The Fighting Sullivans (1944)

Naval Officer at Boat Launching: Today, as we launch the destroyer, U.S.S. The Sullivans, the parents of the five Sullivan boys are here to share in the tribute to their sons, even as they shared their fighting spirit. As this ship slides down the ways, it carries with it a special armor all its own: The flaming and undaunted spirit that is the heritage of its name. The five Sullivan boys are gone; the U.S.S. The Sullivans carries on. May God bless and protect this ship. May her destiny be as glorious as the name she bears.

---

Father Francis: [First lines] George Thomas Sullivan, I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

---

Mrs. Alleta Sullivan: Tom, our boys are afloat again.

---

read more quotes from The Fighting Sullivans...

As a direct result of the five Sullivan brothers fatalities, the United States War Department developed and initiated the Sole Survivor Policy. It is a myth that following the five Sullivan brothers deaths, the US Government enacted the "Sullivan Act", an act made to prevent siblings serving together on the same boat. At the time of the Second World War, the US Navy did have a policy of separating siblings. This policy was not enforced by the book though.
After the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers during World War II, their parents, went on to assist in the war effort as a tribute to their five sons.
In real life two of the brothers, Frank and George, had actually served in the US Navy prior to the five brothers enlisting but this story element is not represented in the film.
read more facts about The Fighting Sullivans...