TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A memorial wreath sits at the site of the All Heroes Memorial in the City of Tonawanda in recognition of the Niland brothers and remembrance of 80 years since D-Day.
The brothers were among the thousands of Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944.
Preston Niland is the proud son and nephew of the Nilands.
“I have to remember that the story is so sad and it’s not about me,” he says. “I try to represent the family with a reasonable amount of dignity as much as I can.”
Preston explains the story of his father and three uncles.
“The first picture is my father. He was a B-25 tail gunner and he got shot down over Burma. He lived.”
“My uncle Preston who I'm named after was with the fourth division which was easier to get on when they got on the beach they had trouble getting to land. He got killed by a motor fire on D-Day the second day.”
“Third one Uncle Bobby was killed on D-Day by staying back to help the wounded.”
“The last one was Uncle Fritz fought his way back to the coast and found out his brothers were killed and sent him home because of the Sullivan law."
The Niland brothers' story helped inspire several World War II movies.
City of Tonawanda Mayor John White says D-Day is a piece of history that should never be forgotten.
“I was watching the news and they showed a picture and a picture of Normandy of all the people coming out of the boat. Did you know every one of those young men was smiling?” he expresses. “That’s the difference to me they were proud to serve our country.”
“This is beautiful,” says Preston. “Although this is not the final resting place for any of my family it’s just a beautiful setting.”
