1st Lieutenant Briggs was a minor character in the film, Saving Private Ryan. He was a soldier who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day during World War Two. He was second in command of C Company in the 2nd Rangers Battalion.
Biography[]
He was assigned to Charlie Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion as the executive officer to Captain John H. Miller. He landed on Omaha Beach and survived the machine gun blast on his LCA.
While advancing on the beach, he was wounded in the abdomen so Captain Miller tried dragging him to a medic. A german shell knocks him and the Captain down. Miller tries to get up and keep pulling him along, only to realize he was dragging a corpse, the shell having blown Briggs' arms and lower body off, killing him instantly. Captain Miller leaves his remains behind. Had Lieutenant Briggs survived the initial landing on Omaha, he would have certainly been with Captain's Miller squad on their mission to find Private James Ryan.
Trivia[]
- His actor (Rolf Saxon) was 42 years old at the time of filming. However, that surpasses the age requirement for the Rangers, which is 35. So his age has been narrowed down to 33, mostly because Miller's character is estimated to be 34, and according to the script, Miller was the oldest man in the LCA they were riding on.
- In the scene where a 29th Infantry Private asks "What the hell do we do now Sir." Lt. Briggs is behind Captain Miller holding his M1 Garand.
- It is interesting to note that Briggs initially indicates that he has been "hit low." The German beach defenses were generally planned so that machine guns were sited to fire within two feet of the beach surface so that no fire would be wasted over the heads of the incoming Allied troops.
