein took the time to thank the veterans among the group of retired coaches and athletes.
Beilein knows all about service to one's country. His family is directly involved in one of the most dramatic and best-known stories in U.S. military history.
Nearly everyone is familiar with the movie "Saving Private Ryan'' which starred Tom Hanks and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It centers around a family that loses three sons in World War II and the search to locate the fourth son before something happens to him.
Beilein is more familiar with the story than most. You see, his mother is a first cousin of the family on which the movie is based. A family who lived on the same street as the Beileins in Tonawanda, N.Y. Their name actually wasn't Ryan, it was Niland. In fact, when Spielberg accepted the Oscar for his work, he thanked the Niland family.
"Private Ryan'' actually was Sergeant Frederick "Fritz'' Niland, a member of the prestigious 101st Airborne's 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, which dropped into Normandy in June 1944. Fritz had three brothers who served in other units: Technical Sergeant Robert Niland, who was with the 82nd Airborne Division; Lieutenant Preston Niland with the 4th Infantry Division and Technical Sergeant Edward Niland, a pilot in the Army Air Force.
Robert and Preston were killed during the D-Day invasion. Edward was reported missing over Burma in the Pacific Ocean in May of 1944. He was presumed dead, but actually spent a year as a Japanese prisoner of war before being rescued by British forces.
Thinking at the time Fritz was the only Niland brother still alive, Father Francis L. Sampson filed the paperwork necessary to get him home. Fritz remained with his unit until the paperwork cleared, then returned home. Unlike the movie, there was no dramatic search to find Fritz, who returned stateside and worked as an MP (military policeman) for the rest of the war.
Little did anybody who heard Beilein speak Wednesday morning about service to one's country know what a historic day it would turn out to be. Less than nine hours later came the wonderful news that Wirt County native Jessica Lynch had been rescued from her captors in Iraq. Sometimes, it's a small world.
Beilein, who has earned a reputation as a class act, is an impressive man who charmed those with whom he met.
Beilein talked about those who will join his program next year. He got a little excited when it came to transfer D'Or Fischer, who has been on campus for some time.
"If he plays like he practices,'' Beilein said, "he might lead the nation in blocked shots.''
Beilein's second team can't help but be better than his first only for the simple reason that it will have 11 scholarship players as compared to the seven WVU had last season.
Beilein pointed with pride his team's 2.7 overall grade point average and proclaimed that all of its members will be academically eligible next fall.
Beilein is a low-key guy who stays on an even keel. But if you listen closely to what he has to say, you'll hear a thoughtful, serious man who does everything with class and only surrounds himself with those who do likewise.
Spend any amount of time with Beilein and you'll walk away convinced the Mountaineer basketball program couldn't be in better hands.
Interesting! I guess we shouldn't expect Hollywood to tell the true story - too boring.
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