Burt Reynolds took Charles to his father’s home. When Big Burt found out that Charles was at Normandy, he told Burt to leave the room.

“Why?”

“Because you weren’t there.”

Outside the house, Burt looked into the window and saw Big Burt and Charles leaning forward and touching foreheads.

Later, Burt asked Charles what happened. “We knew your father,” Charles said. "I was only 15 yards from your father on Normandy Beach. We didn’t know him personally, but we knew he was in that boat up the beach.”

Burt never knew what his father did in the war. Charles told him that a driver of one of the landing craft was not going near the beach and dropping men into the water, who drowned. He did that a couple of times.

When it came time to land Big Burt and his men, Big Burt put his pistol to the driver’s head and said, “Take us all the way up to the beach.” The boat went all the way up in the sand to let the men off.

Burt said, “When my father came home, it was exactly like the scene in Best Years of Our Lives. I looked out the window and saw my father get out of a cab in his uniform, with a chest full of medals. I was about to run out to see him, but my sister said, ‘No, let mom greet him first.’

"My father came into the house, pulled out some cash and told me to go buy something. I wanted to be with my dad, but he wanted to be alone with my mother, as it should be.” 

Charles told Burt, “When you see Saving Private Ryan, you’ll see a boat all the way up the beach. That was your father.”

                      /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////