1998A chart of the places · Curracloe · Hatfield · Colleville
Saving Private Ryan
Omaha Beach, Normandy: where it happened, on 6 June 1944.
Inset A · the coast
Omaha Beach looking west from Widerstandsnest 62 above Colleville, across Easy Red and Fox Green, in 2025. Rolf Kranz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ballinesker Beach, the stretch of Curracloe where the landing was filmed, in 2008. Michal Osmenda · CC BY-SA 2.0
Inset B
Steven Spielberg at the Pentagon on 11 August 1999, after receiving the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service for Saving Private Ryan. Helene C. Stikkel · Public domainSteven Spielbergdirector
Inset C
Tom Hanks at the White House, July 1995, three years before the film (cropped). Clinton Presidential Library · Public domainTom HanksCaptain Miller
H-Hour came on a rising tide. As the sea crossed the flat it hid the obstacles from the boats that followed. Move the tide line up the beach as it came in that morning.
Low water
A gently sloping flat of sand, averaging 300 metres between the low- and high-water marks.
A drawing, not to scale.
Where we read it
Low water: A gently sloping flat of sand, averaging 300 metres between the low- and high-water marks.
Omaha Beach looking west from Widerstandsnest 62 above Colleville, across Easy Red and Fox Green, in 2025. Rolf Kranz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Calvados
Les Braves
Anilore Banon’s sculpture Les Braves stands on the sand between the Dog Red and Easy Green sectors. It was unveiled on 6 June 2004, the 60th anniversary. Its three parts are The Wings of Hope, Rise, Freedom! and The Wings of Fraternity.
About 34,000 Americans landed here on 6 June 1944; about 2,400 were casualties.
Car parks beside the sculpture. The sand is open to everyone; check the tide before walking out.
Where we read itLes Braves on the sand at Omaha Beach in 2023. Nicolas Fressengeas · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ballinesker · County Wexford · summer 1997
One kilometre of Wexford.
Ballinesker Beach, the stretch of Curracloe where the landing was filmed, in 2008. Michal Osmenda · CC BY-SA 2.0
The beach dressed as Omaha: steel obstacles on the sand.
Ballinesker, a 1 km stretch of Curracloe Beach, stood in for Omaha Beach.
The landing cost $12 million to film. About 1,500 people took part, among them 1,000 Irish Army soldiers and reservists and about 30 amputees.
The film’s opening scenes were shot on this beach, and many Wexford people were extras.
A Blue Flag beach with parking and toilets. Busy in summer, quiet the rest of the year. Free parking. Toilets, and lifeguards in summer, at White Gap. White Gap is about 1 km south along the sand.
Where we read it
Hotel Curracloe
Hotel Curracloe
Curracloe, County Wexford
A village hotel with 29 en-suite rooms, a restaurant and a pub with live music, near the Blue Flag beaches and the North Slob bird reserve.
Edward F. Niland, born 1912, US Army Air Forces. Captured in Burma on 16 May 1944 and reported dead. He was alive in a Japanese prison camp, and was freed on 4 May 1945.
Robert J. Niland, born 1919, 505th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne. Killed on 6 June 1944 at Neuville-au-Plain, after volunteering to stay and hold off a German advance.
Frederick W. “Fritz” Niland, born 1920, 501st Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne. Sent back to England and then home. He served as a military policeman in New York until the war ended.
The grave of Preston T. Niland in the Normandy American Cemetery, 2004. Nilington · Public domainThe grave of Robert J. Niland, next to his brother, in 2004. Nilington · Public domain
Robert and Preston Niland, whose story inspired the film, are buried here side by side.
Where we read it
The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in 2013. Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc in 2015. Jebulon · CC0
Cricqueville-en-Bessin, Calvados · 11 km west of the cemetery
Pointe du Hoc
On D-Day a force of 225 Rangers assaulted the cliffs here, 35 metres (110 ft) high.
The headland is still pitted with bomb craters. It lies about 6.5 km west of the centre of Omaha Beach.
The 13-hectare site passed into American care on 11 January 1979.
Cared for by the American Battle Monuments Commission. Check times before you go.
Where we read it
Viator · Ad / affiliate
Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery
Calvados, Normandy
Live marketplace results for guided days on the American beaches, most from Bayeux or Caen. Check each itinerary for Colleville, Omaha and Pointe du Hoc.
Steven Spielberg at the Pentagon on 11 August 1999, after receiving the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service for Saving Private Ryan. Helene C. Stikkel · Public domainSteven SpielbergDirector
Tom Hanks at the White House, July 1995, three years before the film (cropped). Clinton Presidential Library · Public domainTom HanksCaptain John H. Miller
Matt Damon at Camp David, January 1998, the year the film came out (cropped). Barbara Kinney, White House photographer · Public domainMatt DamonPrivate James Francis Ryan
27 Jun 1997Filming begins
13 Sep 1997Filming ends, after 12 weeks
24 Jul 1998Released in the US and Canada
OscarsFive Academy Awards, Best Director among them
2014Chosen for the National Film Registry
Before filming, the principal cast went through a six-day boot camp, suggested by Hanks and the adviser Dale Dye. The film had eleven Academy Award nominations.
Where we read it
Tom Hanks as Captain John H. Miller; Matt Damon as James Francis Ryan; directed by Steven Spielberg.
Principal photography from 27 June 1997 to 13 September 1997, 12 weeks; US and Canada release 24 July 1998; five Academy Awards including Best Director from eleven nominations; National Film Registry, 2014; a six-day boot camp suggested by Hanks and Dale Dye.
The National World War II Memorial on the National Mall in 2021. Kurt Kaiser · CC0
National Mall, Washington, DC
National World War II Memorial
Tom Hanks was the national spokesman for the World War II Memorial campaign.
The memorial was dedicated on 29 May 2004. Its Freedom Wall carries 4,048 gold stars, each for 100 Americans who died in the war.
Its 56 granite pillars carry the names of the states, the territories and the District of Columbia.
Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The Mall is open 24 hours a day.
Where we read itThe National WWII Museum in New Orleans in 2015. ironypoisoning · CC BY-SA 2.0
945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
The National WWII Museum
Tom Hanks was honorary chairman of the capital campaign for the museum, then the D-Day Museum.
It is open daily, 9am to 5pm. General admission for adults is $37.
Beyond All Boundaries, a 48-minute 4D film about the war, starts on the hour from 10am to 4pm; it costs $9 on its own.
Daily 9am to 5pm; adults $37. Closed on Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Where we read it
Go and pay your respects.
Where it is now
11 places you can visit, from Wexford to New Orleans. Thame Park is a private home and is not on the map; the Ryan farmhouse and the town of Ramelle are gone.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A Blue Flag beach with parking and toilets. Busy in summer, quiet the rest of the year.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Free parking. Toilets, and lifeguards in summer, at White Gap.
1Ballinesker Beach, the stretch of Curracloe where the landing was filmed, in 2008. Michal Osmenda · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ballinesker, Curracloe, County Wexford
Ballinesker Beach
Ballinesker, a 1 km stretch of Curracloe Beach, stood in for Omaha Beach.
A Blue Flag beach with parking and toilets. Busy in summer, quiet the rest of the year.
Where we read it
2Curracloe Beach on 1 April 2024. MikeWest Wexford · CC BY-SA 4.0
White Gap, Curracloe, County Wexford
Curracloe Beach
Curracloe Beach runs for about 11 km, from Raven Point to Ballyconigar near Blackwater.
Free parking. Toilets, and lifeguards in summer, at White Gap.
Where we read it
Stay
Sleep by the strand.
A village hotel a few minutes from Curracloe and Ballinesker.
Hotel Curracloe
Hotel Curracloe
Curracloe, County Wexford
A village hotel with 29 en-suite rooms, a restaurant and a pub with live music, near the Blue Flag beaches and the North Slob bird reserve.
Tours of the American beaches, the paratroopers’ town and the Wexford coast.
Viator · Ad / affiliate
Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery
Calvados, Normandy
Live marketplace results for guided days on the American beaches, most from Bayeux or Caen. Check each itinerary for Colleville, Omaha and Pointe du Hoc.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The roll
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
12 of 12 places · 14 of 14 Moments
Ballinesker Beach
Ballinesker, Curracloe, County Wexford
The landing
A kilometre of Ballinesker is dressed as Omaha Beach for the film’s opening landing.
Curracloe Beach
White Gap, Curracloe, County Wexford
Wexford extras
Local Wexford people are extras in the opening scenes.
Hatfield Aerodrome
Former flight test hangar, Mosquito Way, Hatfield Business Park, Hertfordshire
Ramelle
The ruined town of Ramelle is built on the old British Aerospace site.
Band of Brothers
The set is used again for Band of Brothers.
Gunsite Road, West Kennett
Gunsite Road, south of West Kennett, near Avebury, Wiltshire
Iowa
The Ryan farmhouse is built among Wiltshire fields, then taken down.
Thame Park
Thame Park, near Thame, Oxfordshire
The machine-gun nest
The machine-gun nest, the half-track ambush and the church at night are filmed in Thame Park.
Normandy American Cemetery
Colleville-sur-Mer, Calvados
The cemetery
The film opens and closes in the real cemetery; Miller’s headstone is brought in for the shoot.
The Niland graves
Robert and Preston Niland lie side by side.
Omaha Beach and Les Braves
Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Calvados
Omaha
H-Hour is 06:30 on a rising tide; the tide hides the obstacles as later waves come in.
Pointe du Hoc
Cricqueville-en-Bessin, Calvados
The cliffs
225 Rangers assault the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc.
Crisbecq Battery
Route de Crisbecq, Saint-Marcouf, Manche
Preston
Preston Niland is killed at the Crisbecq Battery.
Airborne Museum
14 rue Eisenhower, Sainte-Mère-Église, Manche
The paratroopers
Robert Niland jumps with the 82nd Airborne, Fritz with the 101st.
National World War II Memorial
National Mall, Washington, DC
The spokesman
Tom Hanks speaks for the campaign to build the memorial.
The National WWII Museum
945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
The museum
Hanks is honorary chairman of the museum’s capital campaign.
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