<P> Set - piece scenes include the parachute drop into Sainte - Mère - Église, the advance inshore from the Normandy beaches, the U.S. Ranger Assault Group's assault on the Pointe du Hoc, the attack on Ouistreham by Free French Forces and the strafing of the beaches by two lone Luftwaffe pilots . </P> <P> The film concludes with a montage showing various Allied units consolidating their beachheads before they advance inland to reach Germany by crossing France . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Actor </Th> <Th> Role </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Eddie Albert </Td> <Td> Colonel Thompson, 29th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Paul Anka </Td> <Td> Private, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Richard Beymer </Td> <Td> Private Arthur' Dutch' Schultz, 82nd Airborne Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Red Buttons </Td> <Td> Private John Steele, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Gary Collins </Td> <Td> Officer on destroyer bridge (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> John Crawford </Td> <Td> Colonel Eugene Caffey, Commander, 1st Engineer Special Brigade (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Mark Damon </Td> <Td> Private Harris (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Ray Danton </Td> <Td> Captain Frank, 29th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Fred Dur </Td> <Td> Major, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Fabian </Td> <Td> Private, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Mel Ferrer </Td> <Td> Major General Robert Haines, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Henry Fonda </Td> <Td> Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Assistant Commander, 4th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Steve Forrest </Td> <Td> Captain Harding, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Henry Grace (dubbed by Allen Swift) </Td> <Td> General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Peter Helm </Td> <Td> Young private, 29th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jeffrey Hunter </Td> <Td> Sergeant John H. Fuller, combat engineer, 29th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Alexander Knox </Td> <Td> Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, Chief of Staff, SHAEF </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Mickey Knox </Td> <Td> Downed Airman, (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Dewey Martin </Td> <Td> Private Wilder, 4th Infantry Division (scenes deleted) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Roddy McDowall </Td> <Td> Private Morris, 4th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> John Meillon </Td> <Td> Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Sal Mineo </Td> <Td> Private Martini, 82nd Airborne Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Robert Mitchum </Td> <Td> Brigadier General Norman Cota, Assistant Commander, 29th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Tony Mordente </Td> <Td> Cook, 82nd Airborne Division (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Bill Nagy </Td> <Td> Major, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Edmond O'Brien </Td> <Td> Major General Raymond O. Barton, Commander, 4th Infantry Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Ron Randell </Td> <Td> Joe Williams, war correspondent </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Robert Ryan </Td> <Td> Brigadier General James M. Gavin, Assistant Commander, 82nd Airborne Division </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Tommy Sands </Td> <Td> Private, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> George Segal </Td> <Td> Private, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Bob Steele </Td> <Td> Paratrooper, 82nd Airborne Division (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Rod Steiger </Td> <Td> Destroyer commander, United States Navy </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Nicholas Stuart </Td> <Td> Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, Commander, First Army (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Tom Tryon </Td> <Td> Lieutenant Wilson, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Robert Wagner </Td> <Td> Private, 2nd Ranger Battalion </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Joe Warfield </Td> <Td> Army medic (uncredited) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> John Wayne </Td> <Td> Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort, CO, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Stuart Whitman </Td> <Td> Lieutenant Sheen, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Actor </Th> <Th> Role </Th> </Tr>

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