The Fighting Sullivan Brothers of World War II

Waterloo and the Nation Mourn the Sullivans

On January 12, 1943, the Sullivan family finally received the official news, delivered in person by a navy officer, petty officer and physician. Lt. Commander Truman Jones, who had sworn in the five Sullivan boys in Des Moines, solemnly told the family: “The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your sons Albert, Francis, George, Joseph and Madison Sullivan are missing in action in the South Pacific.”

The Sullivan tragedy immediately became big news on the American home front, with newspapers, magazines and radio running the story. Tom and Alleta Sullivan, along with their daughter Genevieve, later traveled the country visiting defense plants and selling war bonds. In addition, a destroyer, USS The Sullivans, was later named in honor of the five brothers.

The Sullivans Movie, Notes, Saving Private Ryan

• In 1944, Twentieth Century-Fox released a movie on the close-knit Iowa family titled The Sullivans (also known as The Fighting Sullivans), starring Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell and Selena Royle. The film was later withdrawn from theaters, mainly because of its tragic, depressing nature for an already war-weary public. 
• In 1997, Kelly Sullivan Loughren, the granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, christened a new guided missile destroyer, USS The Sullivans, at Stapleton Pier in Staten Island, New York.
• The five Sullivan brothers were once again in the news in 1998 when television crews came to Waterloo, Iowa, prior to the premiere of Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s fictional drama of a family who experiences a similar tragedy during World War II.
• Famous WW II poster picturing the Sullivans along with five gold stars declares: ”the five Sullivan brothers ‘missing in action’ off the Solomons. They Did Their Part.”
• From the Des Moines Register, January 4, 1942: “Five husky Waterloo boys who lost a ‘pal’ at Pearl Harbor were accepted as Navy recruits yesterday at Des Moines. All passed their physical exams ‘with flying colors’ and left by train last night for the Great Lakes (Ill.) training station…”