Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan & The Truth

By Dannie Gore Sr.

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion VLA
When actor Tom Hanks was asked why there were no black soldiers shown in the movie “Saving
Private Ryan,” he said that there had been none in the area. He was mistaken.

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion VLA Very Low Altitude (colored) was unique at Normandy for two
reasons.

First, it was the first barrage balloon unit in France and second, it was the first black
unit in the segregated American Army to come ashore on D-Day.